{"id":717767,"date":"2026-06-05T22:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/717767\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T22:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T22:12:14","slug":"new-york-knicks-celebrity-fans-ranked-from-spike-lee-and-martha-stewart-to-timothee-chalamet-and-anne-hathaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/717767\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Knicks celebrity fans ranked: From Spike Lee and Martha Stewart to Timothee Chalamet and Anne Hathaway"},"content":{"rendered":"

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To the neutral NBA fan, there\u2019s nothing more insufferable than a happy Knicks fan. Knicks fans shouldn\u2019t be happy, they should be crying and whining and furiously shaking their fists as Michael Jordan or Reggie Miller or Trae Young or Tyrese Haliburton rip the soul out of Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how things have historically gone for the Knicks, and why cute things like \u201cBing bong!<\/a>\u201d have filled their fans\u2019 social media feeds for years. They\u2019ve been looking for something to hold on to, anything, after decades of irrelevance \u2013 until the arrival of their saviour, gritty point guard Jalen Brunson, in 2022.<\/p>\n

\"CourtsideCourtside celebrities have made the New York Knicks\u2019 finals run a must-see event.\u00a0The Sydney Morning Herald<\/p>\n

But the natural order of things has shifted and New York\u2019s Knickerbockers (they\u2019re named after old-time undies) now find themselves one game up in the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs \u2013 aka The World\u2019s Team \u2013 led by French string bean (or should that be haricot) Victor Wembanyama.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the team\u2019s first appearance in the NBA Finals in 27 years, since the Patrick Ewing-led Knicks lost in five games to Tim Duncan\u2019s Spurs in 1999. And, as they chase their first title in 53 years, New York has understandably lost its collective mind<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tickets to the series have been described as \u201cthe most expensive<\/a> in NBA history\u201d, with nosebleed seats for Games 3 and 4 at Madison Square Garden starting at $US3700 ($5200) and courtside ones going for a mind-melting $US300,000 ($421,000). Even at those prices, the Knicks\u2019 courtside celebrity row has become the hottest place to be seen, filled with more famous people than an Elton John party.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, everyone wants to flamboyantly wave their Knicks-centric bona fides. But no one likes a bandwagon fan, and some celebrities are more deserving than others. Let\u2019s rank them from blow-ins to diehards, shall we?<\/p>\n

16: Jimmy Fallon
Not content with being late night\u2019s most annoying host, Jimmy Fallon\u2019s now taken his \u201cI\u2019m buzzed from decaf!\u201d energy to the Garden floor. Which is interesting considering he famously dabbled with the crosstown Brooklyn Nets at the height of the Knicks\u2019 post-Linsanity dysfunction. Get in the nosebleeds with Mamdani<\/a> until you\u2019ve earned your suffering, Fallon.<\/p>\n

15: Anne Hathaway
You\u2019ve got to respect Anne Hathaway\u2019s commitment to being part of the conversation (any conversation). Now that the Knicks are headline news, she\u2019s out here repeating the same anecdote about her run-in with OG Anunoby to any outlet that will listen. We all know you were raised in New Jersey, Annie.<\/p>\n

14: Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis
Look, it\u2019s too many Jasons and I have no time for Jasons.<\/p>\n

\"IsIs this a Knicks game or a Jason convention?Getty Images<\/p>\n

13: Mariska Hargitay
When not investigating horrific sex crimes on Law and Order: SVU, the real-life Olivia Benson is now courtside watching the Knicks play. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s worse.<\/p>\n

12: Ethan Hawke
I feel for Ethan Hawke: the lifelong Knicks fan says he had his courtside pass revoked<\/a> by James Dolan after he publicly criticised the much-despised Knicks owner for his years of mismanagement. He was all but forced to switch his allegiance to the Brooklyn Nets, but he earns a place in the Knicks pantheon simply for instigating the most important courtside shot ever \u2013 that time he forced his kid to swap seats so he could flirt with Rihanna.<\/p>\n

11: Dustin Hoffman
Now that Woody Allen\u2019s uninvited, Hoffman might be celebrity row\u2019s final remaining link to \u201970s cinema, which is a significant fact that perhaps only I care about. But I\u2019m docking points since he spends as much time courtside in Los Angeles at Lakers games.<\/p>\n

10: Edie Falco
Back in 2010, the Knicks thought they could entice LeBron James to join their team by reuniting Carmela (Falco) and Tony (James Gandolfini) from The Sopranos for a recruitment video<\/a> (it should be noted, the video also featured Harvey Weinstein and Donald Trump). It failed dismally but what I\u2019m saying is Edie Falco \u2013 New York downtown screen icon \u2013 has earned her courtside seat.<\/p>\n

