{"id":271625,"date":"2026-06-19T02:27:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T02:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/271625\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T02:27:50","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T02:27:50","slug":"knicks-fans-flood-manhattan-for-a-joyous-championship-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/271625\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks fans flood Manhattan for a joyous championship parade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brunson, on the last float of current players, drew the loudest cheers, with chants of \u201cMVP\u201d sent in his direction. <\/p>\n

Evan Birnbaum grew up on Long Island and knew he had to be here to witness the Knicks parade, drawing on a core memory from his childhood. He got up early to complete the work he had to do and was able to catch the City Hall festivities. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was here in 2009 for the Yankees parade, and I got pulled out of school. It wasn\u2019t my decision if I was gonna go or not. I was in sixth grade. I got the call, I was in Spanish class,\u201d said Birnbaum, 30. \u201cIt was a lifelong memory with my dad and my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NewKnicks fans at the ticker-tape parade and victory rally.Selcuk Acar \/ Anadolu via Getty Images<\/p>\n

It is also becoming a memory for many children and their parents. Kenneth Hart, 38, showed up with his wife and family of young children, who woke up before him at 4:30 a.m. to get to the parade. He shares the fandom with his whole family. <\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s a die-hard \u2014 my dad, my grandmother,\u201d Hart said. \u201cMy dad, me and him cried together. They won on his birthday, June 13.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SpectatorsSpectators peer out of windows on Maiden Lane hoping to see the festivities. Anisha Chopra \/ NBC News<\/p>\n

The road to the championship<\/a> wasn\u2019t easy for the organization after many years of stops and starts. The Finals run had many beautiful moments, chief among them OG Anunoby\u2019s game-winning tip-in during Game 4<\/a>, setting the Knicks up 3-1 in the series.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a little relieved when they lost Game 3, though, because I know, as a Knick fan who\u2019s been traumatized, I was like, \u2018Please don\u2019t blow with a 3-0 lead,\u2019\u201d said Nicholas Arroyo, 35, of Staten Island. \u201cSo, when they went [up] 2-1, I was like, \u2018All right, well, they\u2019ll close out from here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Nassau Street, a block parallel to the east of Broadway, was its own economy. People sold fans anything from juice to ice-cold water bottles, buttons, hats, T-shirts and flags.<\/p>\n

\"PeoplePeople hold their phones up to improve their views of the parade floats on Maiden Lane and Broadway.Anisha Chopra \/ NBC News<\/p>\n

As the parade wound down, shops began opening up with lines forming for the hungry customers whose movements had previously been restricted. <\/p>\n

But the party wasn\u2019t over just yet. An orange and blue sea migrated north to City Hall to continue the ceremonial commemorations. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Knicks were presented with keys to the city at a City Hall ceremony.Anisha Chopra \/ NBC News<\/p>\n

The 600-ticket lottery for the general public didn\u2019t stop fans from getting close to the celebration. Spectators took over what they could access of City Hall Park, stretching to Pace University and the Brooklyn Bridge before being met with more barricades. <\/p>\n

Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave a speech, as did James Dolan, the team\u2019s owner, head coach Mike Brown and Brunson. The whole affair was emceed by longtime Knicks announcer Mike Breen<\/a>, who was also the voice of the NBA Finals for ESPN. <\/p>\n

The Knicks were presented with keys to the city. The starting lineup of Brunson, Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges all got strong receptions when their names were called. New York\u2019s very own Jose Alvarado was greeted with chants of his nickname, \u201cGTA.\u201d <\/p>\n

At the end, singer and New Yorker Alicia Keys performed her hit \u201cEmpire State of Mind.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"CelebrityThe Knicks at the height of the celebrations Thursday.The Hapa Blonde GC Images<\/p>\n

Police said more than 2 million people lined the Canyon of Heroes<\/a>. Thousands of people were locked out of watching the parade, stuck in the subway or unable to get to the secured pens. But some were happy just to be in lower Manhattan for the experience. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to bear witness and be part of the huge celebration that was today,\u201d said Melanie Clark, 57, who was a block away from Broadway during the parade. <\/p>\n

The experience wasn\u2019t positive for everyone. Thousands were locked out of entry with few tickets to the ceremony, and many had complaints about the length of the route. Lower Manhattan became frozen beyond expectation<\/a>, with subways stopping south of Canal Street, a border that had earlier applied only to cars. <\/p>\n

None of that was going to stop the party, even with the chaos. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a vibe, you know,\u201d said Wendy Daly, 64. \u201cIt\u2019s OK if you don\u2019t see the marchers go past. I know what they\u2019ll look like. I came more because I love this city so darn much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the championship run, one thing that was repeatedly remarked upon was how it brought the city together<\/a>. The city is united with the Knicks, the dominant basketball force. For those born and raised here, it was a beautiful embodiment of the region. <\/p>\n

The fandom reignited a sense of joy and togetherness in New York and even brought together new fans. The parade itself was bringing people together. Clark and Daly met outside Joe\u2019s Pizza, both unable to spectate from the sidelines, and ended up sticking together the rest of the day.<\/p>\n

\"KnicksKnicks fans celebrate the team’s first NBA title since 1973. Anisha Chopra \/ NBC News<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York is a very fast city,\u201d said Gerard Allison, 29, who designed shirts<\/a> for him and his friends to wear. \u201cToday, everybody got to slow down and know we\u2019re all here to celebrate the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the day, various fans shouted exclamations of \u201cTwo-peat\u201d and \u201cBack-to-back,\u201d already gearing up for the next championship celebration.<\/p>\n

\"NYChairs and confetti following the City Hall ceremony.Michael Nagle \/ Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n

And for new supporters joining the bandwagon, third-generation Knicks fan Ryan Lee, 9, has a message.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gonna win next year for you,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brunson, on the last float of current players, drew the loudest cheers, with chants of \u201cMVP\u201d sent in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":271626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-271625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=271625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/271626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=271625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=271625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=271625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}