After the New York Knicks snapped a 53-year title drought, over one million fans showed up to celebrate their hometown team during the much anticipated ticker-tape parade in Manhattan on June 18.
“I’m glad I finally made it out for the parade. The parade is crazy right now with so many people here. The crowd is finally starting to get lit,” Michael Gargano told The Torch.
“Everybody came as one, how can you not enjoy that,” Vincent Gargano added.
Players, coaches and team legends stood on top of floats moving along the path of the Canyon of Heroes. Battery Park was the starting point for the path, as they rode up Wall Street and Fulton Street until reaching City Hall.
They then joined Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other city officials for a championship ceremony.
“We waited without ever knowing if this day would come and we waited because deep down in our sick, suffering hearts that it would,” Mamdani said. “New York City this team has done it. The Knicks are NBA Champions.”
Fans cheered the Knicks on from the streets, but many were denied entry by the New York Police Department (NYPD) after the tight space reached capacity. Others watched the celebration from two blocks away from City Hall and outside of their homes.
“To be honest it’s something I’ve never seen before. I’m 18. I’ve been waiting my whole life for this,” Eli Sargent said. “It’s been crazy. I’ve been outside. Late nights. Whatever you think it is multiply it by 100.”
During this period, others reflected on the team’s historic title run in which they completed the largest comeback in NBA finals history. Much of the come from behind 29-point victory is attributed to a go-ahead basket basket from OG Anunoby.
“When OG had the buzzer beater everyone thought we were going to lose, but he came through for the win,” Aiden Riche said.
“To finish game four like that, from 0 to 100 everyone held their breath and lost their minds,” Vincent Gargano said.
All-Star guard and Finals MVP Jalen Brunson received much of the credit for leading the Knicks through the historic title run.
After totaling more than 30 points on seven separate occasions, Brunson scored 15 in the fourth quarter of game five of the NBA Finals, simultaneously leading his team to a title win and becoming one of three players to score 45 points in the championship series.
“Damn, New York we did it. We really did it,” Brunson said. “There’s a lot of people that have negative stuff to say. There’s a lot of people that have a lot of options, but when you prove them wrong. You really don’t have to say s**t to them.”
Brunson’s efforts paid dividends for the Knicks, as they won their third championship in franchise history.
Their last two title wins date back to 1973, when team legends Walt Frazier and Willis Reed were at the helm of their success.
During this 53-year waiting period, fans watched their team continuously fall short of winning another title. Hall of Fame big man Patrick Ewing was unable to lead them to victory in two separate NBA finals appearances in 1994 and 1999.
But, now the Knicks have brought “love” back to New York after completing a memorable championship run that is unforgettable for any fan.
“I’ve been a diehard Knicks fan. I was there for the finger roll, putbacks and all kinds of messed up things that happened to New York,” one fan, who called himself “Slink,” said. “But, we finally got one.”
“There has been so much love in the city. Thank you to the Knicks for giving us the love in the city again.”
