NEW YORK − MD Ahnaf Hossain is, like countless other 23-year-old recent college graduates, looking for a job. Preferably in finance, the Queens resident told USA TODAY in a recent FaceTime call from a park in lower Manhattan, before the New York Knicks Thursday, June 17, championship parade. He donned a Knicks cap, glasses slightly lowered, and a Portugal jersey, for the World Cup.
The Knicks eventually won their first NBA championship since 1973, in five games. Hossain adjusted his lines with the extra game ("The Pope's on our side / Knicks in five"). As Nas, another Queens poet said, it was written.
In his city, Hossain has become equivalent to Homer, the ancient Greek poet credited with the epic, “The Odyssey.”
“At this point, I might actually become one,” Hossain said of a career as a poet, pointing to lines he said came to him impromptu on a warm night in the city.
Hossain's poem was as much a celebration of the Knicks as it was a love letter to New York City, his home since his family moved from Bangladesh when he was a year old. He first began rooting for the Knicks during Brooklyn native Carmelo Anthony's era, when Hossain was a kid.
“I grew up in Jamaica, Queens, and there's so many different cultures in there,“ he said. “I'm sure you might be able to find someone from every country in the world.”
While he thought he wasn’t the first person to feel this way, he said, “I just saw that mic that night, and I just had to say what was in my heart.”
In retrospect, he easily recalls the diversity of the winning team. Jose Alvarado, a Brooklyn native, is Puerto Rican. Jordan Clarkson is half-Filipino. Karl-Anthony Towns is half-Dominican. The Knicks' captain Jalen Brunson, Hossain recounted, “good-old American.”
“It's a mix of all these different cultures from around the world,“ he said. “That’s exactly what New York is, and what makes it the best city in the world.”
The day before the city's parade, Hossain said he'd be at the parade but was still figuring out his role. On Thursday morning, he posted on Instagram for Good Morning America, ABC's eminent national program. Hossain was near the steps of New York City Hall, before the Knicks received the keys to the city.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave a rousing speech before handing the New York Knicks players keys to the city after a ticker-tape parade through the Canyon of Heroes.
The Knicks broke a 53-year championship drought with a five-game romp in the NBA Finals over the San Antonio Spurs, and more than a million people gathered in lower Manhattan to celebrate the triumph.
During Mamdani's speech, he gave a rundown of the Knicks' history from the moment in 1973 when the team won its second championship.
The mayor thanked the players and coaches who came before them, naming Tom Thibodeau, who was fired last season after leading New York to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 25 years.
"This championship belongs to them too, because championships aren't just built in one season," he said.
Mamdami spoke about the odds the Knicks faced, especially when they were down by 29 points in the second half in Game 4 and came back to win on OG Ananoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds left.
"The Knicks did not just win for New York City," he said. "They won like New York City. What is New York if not your back up against the wall, a dream that feels just out of reach, a rent payment you don't know how you'll ever make, 99.6% of the world stacked against you. And who are New Yorkers if not people who hear those odds and smile and ask, 'Why are you giving me a head start?'
"This is our city. This is our team. For 53 years, we watched; for 53 years, we waited. Now we've won," Mamdani said. "Knicks in!? Knicks in?!"
Joining the crowd is not the only thing Hart has done for the fans during the parade; he also signed a jersey for an NYPD officer.
The former Villanova Wildcat has become a man of the people in New York for his blue-collar style of play, which had him grabbing 8.9 rebounds per game in the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
“This city is built on toughness, grit, blue-collar people,” Hart said before Game 5.
New York Knicks player Josh Hart celebrates with fans during the ticker-tape parade. @NBA/X
“I feel like I’m the same person. They can look in the mirror, they can see themselves, just because that’s how I look at myself. I just happen to hoop.”
Hart has been the spiritual and energy leader for the Knicks all season, but his efforts were best displayed during Game 1 of the NBA Finals when he became the first player in an NBA Finals game to lead both teams outright in rebounds (15), assists (6) and steals (4).
Throughout the entire finals, Hart seemed to be in the right spot at the right time nearly the entire time.
He averaged 7.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.4 steals in the five-game finals.
“I think the city really embraced me, my style of play, me as a person,” Hart said. “When you do that, you feel like you’re able to go out there and play your best.”
In hopes of teaming up LeBron James with Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors have offered James a $15.1 million contract for the 2026-27 season.
The possibility of LeBron James’ time as a Laker could be coming to an end.
According to ESPN NBA insider Anthony Slater, the Golden State Warriors are willing to offer James a full non-taxpayer midlevel, team-friendly deal of $15.1 million next season.
Slater also added that the Warriors’ sales pitch to James could also include a player option for a second season, and that the team could get Steph Curry in on the recruitment process, but they haven’t explored that option yet.
In hopes of teaming up LeBron James with Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors will offer James a $15.1 million contract for the 2026-27 season. Getty Images
In the past, James has voiced how much he’s enjoyed playing alongside Curry, calling it “Everything and more.”
If James decides to come back and play in his 24th season, he will still be considered one of the top free agents available this offseason after averaging 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists per game, and would make any team he plays for a legitimate title contender.
James will turn 42 in December and is nearing the end of a Hall of Fame career.
But like James, Curry is also nearing the end of his basketball career, after winning 4 championships, 2 MVP awards, and being selected as a 12-time All-Star.
With the days numbering down, the Warriors are looking to win one more title while Curry is still in the building.
