I love New York City and I love the New York Knicks. Both have been constant sources of inspiration for me, and I’ve always thrived on the raw, intoxicating energy they exude, through all their highs and lows. My art strives to capture a piece of that pulse—the grit, the optimism—that vibrate through my city and my team.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently invited me to loan my Knicks Cutout paintings to City Hall in recognition of the New York Knicks playoff run—a gesture intended to celebrate both the team and the culture surrounding it.
However, much of the media coverage—from early tabloid reports to more recent pieces in outlets like the New York Times—has framed the story through the lens of a supposed “Curse of the Bambino”-style narrative, suggesting that fans view the mayor’s involvement as a jinx, blaming their loss on Mamdani putting up my artworks. This angle feels less like organic fan sentiment and more like a convenient vehicle to needle the mayor, creating division in what is otherwise a moment of shared civic enthusiasm.
At the same time, there’s a story behind the artwork itself that the reporting misses. Several outlets have inaccurately described the pieces as “cardboard cutouts of Knicks players,” suggesting a cheap stunt, when in fact they are hand-painted wooden cutout paintings I created. I’m a painter and have shown in art galleries, but my artwork is not only widely appreciated among fans but is also a familiar presence on MSG Network broadcasts. I’ve even frequently appeared there during games.
Painter Tom Sanford’s Knicks Cutout displayed on the street in Harlem. Photo by Tom Sanford.
Briefly, here’s the story behind the art: This past winter, longing for my favorite time of year—spring, the playoffs, the NYC’s season of ecstatic excitement and rebirth—I finally realized an idea I’ve had since I moved here in the 1990s. Back then I was struck by the life-size, hand-painted cutout figures that stood in front of nearly every mom-and-pop deli, pizzeria, and bagel shop on the west side of Manhattan. Each was a colorful, characterful, and unmistakably local masterpiece that populated my new home.
One that stays with me is the cartoon pizza guy outside Pronto Pizza at 114th and Broadway. I loved that smiling pizza guy and wanted, for decades, to make something in that spirit. The Knicks, like the city, have a rich local culture and vivid characters. Marrying the visual language of the street-corner cutout with portraits of my all-time favorite Knicks players—those who shaped my years of watching the team—felt like the perfect synthesis.
Knicks Cutout is the work of a fan. It represents my personal all-time, starting five line-up… Here they are, ladies and gentleman, MY NEW YORK KNICKS: At guard Jalen Brunson, at guard Latrell Sprewell, at forward Larry Johnson, at forward Carmelo Anthony, at center Patrick Ewing—and of course my sixth man, John Starks!
Zohran Mamdani (left) speaking with artist Tom Sanford (center) and Cecily Sanford. Image courtesy Tom Sanford.
I made Knicks Cutout originally for an art and basketball fundraiser at the Brooklyn Bowl to raise money for the Food Bank for New York. This year, for another Knicks playoff run, I set out to honor my beloved team in a form that felt quintessentially New York. I brought them out on the street in Harlem, and they attracted a crowd and lots of social media. The mayor himself, not a PR flack, liked one of the posts. I tagged him back, and he brought my art to City Hall. My one request was that my daughter, Cecily, get to meet the mayor, which he graciously obliged.
It boggles my mind that an outlet like the New York Post wants to sour such an authentic shared New York community moment with opportunistic negativity. That seems like the real curse to me. And it definitely doesn’t sound like the work of real fans.
Tom Sanford is NYC Artist and Knicks Fan.