Miles McBride, a Cincinnati native and graduate of Moeller High School, can now add NBA champion to his resumé after helping the New York Knicks capture the 2026 NBA title.
The Knicks secured the championship Saturday night with a 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The win marked New York’s first championship since 1973.
For McBride, AKA “Deuce,” the title is the latest milestone in a basketball journey that began on local courts.
Source: Gregory Shamus / Getty
Before becoming an NBA player, McBride built one of the most impressive high school careers in recent Cincinnati history. As Moeller’s starting point guard, he helped lead the Crusaders to back-to-back Division I state championships in 2018 and 2019 while compiling a 58-1 record.
McBride was also a standout quarterback for Moeller’s football program and earned a reputation as one of the school’s most respected leaders.
After graduating in 2019, McBride headed to West Virginia University, where he quickly emerged as one of the Mountaineers’ top players. During his two seasons in Morgantown, he helped lead the program to consecutive winning seasons and an NCAA Tournament appearance as a No. 3 seed in 2021.
His NBA opportunity came later that year when he was selected in the 2021 NBA Draft. Although he was initially drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was traded to New York on draft night and has spent his entire professional career with the Knicks.
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Now five seasons into his NBA journey, McBride has become an important piece of New York’s roster. His championship run also places him in rare company.
He is believed to be the first former Moeller basketball player to win an NBA championship and the third former WVU player to earn an NBA title, joining Hall of Famer Jerry West & Jerome Anderson.
McBride also joins a group of Greater Cincinnati natives who have reached the top of professional basketball, alongside Dave Cowens and Tom Thacker.