If the Warriors manage to convince James to head up north and join forces with Curry, they will have a team that features the two of them, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler.
While the Warriors are heavily interested in acquiring James, Slater did note that team sources have indicated to him that it appears more likely that a reunion between James and the Lakers seems more likely.
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BRONX, NY - JUNE 17: Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart of the New York Knicks smile after throwing out the First Pitch at the New York Yankees Game on June 17, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Ryan Stetz/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
First mailbag in a while. First championship mailbag ever. Life is good.
How high did your blood pressure spike when it actually happened? I know my answer because I have to monitor mine.
— Unmitigated Gall
By the fourth quarter of Game 5 my body was completely falling apart. I’m not sure I was designed to withstand that much joy.
I’m not very externally emotive, in general and certainly fan-wise. I’d rather die than boo a player or a ref in-person, and from the comfort of home I mostly internalize my emotions (cursing is not an emotion). My sister was two rooms away when the Knicks won Game 5; she said she was surprised she didn’t hear much from me as the game wound down. Not me. There are reasons I watch Knick games — and of all my teams, only Knick games — alone. On the surface, I am quiet as a churchmouse. Underneath, I am louder than Krakatoa.
By the fourth quarter I was no longer hoping the Knicks would win; I was craving. It was an actual lust in my body. I believed in them, more than I’ve believed in any Knick team since 1994 broke my heart. With 2:40 remaining, I was already weepy. Once OG Anunoby hit the free throw to make it a four-point lead with 20 seconds left, my legs started shaking. After a Stephon Castle follow-dunk and a Knick timeout to inbound from the frontcourt, Jalen Brunson was mugged at midcourt by Victor Wembanyama, with the loose ball luckily falling into the hands of Mikal Bridges. Had that obvious foul instead resulted in a turnover, I would have literally climbed through my TV like the girl from The Ring to torment Scott Foster & Co. for life.
I missed most of the televised aftermath of the game ending. Didn’t see the trophy ceremony until after it was over. I was too busy bawling. I don’t have language for what I was feeling, for what was released. I’ve wept after losing a child. Wept after the worst physical pain of my life. Cried tears of joy countless times. This was none of those things.
Someone asked me yesterday how I’m feeling now, nearly a week later. The truth is I’ve been mostly paralyzed with joy. It feels like someone planted bombs in my head and my heart, and when they detonated they completely cleared out those spaces. There is emptiness. There is a constant ringing. Both are delicious.
Been having some health problems. Starting to mess up my sleep. Last few nights I’ve gone to bed crazy early — 8 p.m. last night — and woken up 6-10 times by morning. I remember when the Knicks were randomly good in 2013, I was waking up 6-10 times a night to pee. Every time I woke, my brain was instantly in mid-conversation with itself about the team; it was like I was eavesdropping on myself. Can Jason Kidd really be counted on? What the hell is the point of Kenyon Martin? Did Chris Copeland hit on Mike Woodson’s wife?
Now I wake up thinking about Mikal Bridges’ best, quietest contributions. Karl-Anthony Towns defending all postseason with his feet instead of his hands, not biting on pump-fakes. Ariel Hukporti’s weakside rejection of Luke Kornet. Not having a dipshit owner. Uplifting thoughts only.
I don’t have my actual BP reading from the end of Game 5, but about a half-hour before it ended I remember wondering if my heart was healthy enough to watch the Knicks come back one last time. They pushed themselves to their physical limits to close the Spurs out. So did I.
What will you be approaching differently in life given what you’ve just experienced?
— BrunsOnGod
The Knick run dovetailed with me visiting the city in May, when they beat Cleveland to advance to the Finals.
I’ve been in a rut for months. Depressed, unmotivated, unsure not simply about what to do with my life, but whether there’s a point in doing anything at all. Materially, emotionally, existentially tapped. Bone dry. Waiting on a diagnosis that may answer some questions.
I stayed in the city a few days, which is when my health weirdness took off. But something else took off, too. My spirit. A quickening, if not to life than to the desire for one. There’s only one place I’ve ever loved living, and that’s NYC. There was only one place the Knicks needed to get to bring joy to millions of people, and they got there one step at a time.
They didn’t sign LeBron or draft Zion or trade for Giannis, pull a complete 180. They spent years putting one step in front of the other. Some moves were made before Leon Rose even got there, e.g. trading for Mitchell Robinson. Some moves you make aren’t the finishing touches, but keep you going until you get close enough to make those touches — hello, Julius Randle. Some moves require a leap of faith, i.e. the Bridges trade. Some reward leaps of faith, i.e. signing Brunson.
I struggle more than you can imagine with small, sequential steps. I want to buckle down and do it all in one heroic, Olympian act. It’s more instinctive for me to try to lift a mountain by myself than simply walk every day until building the endurance to climb it. Maybe that was somewhere I felt a kinship with the Knicks all these years. We were both chasing messiahs we didn’t need.
Ani DiFranco has a line about how when she looks up at the sky she trips, but when she looks down she misses the stars. My head is always in the clouds. The Knicks are inspiring my feet to stay grounded, stay focused and take one step at a time toward my goal. I want to move to NYC within a year. I want to be where I feel alive and loved with people I love. I want to feel alive. New York is that energy. If the Knicks could make their lifelong dream a reality, why not me?
1) Will Mitch get over/under/through whatever the heck is making him brick his FTs?
2) Are the Knicks no longer underdogs, or will they always have that spirit for you?
