This story is not about the unbreakable friendship and love adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte, the four friends from the book, television series and film Sex and the City, but about the camaraderie of Jalen, Josh and Donte, The three friends who played basketball together at Villanova University, outside of Philadelphia, and through diverse and twisted paths have reunited at Madison Square Garden (MSG) in Manhattan.

There is no doubt – numerous studies confirm this – that a cordial relationship between workers increases their productivity and that of the company. A fair salary and the prospect of moving up the ladder also count of course (they have it), but good friends do not need to say anything to communicate – a gesture or a look is enough – they have the necessary confidence to be able to criticize each other when necessary. necessary, functions are better distributed in a natural way by being aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each one, and there is (generally) no jealousy, fights or personal conflicts.

That’s how it is in a newspaper, a textile factory or a basketball team. The Knicks heroically fell in seven games against the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the playoffs, after suffering a host of injuries, and could not achieve their goal of reaching the Conference finals for the first time in the millennium, but their players were cheered by a standing MSG. The award for the most meritorious season in a long time, in which they finished with the second best record in the East after the Celtics, and eliminated Joel Embiid’s 76ers.

They don’t lack talent, but no NBA team has been as fighter as the Knicks throughout the season. His main characteristic has been not to give up any ball for lost, going for all the rebounds (the American center of German origin Isiah Hartenstein deserves a separate mention) and thus generating multiple attacking actions in many plays. A key element of that mentality is the special relationship between three of the roster members, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte Divincenzo, who were part of the Villanova University team that won the national title.

When Divincenzo arrived in New York last July after a year with the Clippers, a brief stop in Sacramento and four in Milwaukee, he did not need time to adapt to discover the peculiarities of coach Tom Thibodeau or the idiosyncrasies of Julius Randle, one of the leaders and veterans of the group. To make the introductions and pave the way for him were his friends Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. The 27-year-old point guard has had a spectacular playoffs, in which he sometimes carried the team on his shoulders, culminating in a 39-point, nine-3-point performance in the loss to Indiana in the final game.

Injuries, especially that of Randle but also those of Bogdanovic and Anunoby, made the three friends from Villanova become the backbone of the Knicks in the decisive moments of the campaign. A siege mentality, of the world against us, gave extraordinary prominence to players like Alec Burks, who at the beginning of the playoffs hardly counted for Thibodeau, and ended up having stellar performances.

Brunson was the first to arrive at MSG in 2022, as a free agent and a fundamental piece in the team’s reconstruction (he came fifth in the MVP voting). Then Hart appeared, one of those who does the dirty work, and finally Divincenzo. The Three Musketeers of Manhattan. One for all and all for one.