Many of the fans who on May 25 were celebrating the Knicks\u2019 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers outside Madison Square Garden \u2014 the game that propelled them to the finals \u2014 do not remember anything comparable because, simply, they hadn\u2019t been born in 1999. The last finals took place before 9\/11. Before social media. A world that now seems very distant.<\/p>\n
![\"Miles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/H5OEHGHNUNPL3PIDWLGJB3V3M4.jpg\")
Miles McBride during a game in Cleveland, May 25.Ken Blaze (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)<\/p>\n
There are few things that unite New Yorkers as much as the Knicks. The Nets are seen as a distinctly Brooklyn product. In baseball, some New Yorkers are Yankees fans and others support the Mets. Neither the NFL nor hockey nor soccer has the unifying power of basketball. Nor, certainly, does politics in a city where some believe Socialist Mamdani will finally curb the inequalities that have surged in recent years while others fear his measures will destroy the city\u2019s wealth<\/a>. The mayor himself celebrated the Knicks\u2019 success with Livin\u2019 la vida loca, by Ricky Martin: to convey how distant that last moment of triumph now seems, he said that was the hit song the last time his team was in a finals.<\/p>\n That unifying quality the Knicks have for all New Yorkers is explained clearly by David Hollander, a professor at New York University\u2019s Institute for Global Sport and author of the book How Basketball Can Save the World: \u201cThis is New York\u2019s sport. Here, everyone has access to a court. It\u2019s one of the few places where no one asks for ID or anything. People who don\u2019t know each other, who may not even know each other\u2019s names, go there and play under common rules.\u201d The professor explains, with contagious enthusiasm, why the Knicks\u2019 meaning in New York is incomparable, for example, to the Yankees or the Giants. \u201cIn New York it\u2019s hard to find soccer, baseball, or football fields. But there are basketball courts everywhere. It\u2019s the way we live here, packed up against each other,\u201d he said by videoconference.<\/p>\n Prohibitive ticket prices<\/p>\n Basketball is lived in New York in family living rooms, in sports bars, in the streets, but only a few lucky people can see it live at Madison Square Garden<\/a>. Even before the finals start with Game 1 on Thursday, controversy returned over the sky-high ticket prices, which top thousands of dollars. These are the same complaints being heard about tickets for the World Cup<\/a>, which led Mayor Mamdani to raffle 1,000 tickets at $50 among residents.<\/p>\n Knicks fans\u2019 joy is explained not only by what has been achieved but also by what might still come. The team has only two NBA rings. The last was won in 1973. If they added another title now, it would be madness. To stoke excitement, Mamdani, in that mix of human gestures and a touch of populism he handles so well, on Monday signed an executive order \u2014 in a humorous tone, of course \u2014 authorizing New York children to skip their bedtime to watch their team\u2019s games.<\/p>\n Julian Graham knows this all too well. He was only eight years old during the Knicks\u2019 last championship game, but he remembers magical moments as if they were yesterday \u2014 like when, during the playoffs and with the team trailing, power forward Larry Johnson hit a three-pointer that turned into four points after he was fouled. \u201cIt was a huge moment that I celebrated with my whole family. Back then I thought I would experience many moments like that. But it didn\u2019t happen. Practically my whole life I\u2019ve heard jokes about how bad the Knicks are. They\u2019ve gone through scandals, leadership problems, big stars like LeBron James<\/a> ended up signing with other teams… It\u2019s been very difficult. But that makes what\u2019s happening now even more rewarding. I\u2019ve waited 27 years for this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At the Brooklyn bar, Joe Ginn watches the game with his girlfriend. He talks for a while about his passion for the Knicks. And when the conversation seems to be over, he calls his companion back. \u201cLook, two friends just told me that if we win the ring they\u2019re going to get a tattoo. That\u2019s the level of passion we\u2019re at.\u201d Because, as the NYU professor says, the Knicks may not have superstars like Victor Wembanyama<\/a>, but they are defying all expectations. They are an example of how to succeed in a city where everyone has to fight to get ahead every day. It\u2019s a team, Hollander says, that resembles New York and its people.<\/p>\n![\"Miles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SXNM5KLHKBIM7FGXWQ23SZPDPU.jpg\")
Jalen Brunson during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.Ken Blaze (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)<\/p>\n