New York Turns Orange and Blue as Knicks Celebrate First NBA Championship in 53 Years

NEW YORK CITY — By the time the Knicks began moving up Broadway, Lower Manhattan had already become a mass of orange, blue and bodies.

Photographed by Andrew Schutzman

Fans packed the sidewalks along the Canyon of Heroes, spilling several blocks beyond the official parade route. Some climbed traffic lights and sanitation trucks for a better view. Others perched on shoulders. The crowd stretched far enough that people gathered on the Brooklyn Bridge simply to hear the celebration over the loudspeakers.

Then the confetti started falling.

Blue and orange paper swirled between the buildings as chants of “Let’s go, Knicks!” and “Knicks in five!” repeatedly rose from the crowd. New York was celebrating something it had waited 53 years to see: the Knicks were NBA champions again.

The team had clinched the title by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, winning the series four games to one. The victory delivered the franchise its first championship since 1973.

Thursday's procession began near the Battery and moved north along Broadway toward City Hall — the traditional route through the Canyon of Heroes and, remarkably, the first ticker-tape parade ever held specifically for the Knicks. The team's championships in 1970 and 1973 had been marked by other city celebrations rather than parades.

Walt “Clyde” Frazier, a link between those championship eras and this one, led the procession in a convertible wearing his NBA championship rings. Behind him came the current Knicks, their families, coaches and a collection of familiar New York faces.

There was little uniformity to how the players chose to make their way downtown.

Mitchell Robinson bypassed the traditional parade float altogether and rode through Manhattan in one of his enormous customized pickup trucks, decked out in Knicks colors. Mikal Bridges brought his dog, Sonny. Karl-Anthony Towns rode atop a parade bus with a cigar while hoisting the Eastern Conference championship trophy.

Josh Hart climbed off his float and joined the celebration at street level with a championship cigar. OG Anunoby also came down from his float, carrying the NBA Cup trophy in one hand and a bottle of tequila in the other as he interacted with fans.

But the largest trophy belonged to Jalen Brunson.

As Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson raised the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy above their float, chants of “M-V-P!” followed his son through the confetti. Jalen Brunson, the Finals MVP and team captain, eventually brought the trophy down into the crowd himself, walking it alongside the barricades and allowing fans to reach out and touch it.

The parade mixed the current roster with decades of Knicks history and New York celebrity. Spike Lee rode alongside Brunson. Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, Jon Stewart, Mariska Hargitay and Tracy Morgan were among those participating, while Carmelo Anthony joined from his own float.

The size of the celebration created its own complications. Before the parade, a swelling crowd near Fulton Street pressed a group of people against a barrier as police pushed from the opposite side. City officials deployed 10,000 police officers for the event. Police later reported 10 arrests and three summonses in the parade area, while the Fire Department transported 30 people to hospitals and treated another 31 at the scene for heat-related problems, asthma and minor injuries.

Still, the procession kept inching north toward City Hall.

When the Knicks arrived, the celebration shifted from the street to the stage. Knicks broadcaster Mike Breen introduced the champions as the crowd continued chanting beneath a City Hall dressed in Knicks banners and orange and blue.

Head coach Mike Brown was first to the microphone.

“The energy today, all around New York, is off the charts,” Brown told the crowd. “This is New York City’s championship.”

Then came Brunson.

“You saw a team stay connected through the most adverse times,” he said, pointing to the team's belief in one another throughout its championship run.

“That’s the standard of what it takes to be a 2025-26 New York Knick,” Brunson continued, “and that’s why we’re champions.”

He turned his attention to the people who had filled Lower Manhattan.

“Most importantly, thank you to the fans.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, wearing a Knicks jersey beneath his suit jacket, presented keys to the city to the team's players, coaches, owners and staff. The ceremony triggered another round of chants as Brunson received his key, followed by cries of “O-G! O-G!” when Anunoby stepped forward for his.

Alicia Keys then took the stage, performing “Empire State of Mind” and part of Billy Joel's “New York State of Mind.”

For all the trophies, speeches and famous faces, the day's defining image remained the simplest one: the championship trophy passing within reach of New Yorkers who had spent decades waiting for it.

Brunson held the gold Larry O'Brien Trophy out toward a forest of hands.

And when it was finally his turn at the microphone, the Knicks captain reduced 53 years of waiting to a sentence.

“Damn, New York, we really did it.”