9: Chris Rock, Jon Stewart and Adam Sandler
I\u2019m lumping all these guys together \u2019cause really, how much of this do you actually want to read? We all love Adam Sandler and his big shorts<\/a>, but there\u2019s just too many celebrities at Knicks games.<\/p>\n

8: Susie Essman and Larry David
Watching the Curb Your Enthusiasm pair courtside is a privilege, mainly because you can picture Larry tripping up Karl-Anthony Towns the same way he did Shaquille O\u2019Neal (he was famously banned from Lakers games for 22 years after that incident).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7: Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner
Timmy\u2019s lore suggests he\u2019s a lifelong Knicks fan who spent his childhood in the nosebleeds, and his anecdotes \u2013 from reminiscing with Carmelo Anthony<\/a> about his infamous brawl with Mardy Collins in 2006 to winning a meet-and-greet with Landry Fields<\/a> in 2010 \u2013 back it up. But it\u2019s pretty convenient that his public fandom coincides so closely with the Knicks\u2019 mid-\u201920s glow-up. We\u2019ll see if he\u2019s still there when the Knicks are back to battling for 15 wins in 2034. As for Kylie, her support is cute \u2013 and motivated by wonderful self-interest<\/a> \u2013 but girl, don\u2019t you have your own hobbies? Even Posh Spice barely bothered with David\u2019s games, and he was in them.<\/p>\n

6: Tracy Morgan and Tina Fey
These regular Tracy Jordan and Liz Lemon 30 Rock reunions are one of the few beautiful things to ever happen at a Knicks game. But it\u2019s unfortunate that Timothee\u2019s out here manspreading Fey right off her courtside seat.<\/p>\n

\"MoveMove over, Timothee, Tina Fey needs some space too.Getty Images<\/p>\n

5: Ben Stiller
You know Ben Stiller\u2019s earned his place on the Knicks\u2019 celebrity row because his Twitter account is literally a public record of meltdowns charting decades of humiliating defeat. His social media posts from the Knicks\u2019 franchise-worst 2018-19 season (they went 17-65) could rival Russian literature for misery.<\/p>\n

4: Fat Joe
The Terror Squad rapper has been a celebrity row staple for decades, bringing Spanish swearing \u2013 and hip-hop buddies like 50 Cent and Ja Rule \u2013 to the Knicks\u2019 courtside. Back in the 2010s, he furiously resisted the Nets\u2019 encroachment on the Knicks\u2019 basketball territory (\u201cIf you\u2019re a true Knicks fan, you just don\u2019t jump on their bandwagon,\u201d he told The New York Times<\/a> in 2012) and he\u2019s featured in more recruitment videos for the team than the Empire State Building (watching him beg Kevin Durant<\/a> to come to the Knicks in 2019 brings both joy and pity).<\/p>\n

3: John McEnroe
I\u2019m almost certain the tennis icon lives in Madison Square Garden. Years ago, during a trip to New York, I went to a St John\u2019s college basketball game at MSG and McEnroe was in the front row. The following night I returned to watch a New York Rangers ice hockey game and McEnroe was there again. You cannot be serious, John McEnroe.<\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn McEnroe and his daughter at home at a Knicks game in Madison Square Garden.AP<\/p>\n

2: Martha Stewart
The ex-convict\u2019s been a Knicks fan since the \u201960s and recalls being at the Garden for the team\u2019s last championship wins in 1970 and 1973, which disproves my theory that they were hoaxes. Stewart recently revealed that during the Knicks\u2019 failed playoffs run against the Indiana Pacers last season, Jalen Brunson landed on her foot and broke her toe<\/a> \u2013 but she took complete blame for wearing open-toed sandals courtside. That\u2019s the correct level of commitment to celebrity row.<\/p>\n

\"SpikeSpike Lee, the most deserving Knicks fan on Earth.AP Photo\/Tim Phillis<\/p>\n

1: Spike Lee
Cut Spike Lee and he\u2019d bleed orange and blue (please don\u2019t cut Spike Lee). The filmmaker has been trash-talking opposing teams from his courtside seats since 1985, Patrick Ewing\u2019s rookie year, and he doesn\u2019t even do freebies: his seats reportedly cost him $US340,000 ($477,000) annually, and so far his return on investment has been the iconic indignity of getting choked out by Reggie Miller<\/a>. For his masochistic dedication to Knicks-related pain and suffering, Spike deserves a Finals win, his own championship ring, and the sacrificial blood of Wemby<\/a> in a bejewelled goblet.<\/p>\n

Game Two of the NBA Finals airs on ESPN on Saturday at 10.30am.<\/p>\n

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\"RobertRobert Moran<\/a> is Spectrum deputy editor at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners