Alas, it was another largely disappointing year for New York sports in 2023 — at least on the men’s side.
The Big 4 championship drought continued as major teams like the Mets and Yankees failed to make the playoffs while the Giants and Jets regressed in the worst ways. Meanwhile, the likes of the Islanders, Rangers, Knicks, and Nets made little noise when they found their way into the postseason as three of the four bowed out in the first round.
In Major League Soccer, the New York Red Bulls also lost in the first round while New York City Football Club failed to make the playoffs.
The professional women’s teams in the city, however, came up big.
Gotham FC is the champion of the National Women’s Soccer League and the New York Liberty took home its first Eastern Conference crown in more than 20 years.
Hopefully next year, some other teams in the Big Apple can catch up to their pace. In the meantime, let’s take a look back at the year that was in sports as we count down the top 12 sports stories of 2023:
Nets’ Big 3 breakup
Talk about a flop.
Even three of the best players this generation of the NBA has seen couldn’t figure it out in Brooklyn.
After trading away James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers in September 2022, the Nets officially broke up their ‘Big 3’ within three days of each other in February.
They dealt Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 6 for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick, and two second-round picks in 2027 and 2029.
On Feb. 9, they traded Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns for Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, multiple first-round picks (2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029), and a first-round pick swap in 2028.
They were bounced from the first round of the playoffs in the spring and currently sit in the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference this season.
Knicks win first playoff series in 10 years
Sparked by the acquisition of Jalen Brunson, the Knicks put together a 47-win season in…
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