— SayAgainSayAgain
1) No. Too many people assigned male at birth worry too much what people they don’t know and will never meet may think of them.
2) The team the Knicks just beat 4-1 has better odds of winning the title next year. The team that team beat has better odds. The Celtics, who lost in the first round to a team the Knicks vaporized in the second, have better odds. I’m old enough to have seen a few seasons when the Knicks were the favorites to win it all. I imagine the next few years will be pretty similar to this one was, in that Knick fans know best how good their team is, and we will revel in the rest of the league finding out.
Should the Spurs replace Mitch Johnson? With Thibs?
— ClydeWingo
If I may, I’d like to defend Mitch Johnson here, and not only because he ranked just behind Brunson, KAT and OG for Finals MVP.
Sometimes a team — or maybe more aptly, a superstar — being ahead of the curve works against them. Por ejemplo, all the hoary yahoos who’ll trot out “Michael Jordan never lost in the Finals; LeBron lost six; ergo MJ da goat.” This penalizes James for lifting the 2007 Cavaliers and their 18th-ranked offense to heights no other human could have. Can you even name the other four starters in that Cav playoff run?
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Larry Hughes, Sasha Pavlović and Drew Gooden. You’re welcome.
Michael Jordan’s Bulls reached the ECF in 1989 and 1990, coming up short both times. We don’t ding him for that. That’s reasonable. Blaming James for losing six Finals when his team was the underdog in at least five of them is lazy, absurd and utterly unreasonable.
The Spurs, despite how well they played, are not a title contender.
I know that sounds weird, maybe patently ridiculous. They *could* have swept the Knicks 5-0. They were the only team on Earth that could figure out the Thunder. I get all that. But if I can toot my own horn, I was locked-in predicting the NBA this season. Stay with me.
I invited scorn and clapbacks in early recaps, as I derided Detroit’s hot start (15-2; 28-9; 40-13) as much ado about nothing. I thought they were too young, too inexperienced and too poor on offense to beat any team that wasn’t one-dimensional, and they were. Despite all the accolades earned for rushing their best player back from injury before losing him to injury again in the playoffs, I never took the Celtics seriously, not when donuts have more going on at center. And though the Knicks eliminated the Cavs in May to win the East, the day Cleveland traded Darius Garland, their one and only player with a skill that could give the Knicks some trouble, was the day the East became New York’s.
Which brings us to the Spurs, who despite all their purported ethical charms are pretty clearly not ready for primetime, and before you assume I’m too dense to have comprehended the majesty of Wemby please kindly read up on the 1995 Magic and 2012 Thunder. Life is rarely linear. Teams that get thisclose to winning it all don’t automatically seal the deal the next year.
San Antonio is a fabulous team. How many teams could beat them in a seven-game series? Maybe three? The problem for them is two of those teams are Western contenders (OKC and Denver) while the third just gentleman swept them.
The Spurs, currently, are Wembanyama and a bunch of guards. You can get away with that when you’re playing Portland, Minnesota or Oklahoma City, teams with traditional 5s who don’t shoot 3s. Against those teams, Wembanyama is free to play free safety and blow up entire offenses. But your reigning NBA champs happen to feature a big who can bomb with aplomb. And I’ve a feeling any number of teams thinking they belong in the conversation will look to add a five-out element to their offenses, too.
So what, exactly, was Mitch Johnson supposed to do differently than he did? Before you get into trashing De’Aaron Fox, please remember I am the person who spent years defending Randle for all the crap he took after a postseason that started with him questionable with a badly sprained ankle, an ankle he re-injured at the end of the first round. How’d Randle look when he finally went into a postseason healthy? Brilliant, that’s how. Fox suffered a high ankle sprain in May and didn’t look like himself in early June. Weird, huh?
Maybe you found yourself patting yourself on the back for noticing Dylan Harper was a pretty good player, and shouldn’t he have gotten some of those minutes Fox did? Hey, that the same Harper who shot worse from deep in the Western playoffs than the regular season? Then bottomed out, making just 28% of his 3s in the Finals? I know, I know. I loved Harper’s game too. He’s sick. He’s scary. Obviously he’s far more than whatever his three-point numbers show.
But here’s the thing: NONE of the Spurs big-minutes players could hit from beyond the arc vs. New York. Fox made just 25% from distance, Wembanyama 27%, Harper 28% and Castle 30%. The only Spurs who combined volume with efficiency from deep were Devin Vassell and Justin Champagnie, with Champagnie a defensive weak link the Knicks repeatedly attacked. So, again: what was Mitch Johnson supposed to do? Mike Brown wouldn’t have won with last year’s Knicks; they weren’t deep enough. Neither were these Spurs.
I didn’t understand some of the times Wembanyama sat, especially in Game 5. But the next 7-foot-5 human being to average 40 minutes in a Finals will be the first. The Spurs have a lot invested in their alien. They don’t want him going the way of Ralph Sampson, so as close as they were to winning in his age 22-season, I suspect the organization’s policy on Wemby’s minutes came from a little higher up the corporate ladder than the head coach.
Johnson’s best player was clearly running on fumes this series, as evidenced by his crunch-time free throw misses and turning into Charles Bronson for a few moments of madness every game. His two-way players mostly couldn’t shoot straight. His bench, outside of Harper inside the arc, was invisible. I don’t know what buttons were left for him to press. Sometimes your players just aren’t quite ready for prime-time.
