New York City is in a Knicks frenzy for its beloved team’s first NBA Finals in 27 years
From Bay Ridge to the Bronx, the Big Apple has gone nuts
New York Knicks fans pose at a subway entrance in New York decorated in team colors as the Knicks play the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. Photo: Ted Shaffrey/AP
By Ted Shaffrey, John Wawrow and Tim Reynolds, Associated Press
June 5, 2026
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NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson was wowed upon hearing how high the price had climbed on the secondary market for the cheapest ticket in New York for Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs.
What left the Knicks star nearly stumped was determining what he would deem worthy of spending $7,500 to go see.
“That’s a good question,” Brunson said Thursday. He paused for a few seconds before delivering his answer: “A live Michael Jackson performance.”
Thriller, indeed.
From Bay Ridge to the Bronx and beyond, the Big Apple has gone nuts for the Knicks.
Filmmaker Spike Lee arrives prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. Photo: David J. Phillip/AP
The team is not only in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years, New York is riding a 12-0 roll after rallying from a 14-point second-half deficit in a 105-95 win at San Antonio in Game 1 on Wednesday night. Game 2 is Friday night in San Antonio before the series shifts to New York on Monday.
It seems as if the entire city is on board. There were the thousands who filled Madison Square Garden to watch the game on the big screen, only to be matched by the thousands more celebrating outside in the shadow of the Empire State Building lit up in the Knicks’ blue and orange.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority got into the spirit by painting several subway stops around the arena in Knicks colors. And Mayor Zohran Mamdani even signed an executive order temporarily lifting children’s bedtime hours.
“Knicks in Four!” chants erupted shortly after midnight, as fans climbed light posts and even on an ambulance outside of MSG.
A New York Knicks fan arrives prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. Photo: David J. Phillip/AP
Similar scenes were captured at a free watch party in Central Park, and across the five boroughs.
At a bar in Brooklyn, fans spilled out onto the outside sidewalk to watch the game on the TV inside. At a pizzeria a few doors down, fans gathered around a flat screen TV someone erected in the trunk of a car.
All of this for a chance to be a part of what could be history 53 years in the making, since Willis Reed and company last brought an NBA title to what was and evidently remains a basketball-mad metropolis. The buzz in the city has overwhelmed much talk of the World Cup, which opens in a week.
“Honestly, I just feel grateful to be here and experience the New York Knicks, doing what we haven’t done in a long time,” Owen Odigie said, celebrating the Game 1 win inside Madison Square Garden. “It’s special. It’s beautiful.”
“You feel the energy in the city, the grit, the grind, the hard work you’ve got to put in to make it in the city,” said Towns, who hails from New Jersey. “I think we reflect all our fans … when we step on that court with a Knicks jersey.”
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) yells during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. Photo: Eric Gay/AP
Knicks fans even made their presence felt in San Antonio, beyond the familiar celebrities of Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan, Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller and more. The crowd in San Antonio was made up of an estimated 20% Knicks fans, some of whom made their voices heard in yelling, “Let’s go, Knicks,” during the national anthem.
In reality, given the soaring prices at home, it was reasonably cheaper for Knicks fans to make the trip to San Antonio, even when taking into account flight and lodging costs. Tickets for Game 1 started at around $750 on the secondary market.
Spurs guard Julian Champagnie — a native New Yorker — wasn’t surprised to see the Knicks contingent.
“I kind of expected that,” Champagnie said. “I’m from New York. I know how New York fans travel and stuff like that, so I kind of expected that.”
Towns said he couldn’t be more appreciative of the love being shown by Knicks fans. But he said he also prays for the New York police officers tasked with keeping people safe amid the frenzy.
“All those men and women out there that are not only protecting everybody … they are huge fans of the Knicks and support the Knicks fans in their ability to show how much they love the Knicks and being as lenient as possible without causing chaos,” Towns said. “So, shout-out to the men and women of the NYPD.”
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Wawrow reported from Buffalo, New York, and Reynolds from San Antonio.
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