Spike Lee on the Knicks’ Resurgence

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Politics, Arts, News, Wnyc, Books, David, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Yorker, New, Remnick

4.2 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 28 May 2021

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Spike Lee is one of the most passionate and committed fans of the New York Knicks—not to mention one of the most celebrated filmmakers of our time. Underdogs for many years, the Knicks are enjoying a renaissance, and Lee is in his glory. David Remnick and Vinson Cunningham called Lee to talk about a life of fandom, the politics of activism in the N.B.A. and the N.F.L., and Lee’s multipart documentary about life in New York since September 11th, which will be released to mark the twentieth anniversary of the attacks.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:10.0	Welcome to The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick. Spike Lee has made some 25 feature films, most recently, to Five Bloods.
0:17.8	He's one of the pioneers of independent film, and his catalog includes some of the
0:22.0	most important movies ever made about race. Lee is finishing a multi-part documentary for HBO,
0:28.9	a portrait of a city called NYC Epicenters, 9-11 to 2021 and a half. Along with his love of New York, Spike Lee is famous for his front row passion for basketball.
0:42.1	And I caught up with him this week, along with my colleague Vincent Cunningham,
0:45.5	to talk about the long-awaited Renaissance, the return of quality pro basketball in the
0:51.7	hoop-hungry city of New York.
0:54.8	The next orange-blue skies, we're on to come up.
0:58.0	We're on to come up.
0:59.4	Now, I've got to ask you, and I think Vincent feels the same way.
1:02.7	Have you felt this way in a very, very long time about New York basketball?
1:07.8	It's been a long, long time.
1:09.9	Well, it's been eight years since the last time we were in the playoffs, so eight years is a long time.
1:18.1	But I like the grit of this team, love what Coach Tibbs is doing and the potential and i think that what durrance said that the next aren't
1:35.3	cool anymore that is not the case now. That is cold.
1:44.7	That is cold.
1:45.5	Yeah.
1:46.5	How did it feel in the garden the other day?
1:48.5	It sounded amazing on TV.
1:49.7	It was a, it sounded amazing on television.
1:53.5	You must know how it felt to be in the garden.
	...

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