Anyone in New York City who didn’t wear Knicks colors today was in the minority. From the far reaches of Brooklyn to the side streets of Chinatown and right into the beating heart of Lower Manhattan—the site of the Knicks’ Parade of Champions—the entire city was cloaked in blue and orange.
For many New Yorkers, last weekend’s victory marked the first time in their lives that they’d seen their home team take the NBA Championship; the last time the Knicks won the title was in 1973—a whopping 53 years ago. And given the sheer enthusiasm that swept the city during the finals, there was no doubt that the Knicks’ victory lap would be momentous. (If the take-to-the-streets reaction to their big win wasn’t enough of an indication, the NYPD deployed over 10,000 cops to patrol the parade—the most officers assigned to a city event in history.)
Indeed, despite the sweltering heat and the threat of rain, the city turned out. The parade route was already at capacity just after 7 a.m. (nearly three hours before its start time), but that didn’t stop onlookers from pouring into the surrounding streets, scaling the scaffolding, and pressing their noses against the glass windows of their high-rise offices to see the players roll by.
Despite the slightly rowdy energy, it was a wholesome family affair. One mother stopped on a park bench near City Hall to breastfeed her baby, while another dragged a crying child by the hand, telling her, “You’re going to have a great day in your Knicks T-shirt.” One born-and-raised New Yorker, Alicia, found it all the more meaningful to share the moment with her son. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we never thought that we would see,” she said. “I’m so happy that I get to experience it and I get to share it with my child.”
“When I was born, it was like, Here’s your Knicks outfit. You’re one of us,” recalls another lifelong Knicks fan, Damara, who woke up at 2:00 in the morning to catch the train in from Connecticut. She honored the occasion with several pieces of her father’s Knicks gear, including a pair of track pants and a gold chain with Knicks pendants. She also added a key around her neck “because Brunson deserves the key to the city.”
Others would likely agree. Jalen Brunson’s appearance on his float—amid a flurry of blue and orange confetti, the gleaming gold Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in hand—elicited a chant of MVP! MVP! MVP! from the crowds. (Just as stoked were the loyal celebrity fans—Mariska Hargitay, Spike Lee, and, yes, Timothée Chalamet—who followed along on other floats.) But even those who didn’t get to see the parade up close had their share of Brunson run-ins, his name emblazoned on countless jerseys and his face blown up on cutouts. (Others took more creative approaches: two attendees, Imani and Mika, sported matching “B.E.C.: Brunson, Egg & Cheese” tees.)
After Brunson helped end a 53-year dry spell for the Knicks, the fans were more than ready to give their thanks. Amira Farid, who scoped out a spot near City Hall, wore a tangerine-colored Ami Paris x Puma raincoat over her Brunson jersey. “I got lucky that [my raincoat] was orange, but honestly, if I didn’t have it, I would have come out here without a raincoat,” she said. “I was willing to get drenched for the Knicks.”
Photographed by Peter Fisher
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