Now, to ClydeWingo’s specific question: no, I would not fire Johnson. I certainly wouldn’t replace him with Tom Thibodeau. That’d be like trading Wembanyama for Randle — who needs a floor-raiser when you’re already bumping your head into cathedral ceilings? For San Antonio to get to the promised land, they needed time and failure. They got plenty of the former and as much of the latter as they care to. A different coach isn’t gonna accelerate that any.
I think my biggest question, and I want all the opinions on this, is where does OG’s tip in rank on the single greatest plays in New York sports history? Above Bucky Dent? Above Buckner? Above David Tyree’s helmet catch?
Also, you never use a dash to separate out an appositive phrase. What shyster high school did you go to?
— Jesus and Ham on Rye
We talking the television age? Or all-time? I’m willing to claim OG’s put-back is — prisoner of the moment aside — the most celebrated. I don’t know how to quantify “greatest.” I can speak to some of the most celebrated plays in the other local teams’ histories.
For the Mets, Mookie’s grounder up the first-base line is still number one. God forbid I ever speak for Yankee fans; I imagine Jim Leyritz’s home run off Mark Wohlers is up there, as far as moments from my lifetime. Joe Girardi’s triple in Game 6? The Tino Martinez grand slam in the 1998 World Series? I wasn’t yet topside in 1978 when Dent homered at Fenway, but they’d just won the World Series the year before, so it wasn’t like that ended some long barren run for them.
The Giants have a ton, from Matt Bahr’s game-ending game-winning field goal to send them to Super Bowl XXV to Scott Norwood missing for Buffalo at the end of that game, all the way to David Tyree and Mario Manningham. The Jets? LOLOLOL.
I am a big Liberty fan, so when Breanna Stewart went to the line at the end of Game 5 of the Finals two years ago, a night when she couldn’t buy a basket, for the free throws that’d send the game to OT and the Liberty to their first-ever ‘chip, it was huuuuge. But the Liberty are not as loved as the Knicks (though James Dolan selling them has to help).
To some extent, the Rangers fall into this same label. Whether you’re picking Mark Messier’s hat trick to push the ECF to Game 7, Stephane Matteau’s double-overtime winner in that Game 7 to send them to the Cup finals or Mike Richter’s penalty save against Pavel Bure in those Finals, the moments are a-plenty, and to any Ranger fan who witnessed the ‘94 run there was nothing like it (imagine the Knicks wiping out the Hawks and 76ers, then being pushed to the BRINK by the Cavs and Spurs).
But the Rangers aren’t the Knicks. Not to NYC. So while I generally avoid people reflexively claiming “This thing that literally just happened is historically resonant!”, in this case I think they’re right. Every other great sporting feat in NYC history appeals to half the fans here. The Knicks, as the city’s only NBA team, matter to everybody. Thus, OG’s shot is the winner.
And as I’ve tried to demonstrate any number of times in this mailbag — including this sentence right here — you can absolutely set off appositives with dashes. I attended Webster High School in Webster, New York. The town motto is “Where life is worth living,” your first hint that there, it very much isn’t.
Where does this championship rank in terms of historical significance for the NBA?
What were your favorite moments from this 4 year run in the Jalen Brunson Era? Other than the OG hand of God.
— Allzingers
God these are fun mailbag questions! The Knicks should win the title more often.
I’m not sure anyone outside the league offices on Fifth Avenue ever thinks this way, or if anyone even can. It’s like knowing your whole block is knocking boots on Saturday night, and wondering “Who had the best sex tonight?” I think there’s probably no right answer; it really depends on from where you’re coming. Or if.
For instance: four years ago, the Golden State Warriors won their fourth title of the Steph/Klay/Draymond era. That made them only the fourth group to do so, joining the Russell/Cousy Celtics, the Magic/Kareem Lakers and the Jordan/Pippen Bulls. That seems historically significant. But if you’re not a Warriors fan, did you care? Remember: Adam Silver wants you to believe you hate dynasties, instead preferring an antagonistic collective bargaining agreement, forced roster ruptures and cost-control all masquerading as “parity.”
A lot of people have talked about Knick fans around the country coming together over the 2026 title. In 2019, a country actually did rally around its one and only team when the Raptors took the trophy home — and given that no Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup since 1993, the same year the Blue Jays last won the World Series, I think it’s fair to say Toronto’s title was historically meaningful. But it loses some luster because the main cause behind it left as fast as he could for the Clippers.
The 2016 Cavs ended an even-longer title drought for their city, and not just an NBA drought but across the Association, the NFL and MLB, too. Consider the nature of their conquest: coming back from 3-1 down in the Finals, against the greatest single-season team we’d ever seen and the defending champs. Then consider the level both LeBron James and Kyrie Irving reached the last three games of the series. Remember: MJ held off on “The Last Dance” for years, right up until James won the one championship that made people think “Maybe he does go above Mike.” 2016 Cavs were pretty historically meaningful.
I imagine, ironically, that the true impact of the Knicks’ title charge will only grow clear the further we get from it. If they repeat as champs next season, win three of four ‘chips, then 2026 will have a particular importance. If 30 years from now you’re on your deathbed and this was the only time you ever saw the Knicks win it all, then 2026 will retain a particular importance for you.
