{"id":715681,"date":"2026-06-20T15:01:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T15:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/715681\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T15:01:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T15:01:14","slug":"thousands-of-knicks-fans-celebrate-big-win-with-joyous-new-york-parade-we-family-now-new-york-knicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/715681\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands of Knicks fans celebrate big win with joyous New York parade: \u2018We family now\u2019 | New York Knicks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thousands of Knicks fans \u2013 decked out in blue and orange jerseys, shorts, hats, necklaces and more \u2013 gathered in downtown New York<\/a> City on Thursday to celebrate the team\u2019s NBA championship in a lively ticker-tape parade.<\/p>\n

All along Church Street, the street running parallel to the parade route, fans lit joints, threw back shots of Fireball whiskey and drank Coronas, within view of bemused and outnumbered New York City police officers. Some fans climbed atop police cruisers and posed for photos.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can do that?\u201d one passerby asked, laughing. \u201cIs this not illegal today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just glad to be a part of this fucking victory,\u201d one of the men atop the police cruiser told the Guardian. \u201cI\u2019m glad to be a part of history!\u201d<\/p>\n

Wesley Chow, 27, from Astoria, Queens, first became a Knicks fan in 2012 during \u201cLinsanity\u201d, when the Asian American player Jeremy Lin became a Knicks fan favorite.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing someone that looked like me play in the league was hella inspiring,\u201d said Chow, who was among the thousands gathered outside the gates hoping to steal even a distant glance of the Knicks players as they moved down a route that was one block away.<\/p>\n

Chow added: \u201cThe people out here right now, you got people from all backgrounds, all neighborhoods, all to celebrate one thing. It\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wesley Chow. Photograph: Christopher Mathias<\/p>\n

The viewing areas for the parade were at capacity as early as 7.25am, per the NYPD, who blocked off access to Broadway. The parade, which kicked off several hours later at 10am, saw people marching from Battery Park to City Hall.<\/p>\n

Zohran Mamdani \u2013 the mayor, who rightly predicted this would be one of the biggest parades the city had ever seen \u2013 was seen dancing on a float in the parade alongside the Knicks\u2019 Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns\u2019s teammate OG Anunoby was in the crowds talking to fans, holding both the NBA Cup in-season championship trophy and a bottle of tequila. The Knicks alumnus Carmelo Anthony danced on a float nearby. Longtime celebrity Knicks fans Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet were also in attendance.<\/p>\n

Children climbed atop cars to chant \u201cfuck you, Wemby!\u201d \u2013 a reference to San Antonio Spurs\u2019 Victor Wembanyama. Vendors sold T-shirts out of carts and suitcases, emblazoned with phrases like \u201cCHAMPIONS\u201d and \u201cKing Brunson\u201d and \u201csuck my Knick!\u201d<\/p>\n

A fan named Alan told the Guardian he came back to New York for the first time in nearly three years to be a part of the crowd. He carried a Polaroid camera and offered people photos for a few dollars each, mostly photographing moms with their sons and dads with their daughters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to give them a memory of the day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Another fan named Erica walked along Church Street with her young son, Milan. Originally from Italy, she\u2019s been a casual Knicks fan for 20 years, but fell in love with the team after watching how happy they made her son. She said the Knicks had brought out the best in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody is happy for one cause and we need that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Longtime Knicks fan Spike Lee on a parade float in New York City on Thursday. Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

John Rivera was born and raised in New York, and was 13 when the Knicks last won the championship in 1973. They clinched the finals series this time on his 69th birthday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there for the Ewing era, when they kept losing against the Bulls, I was there in 99 when I thought they were gonna win it, I was there through it all. I always kept the faith though,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Rivera worked for NYC transit authority doing subway maintenance for 30 years before retiring to Florida. He flew back to New York this week for a funeral \u2013 for a friend he played stickball with growing up \u2013 and for the Puerto Rican Day parade in the Bronx. Being among Knicks fans on Thursday morning reminded him of how much he loved this city.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me feel wanted, it makes me feel like a part of the city again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Barbara Etheredge, 33, from Newark, New Jersey, stood on a power box, with friends hanging from the traffic signs above. She\u2019s a new Knicks fan, falling in love with the team through her boyfriend \u2013 who was among a crowd of fans who commandeered a nearby sanitation truck, chanting \u201cLET\u2019S GO KNICKS.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone out here strangers,\u201d she said of the sprawling crowd below her, \u201cBut we family now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her newfound love for the Knicks is just as permanent as her newfound love for her boyfriend, she said. \u201cHe\u2019s not going nowhere. I\u2019m done. If he\u2019s a Knicks fan I\u2019m staying with them for ever. I\u2019m loyal!\u201d<\/p>\n

Knicks fans in New York on Thursday. Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The sweetness of Thursday\u2019s celebration hardly ended there as the now-viral \u201cBaklava Guy\u201d \u2013 who was previously seen giving out his eponymous dessert to Knicks fans outside Madison Square Garden. \u2013 doled out baklava to fans at the parade.<\/p>\n

Roy Donk, the owner of Good Baklava, told CBS<\/a>: \u201cThere\u2019s just special moments in New York history which we\u2019re living right now, and I usually sell it, but there\u2019s no chance of selling it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benny Tuchman, a lifelong fan from Westchester, was observing the Shabbos with family and friends on the evening the Knicks won game 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to wait until the second quarter to watch,\u201d he remembered, laughing. When they finally turned the TV on the Knicks were down 15. \u201cBut we knew 15 was nothing for this team,\u201d he said, referring to a series of miraculous comebacks during the playoffs.<\/p>\n

He knew coming to the parade that he probably wouldn\u2019t get close enough to see the team. Looking out at the thousands of his fellow fans he said: \u201cThis is why we came. I just wanted to see the people. I just wanted to see everyone happy.\u201d His friend chimed in: \u201cThis is what makes sports great.\u201d Another friend added: \u201cIt\u2019s the equalizer.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands of Knicks fans \u2013 decked out in blue and orange jerseys, shorts, hats, necklaces and more \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":715682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-715681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=715681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/715681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/715682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=715681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=715681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=715681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}