After winning their first NBA title in 53 years, the Knicks are being celebrated by hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Manhattan. Only one person isn’t going over so well.
After winning the New York Knicks’ first NBA title in 53 years, hundreds of thousands of people celebrated the team in Manhattan with cheers and confetti during a championship parade. Riding on floats, the team—along with the trophy—traveled from the southern tip of the island through the skyscrapers to City Hall, passing countless fans dressed in blue and orange. Stars and regular Knicks fans, such as director Spike Lee and actors Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller, also made an appearance at the parade.
According to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the crowds were so large hours before the scheduled start that no one else was allowed into the area around the parade route. The NYPD reported that more than 10,000 officers were on duty—more than ever before in the department’s history for a single event.
Mayor: We’ll Never Forget This Feeling
After the parade, Mayor Zohran Mamdani symbolically presented the Knicks with the keys to the city in front of City Hall. “As long as we live, we will remember this feeling of a city united—a city that is alive, a city that is overwhelmed with joy,” said Mamdani, who was also wearing a Knicks jersey under his jacket.
The tradition of so-called “ticker-tape parades” in New York dates back to the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in 1886. At that time, stockbrokers spontaneously threw strips of stock ticker paper—known as ticker tapes—from their windows onto the parade. Since then, sports teams and famous personalities have repeatedly been celebrated with confetti parades. Most recently, in 2024, the New York Liberty women’s basketball team was celebrated in this way after winning the WNBA championship.
Knicks Accept Trump’s Invitation to the White House
Previously, the Knicks had received an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to visit the White House. According to team owner James Dolan, the team will accept the invitation. “We still have to work out the details and so on, but yes, of course,” Dolan told “USA Today.” “Look, I invited the president to come to the game. He’s a friend. I’ve known him for 30 years, and I’m very proud to take the team to the White House.” Dolan was booed during the victory celebration in New York, a city traditionally very Democratic.
This will mark the first time during Trump’s presidency that an NBA champion has visited the White House. The past five champions during the Trump era consistently declined invitations from the president, while three champions visited the White House during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The New York Knicks had won the NBA title for the first time in 53 years. They won the necessary four games against the San Antonio Spurs. Ariel Hukporti became the third German, after Dirk Nowitzki and Isaiah Hartenstein, to be named an NBA champion.