Fave moments of Brunson era: the 32, 38 and 41 points Brunson put up the last three games vs. Miami in 2023 (that’s when I knew he was *him*); Randle bouncing back from the 2022 thumbs-down to be both an All-Star and All-NBA in ‘23; OG dunking all over Embiid’s head in the 2024 series; DiVincenzo’s game-winning 3; the Knicks hiring Patrick Ewing in an official capacity; upsetting Boston last season (the first time I think I’ve ever seen the Knicks upset someone); me being wrong about Brunson; me being wrong about KAT; me being wrong about Mike Brown; me being right about Bridges; everybody being right about OG; Josh Hart for existing; Jose Alvarado for being Puerto Rican; the entire 2026 playoffs, natch.
Who is the worst player on this team whose jersey/name will be a deep pull in 20 years? 40-50?
— Spike Lee’s Joint
Jeremy Sochan. Dude just has a way of being visible.
An ESPN pundit is furious over recent comments by Vincent Goodwill, calling the NBA Championship a “participation trophy.”
Kendrick Perkins went off on Wednesday evening on “The Road Trippin Show.”
“That was a bunch of bulls–t. It was all the way disrespectful, and when I heard him say it, the first thing came to mind is that your ass never was an athlete then. You couldn’t have never participated or been a basketball player or played on anybody’s team talking that type of nonsense. That was the most asinine thing that I’ve ever heard.”
Goodwill’s argument highlighted the eight different champions over eight years, noting that many teams were unable to repeat. He also argued Tuesday that there is no validation in any of the eight wins, including the New York Knicks’ recent championship.
Kendrick Perkins rips into Goodwill’s recent comments @NBA__Courtside/X
Kendrick Perkins GOES OFF on Vincent Goodwill for calling the NBA championship a participation trophy
“Here’s the sh*t that pisses me off. Is when sometimes you’re on television and you get in the moment and feeling the table you going to say some bullsh*t out your mouth.… pic.twitter.com/YCp2CqSZUF
Other participants were shocked by the comments, including MSG and ESPN NBA analyst Alan Hahn, who said the biggest point of validation was the Larry O’Brien Trophy
“Oh, you mean the participation trophy then.” Goodwill retorted. “It is if everyone gets one.”
Perkins believes that even if a player won the championship more than once, each win would stick with them.
“You disrespect the guys who are champions by saying it’s a participation trophy. Like what the f–k are we talking about? Do you know that one in those eight teams that won over the last eight years, one of them was Steph Curry,” Pekins said. “And I guarantee you if you go ask Steph Curry which one of them was his greatest championship, nine times out of ten he’s going to say the fourth one, not just because he won Finals MVP but because he had to overcome the obstacle of being a defensive liability. And he did that.”
Vincent Goodwill on ESPN’s “Get Up.” @awfulannouncing/XKarl-Anthony Towns with the Larry O’Brien Trophy AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
“As the media, we have a f–king responsibility, man, to make sure that we say and do the right things,” he continued. “We don’t go on the stage, on the platform, right after somebody just been crowned champions and call that s–t a participation trophy. Even if you’re thinking that, you don’t say that.”
For teams to be champions, it takes years of good drafting, smart signings and clever trades. Then the players and coaches work hard through an 82-game season to just make the playoffs. Finally, in a short period of time, the teams have to play and beat the other team’s best to have a chance to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
In the NBA, five teams have never been in the Finals, and ten have never hoisted the trophy. Those fans are still waiting to participate in the celebrations of being NBA champions.
With the offseason officially underway, the Suns have several questions to answer with their own free agents. They want to bring back multiple players and are expected to prioritize Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin. Fans are also wondering what that could cost the team. Two other names fans want back are set to be restricted free agents.
Those two names are Mark Williams and Koby Brea, and even if only one got real playing time last year, both have a path to success in the Valley. The Suns also seem to agree, as they do not want to lose them for nothing. That is why today’s news dropped that the Suns have extended qualifying offers to both players.
The Phoenix Suns have tendered qualifying offers to Mark Williams and Koby Brea, a league source told @spotrac.
Williams and Brea will now be restricted free agents this offseason.
This means the Suns have extended one-year contracts to each player, allowing them to become restricted free agents. It also allows other teams to send offer sheets to either Williams or Brea to try to steal them from Phoenix. The silver lining, though, is that Phoenix can match those offer sheets and retain those players if they feel the contract they received is something they would pay.
Williams comes in at $9.6 million, as he reached starter criteria. In Brea’s case, since he was on a two-way, his offer is only $680k, but he has a cap hold of $2.2 million.
Williams' qualifying offer is for $9.6M. He reached starter criteria, which triggered a higher qualifying offer.
Qualifying offers can always be rescinded later, but good little note that Koby Brea has earned at least that much for now. His QO is only $680K, but his cap hold is $ 2.2M. https://t.co/llKwA5CWRt
Even though the Suns could let either player or both walk, it would make sense for them to consider offers from other teams. Since Brea did not play much, it would seem his market would not be large, which could ensure he returns to Phoenix either on a two-way or, finally, on the roster, competing for a spot.
In Williams’s case, though, this could get interesting. With restricted free agency last year, most players accepted their qualifying offers, as teams had little money to spend in free agency and players sought large contracts. Players like Jonathan Kuminga, Quentin Grimes, Josh Giddey, and Cam Thomas were among those who headlined that saga, and even though some of them did get long-term deals, some situations did not end well.
Now, I am not going to say that Williams will fall into that same category, as I expect a team like the Chicago Bulls, which has money, to be interested. They have been linked to other center names in Walker Kessler and Jaren Duren, so it would make sense that Williams is on their radar, too. Since they also have 60M in cap space, it could be a concern for Phoenix if they strike out on other names.
