If the New York Knicks win the NBA championship this year, fans will remember that Evan Pfeufer predicted it six years ago, and he has the proof to back it up.
While his classmates filled their high school yearbook entries with academic awards, extracurricular activities, and sports accolades, the Long Island resident chose just six simple words for his senior quote. In the 2020 Smithtown High School West yearbook, Pfeufer wrote next to his portrait: "Knicks in 6. 2026 NBA Finals."
This prescient prediction has gone viral after Pfeufer, now 23 and working in sales, shared photos on social media in recent days. One Instagram post has garnered more than 130,000 views.
The Knicks currently lead the San Antonio Spurs 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. They dropped Game 3 on Monday night, with President Donald Trump making history as the first sitting president to attend an NBA championship game. The teams face off again Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
Pfeufer explained that he wanted to use the yearbook to make a bold declaration about his beloved Knicks, who he admits were "terrible" at the time. (The Knicks finished the 2020-21 season with a 41-31 record.)
"I was at my good buddy's house and I said, 'Knicks, six, 2026,'" he recalled. "It rhymed so well that I just figured, all right, I'm gonna put that there."
"I could have said Knicks in 5, 2025, or Knicks in 7, 2027," he added. "I guess I got the right year."
Pfeufer said he took some criticism, particularly from his parents, for not using the yearbook space to highlight his school achievements, which included membership in the honor society.
"I kept it just as the quote because I thought that if it happened, it would look way better than if I had a bunch of awards underneath," he said.
His parents have since come around. "Now that it's happening the way it is, they said for the first time in their lives, 'All right, you were right,'" he said.
Early in the playoffs, the lifelong Knicks fan swore off watching the team's games because every time he tuned in, they lost. Now that they've reached the finals and his prediction is inching closer to reality, he has been watching them at home with family.
Pfeufer believes the current squad has what it takes to win the franchise's first NBA title since 1973 — even if it isn't in six games.
"I absolutely love that they play ethical basketball," he said. "It's team basketball. Everyone knows their role and cares so deeply, and you can see it whenever they play. They have heart."
