You Can Buy the Knicks Now. Sort Of. (Isiah Thomas Is Back?!)

The Knicks are about to become a stock.

MSG Sports announced today that its board approved spinning the Rangers off into their own company. If the deal closes, as expected on October 26, the company that owns the Knicks becomes MSG Knickerbockers Corp, trading on the NYSE as MSGK. The Rangers become their own stock too, MSGR.

Read that again. You will be able to open Robinhood, type in MSGK, and own a piece of the New York Knicks.

Now let's be clear about what that means, because I know some of you are already dreaming. You don't own the team. You own shares in the company that owns the team. You get no say in anything. Dolan is still running both companies as chairman and CEO. You're not voting on trades. You're not getting courtsoide seats. You're a shareholder, not an owner.

But it's still cool. I'm not going to pretend it isn't.

Here's what I keep coming back to. Before this split, if you bought MSG Sports stock, your money was tied to the Knicks AND the Rangers. Two teams, two seasons, two sets of problems. Now it's pure. MSGK is the Knicks and nothing else. Every dollar of playoff revenue, every sold-out Garden night, every new sponsorship. That's your stock.

And yeah, the question everyone asks: does winning move the stock? Sort of, but not how you think. The stock doesn't jump because Brunson drops 40. It moves on the business. Deep playoff runs mean more home games, more ticket money, more merch, bigger sponsorship deals. Player salaries are the biggest expense on the books. So in a weird way, the front office's job and the shareholder's interest are the same thing: win games, fill the Garden, keep the machine printing.

The numbers are stupid, by the way. Sportico values the Knicks at nearly $10 billion. The Lakers just sold at a $12.5 billion valuation, and JPMorgan thinks the Knicks are worth $11.75 billion on that comp. The defending champs, in the biggest market in America, coming off a title. You do the math.

Here's my honest question though. How many of us are actually going to buy it? It's a great story. "I own Knicks stock" sounds amazing at the bar. But stocks don't care about your fandom. They care about revenue and margins. I'll probably grab a share just to say I did. But I'm not betting the rent money on it.

Still. October 26. MSGK. The Knicks, on the stock market. What a time.

One more thing, and I'm not liking it.

Isiah Thomas is back. The former Knicks coach and president has been appointed to the board of the Knicks. He will join the board of directors when the Knicks become a standalone public company.

Why? Why do I feel like Dolan can't help himself?

Look, I'm not saying Isiah doesn't know basketball. But Knicks fans remember. We lived through the last Isiah era. You finally get the clean break, the pure Knicks stock, the fresh start as a standalone company... and the first board appointment is Isiah Thomas? Come on.

Maybe it means nothing. Board members don't draw up plays. But the optics are terrible, and Dolan had to know that. He just can't help himself.

Anthony’s thoughts. .

Sources: Mike Vorkunov, The Athletic, Wall Street Journal, MSG Sports official release