Could they swing an offer that puts Phoenix out of his price range? Maybe, but even with the number change to Devin Booker to take Williams 15 from last year, that does not simply close the door. Williams was someone who, even if he got injured later in the season, was healthy for the majority of the year. He hit a career high in games played with 60, and for stretches of the season, looked like he could be a solution in the front court.
With Khaman Maluach and Oso Ighodaro expected to see larger roles, it could make sense to move off Williams, but ultimately, it is not the plan. If they can get him on a one-year prove-it qualifying offer, I think they would be happy. Even if they had to work on a deal that was like 2-3 years worth $30-40M, I’d still think they would entertain that.
Thought we truly won’t see until free agency kicks off on June 30th, when the dominoes start to fall. All eyes will be on what this team does to truly improve, and even though fans may not want to hear it, sticking with what worked and seeing some internal development could be that path.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JUNE 13: Tyler Kolek #13 of the New York Knicks smiles after winning the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs during Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
As P&T goes through this player-by-player tribute to the team that ended the 53-year-long title drought, we’re slowly going to be building up to the people who had the big moments and legacy-defining playoff runs. The first few players were mostly spectators throughout the playoff run, but little by little, more and more contributions will be unearthed.
We’ve now reached the point in the series where we’re paying tribute to a player whose on-court performance will absolutely be featured in the championship DVD (or documentary, I guess. DVDs haven’t been a thing in a while). He might not have played in the Finals and was relegated to garbage time in the playoff run, but the Knicks might not have gotten to this point without his contributions in the regular season.
SAN ANTONIO, TX – JUNE 13: Tyler Kolek #13 of the New York Knicks poses for a portrait after winning Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Tyler Kolek was born on March 27, 2001, in Providence, Rhode Island. His dad is a police officer who once played Division III hoops; his older brother played in Division II from 2018-23. Hell, he wasn’t even the first Tyler Kolek to emerge in the sports world, as an unrelated high schooler from Texas was picked No. 2 overall by the Miami Marlins back in 2014.
But that Tyler Kolek is only known as a total bust, never making it to Double-A before fizzling out in 2019, which is when our Tyler Kolek was finishing up his high school career. As an unranked recruit out of St. George’s School in Newport, Kolek enrolled at George Mason University in 2020 and did well as a freshman, winning Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year before entering the transfer portal and joining Shaka Smart at Marquette.
That decision would be a tremendous one, not just for Marquette, but for Kolek’s career.
He blossomed out in Wisconsin. His sophomore season was pretty rough, as even though he led the Big East in assists, he was possibly the least effective scorer in the conference. The Golden Eagles, like Kolek, needed another year to break out, and that’s exactly what he did in 2022-23.
In the blink of an eye, Kolek became the top dog on one of the best teams in the nation, winning the 2023 Big East Player of the Year after averaging 13 points and 7.5 assists. It didn’t translate to March Madness success, but he had put himself and the program on the map. He did it again as a senior, leading the nation in assists and being named a Consensus Second-Team All-American as he led the Golden Eagles to their first Sweet Sixteen berth since 2013.
It wasn’t just his play on the court that made him a name for himself; it was his personality. Despite being a skinny, undersized white kid from Rhode Island, he was one of the most divisive players in college basketball. You loved him or you hated him. As someone who’s supported Villanova for a good bit, I was in the latter.
There were the BBQ chicken comments, there were the illiteracy jokes, all of them gave him the buzz that any player needs heading into a difficult draft evaluation where NBA teams have been known to overlook college production for traits (ahem, Jalen Brunson).
He absolutely could’ve gone first round, but of course he didn’t. It doesn’t matter how good you are, how much you win, or how ready you look. If you’re a small guard, you’re being underdrafted. So as he slipped into the second round, the Knicks saw an opportunity to add another Big East guard to the collection, trading three future seconds (don’t worry, they acquired five of them about 30 minutes earlier) to select him at No. 34 overall.
Of course, there wasn’t much of a role for him in Year 1. With Tom Thibodeau as coach and the team’s guard depth being fortified with the signing of Cam Payne, Kolek was reduced to garbage time and G-League reps as a rookie, similar to what we saw from Deuce McBride in 2021-22. Like McBride, he dominated down in Westchester, taking advantage of extra reps in any way he could.
It seemed like more of the same heading into Year 2, even with a coaching change, but the retirement of Malcolm Brogdon in the preseason left a void at backup point guard. At least initially, Mike Brown was willing to let the 24-year-old cook.
A 3-5 start with some shaky bench minutes led to Kolek being benched in early November, but he quickly re-emerged after injuries to Landry Shamet, and McBride threw a wrench into the bench. He’d put his extremely mature playmaking skills on display often, even when his defense and shooting inconsistencies threatened to play him off the floor.
There was no better month of his young career than December 2025. Kolek scored 14 and 5 in 20 minutes off the bench in the NBA Cup Final against the Spurs, earning a shoutout from Brunson postgame. Two nights later, in Indiana, with a very shorthanded squad, he put up 16 and 11 to lead an incredible second-half comeback before Brunson put it to bed.
His magnum opus, though, came on the biggest stage. Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden. An 18-point fourth quarter deficit. Cue Kolek-sanity.
