The Knicks have been one of the worst teams in basketball for almost three decades. They've had moments of brilliance during the 90s and 00s, but their shine has been blocked by other legends such as Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Much like the Jets, the Knicks have been the center of plenty of sports jokes. The tradition of roasting Spike Lee's favorite team continues this holiday season in Disney and Pixar's new animated film Soul.
Soul stars Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, and Angela Bassett. The film follows the character Joe Gardner, who falls into a manhole and his soul is on a journey to try and reconnect with its body. In the film, Joe's soul gets to visit many places that spirits dwell. One of those places is a "zone" where artists go when they get so deeply entranced in their art that they momentarily visit a plane that exists between the living and the dead. It is here that the Knicks joke occurs.
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"Diehard Knicks Fan" Kemp Powers, who wrote for the film, took responsibility for the joke. "For all those asking, YES. I am responsible for that Knicks joke in @PixarSoul," he wrote on Twitter. "I’m a diehard, lifelong Knicks fan. Despite their enormous payroll, the last time they won a championship was 1973. The year I was BORN. I think I earned the right to make that joke."