The best 10 days of his life instantly skyrocketed his popularity and status. He was now entrenched as a fan favorite in New York, regardless of his role for the remainder of the season. That role would shrink as the team got healthier and Jose Alvarado came in from New Orleans, but we’d see him every so often as the Garden would come ablaze. Remember when he had a 50-point day on March 22?
He didn’t play a single meaningful minute in the playoffs, but was one of the biggest benefactors of the countless garbage time. He had an electric fourth quarter in the Game 1 blowout against Philly and nailed a couple threes in Game 4 against Cleveland, prompting Timothee Chalamet to yell out to him courtside.
Chalamet let out a “WHITE BOYSSSS” after Tyler Kolek knocked down that three 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/NrvJOxAGLk
— Big East Bar Room 🎙 (@BigEastBarroom) May 26, 2026
Kolek has become much more than his on-court basketball contributions. He’s been the ultimate vibes guy who everyone involved loves. In a family that’s had two college hoopers, he’s risen to the top of that. He’s even become the most famous Tyler Kolek!
Congrats, Tyler. You’re a champion.
–
(P&T will be doing player-by-player article tributes over the next few weeks to commemorate the special team that ended our long, half-century nightmare)
Most of the focus surrounding the Celtics right now is on the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors. But the upcoming draft is an important one for the Celtics, who own the No. 27 pick after finishing second in the Eastern Conference during the regular season.
The C’s could go in several different directions with this pick. The most glaring weakness on the roster is a lack of frontcourt depth. They need a center who can create offense at the rim, block shots and rebound at a high level.
The Celtics offense became a bit too predictable in the 2026 playoffs with the abundance of 3-point shots. They need a different dimension in the paint — a way to create more dunks.
The upcoming draft class offers some intriguing talent at center. Henri Veesaar of North Carolina is probably the best fit for the Celtics with his size (7-foot-1) and offensive skill set. But there’s a chance he won’t be available by the time Boston is on the clock in Round 1.
The Celtics also could just take the best player available, which is often the best strategy late in the first round. Drafting for need is rarely a good idea, and the C’s could use more talent at just about every position. Another wing who can score and bring some athleticism would be a nice addition to this roster, too.
Meleek Thomas of Arkansas is a two-way guard with an exciting skill set. He might be available at No. 27.
What other players should the C’s consider in the first round? Here’s a roundup of expert predictions from recent mock drafts.
“After the Nikola Vučević experiment fell short for the Celtics, Veesaar would present a new opportunity. He is an agile big with real shooting touch, connective playmaking, and baseline skills with the ability to set screens and catch lobs. He also offers rim protection and is a locked-in help defender. In all three of his collegiate seasons, he made a massive leap in production each year. But he’s 227 pounds and his lanky frame can get pushed around, plus he still hasn’t fully defined his cornerstone skill.”
“Let’s go back to the well in Spain for the Celtics after their success last season with Hugo Gonzalez. De Larrea had a strong season for Valencia this season and measured exceedingly well, coming in at 6 feet 6 without shoes. He also plays the kind of style that should blend well with Boston’s scheme as a quick decision-maker, a sharp passer and a terrific shooter from distance. He can play both with and without the ball, and would give Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown space to operate.
“The Celtics also fall into a similar bucket as the Hawks, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Mavericks, where I’ve heard from other teams that they’ve discussed moving up from their current slot in the 20s. There is thought to be a talent dropoff somewhere in this ballpark, and teams are trying to get ahead of it.”
After opting to stay in the draft rather than return to Arkansas, Thomas has had a positive predraft process and conducted a wide range of workouts, giving himself a variety of landing spots in the back half of the first round. His size, scoring ability and improving defense have stood out in workout settings and helped him solidify his status in the first.
Boston is a team that annually casts one of the widest nets in predraft workouts and has plenty of depth on the roster, making this pick more of a luxury for them, whether that’s picking a more experienced college player or developing a younger talent like Thomas without the pressure of needing to play right away.
Koa Peat staying in the draft indicates either confidence in draft stock or his chance to develop more effectively in the pros. While questions about shooting and fit have reduced interest around the freshman, they may have also helped turn Peat into a buy-low value pick for teams interested in adding a physical, interior scorer and frontcourt passing asset.
The last two months have been mixed for Peat. He had a very productive NCAA tournament (17.2 points, 7.6 rebounds) all the way to the Final Four. He did not help himself at the NBA combine, where he measured 6’7″, bombed shooting drills and finished near the bottom in multiple athletic tests. Scouts aren’t writing off the strong, explosive finisher who can make mid-range shots and move the ball.
“Evans went from almost strictly a pure catch-and-shoot 3-point specialist at Duke during his freshman year to a legit No. 2 scoring option on the No. 1 overall seed in college basketball. Evans almost doubled the amount of 3-pointers he took from this year to last and still knocked them down at a 36.1% clip. He will be a Day 1 pick somewhere in the 20s.”
The famous Knicks loyalists certainly weren’t going to miss the championship parade through the Canyon of Heroes to celebrate the Knicks’ first NBA championship since 1973.
A Jalen Brunson favorite, Mariska Hargitay made an appearance on the Finals MVP’s float with her son, August, who was wearing a blue shirt that read “Marknickska Hargitay.”
The “Law & Order: SVU” star was seen dancing and waving to fans while on the parade route.
Hargitay arrived at the parade with Brunson’s family as the two have grown close over the past few seasons.
Mariska Hargitay and her son August attend the Knicks’ ticker-tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes on June 18. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
Stiller wore a Karl-Anthony Towns shirt and Knicks hat and he could be seen filming, as usual, with his iPhone, for his documentary with A24 and HBO on the Knicks’ title run.
Ben Stiller shakes hands with fans during the New York Knicks’ NBA championship parade Thursday, June 18, 2026. AP Photo/Ryan Murphy
Knicks NBA champions 2026 Parade with Mariska Hargitay and Spike Lee with Jalen Brunson pic.twitter.com/71kqzuza0y
Timothée Chalamet, who was an integral part of the Knicks’ postgame celebrations in San Antonio, was on a float with his dad during the parade as well.
Timothée Chalamet looks on during the New York Knicks Championship ticker tape parade and victory rally celebrating winning the 2026 NBA Finals on June 18, 2026 in New York City. Getty ImagesTimothée Chalamet looks on during the June 18 Knicks parade. Getty Images
Walt “Clyde” Frazier was seen leading the way among the Knicks alums in attendance.
He was seen driving a car with his name emblazoned on the side of it.
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 18, 2026
Martha Stewart and Jalen Brunson attend the New York Knicks ticker-tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes on June 18, 2026. Erik Pendzich/ShutterstockActor John Turturro with his son Diego. Stephen Yang for NY Post
Other faces that popped up were Jon Stewart, Fat Joe, Edie Falco, Steve Schirripa and Matthew Modine.
The parade started in Battery Park and finished at City Hall, where there will be a ceremony emceed by Mike Breen as mayor Zohran Mamdani will give the keys to the city to the team.
Knicks fans cheer as a float carrying Karl Anthony Towns with the championship trophy passes by during a parade in New York on Thursday.Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The Guardian
Thousands of Knicks fans – decked out in blue and orange jerseys, shorts, hats, necklaces and more – gathered in downtown New York City on Thursday to celebrate the team’s NBA championship in a lively ticker-tape parade.
All along Church Street, the street running parallel to the parade route, fans lit joints, threw back shots of Fireball whiskey and drank Coronas, within view of bemused and outnumbered New York City police officers. Some fans climbed atop police cruisers and posed for photos.
“We can do that?” one passerby asked, laughing. “Is this not illegal today?”
“I’m just glad to be a part of this fucking victory,” one of the men atop the police cruiser told the Guardian. “I’m glad to be a part of history!”
Wesley Chow, 27, from Astoria, Queens, first became a Knicks fan in 2012 during “Linsanity”, when the Asian American player Jeremy Lin became a Knicks fan favorite.
“Seeing someone that looked like me play in the league was hella inspiring,” said Chow, who was among the thousands gathered outside the gates hoping to steal even a distant glance of the Knicks players as they moved down a route that was one block away.
Chow added: “The people out here right now, you got people from all backgrounds, all neighborhoods, all to celebrate one thing. It’s crazy.”
The viewing areas for the parade were at capacity as early as 7.25am, per the NYPD, who blocked off access to Broadway. The parade, which kicked off several hours later at 10am, saw people marching from Battery Park to City Hall.
Zohran Mamdani – the mayor, who rightly predicted this would be one of the biggest parades the city had ever seen – was seen dancing on a float in the parade alongside the Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns. Towns’s teammate OG Anunoby was in the crowds talking to fans, holding both the NBA Cup in-season championship trophy and a bottle of tequila. The Knicks alumnus Carmelo Anthony danced on a float nearby. Longtime celebrity Knicks fans Spike Lee, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Timothée Chalamet were also in attendance.
Children climbed atop cars to chant “fuck you, Wemby!” – a reference to San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama. Vendors sold T-shirts out of carts and suitcases, emblazoned with phrases like “CHAMPIONS” and “King Brunson” and “suck my Knick!”
A fan named Alan told the Guardian he came back to New York for the first time in nearly three years to be a part of the crowd. He carried a Polaroid camera and offered people photos for a few dollars each, mostly photographing moms with their sons and dads with their daughters.
“I just wanted to give them a memory of the day,” he said.
Another fan named Erica walked along Church Street with her young son, Milan. Originally from Italy, she’s been a casual Knicks fan for 20 years, but fell in love with the team after watching how happy they made her son. She said the Knicks had brought out the best in New York.
“Everybody is happy for one cause and we need that,” she said.
John Rivera was born and raised in New York, and was 13 when the Knicks last won the championship in 1973. They clinched the finals series this time on his 69th birthday.
“I was there for the Ewing era, when they kept losing against the Bulls, I was there in 99 when I thought they were gonna win it, I was there through it all. I always kept the faith though,” he said.
Rivera worked for NYC transit authority doing subway maintenance for 30 years before retiring to Florida. He flew back to New York this week for a funeral – for a friend he played stickball with growing up – and for the Puerto Rican Day parade in the Bronx. Being among Knicks fans on Thursday morning reminded him of how much he loved this city.
“It makes me feel wanted, it makes me feel like a part of the city again,” he said.
Barbara Etheredge, 33, from Newark, New Jersey, stood on a power box, with friends hanging from the traffic signs above. She’s a new Knicks fan, falling in love with the team through her boyfriend – who was among a crowd of fans who commandeered a nearby sanitation truck, chanting “LET’S GO KNICKS.”
“Everyone out here strangers,” she said of the sprawling crowd below her, “But we family now.”
Her newfound love for the Knicks is just as permanent as her newfound love for her boyfriend, she said. “He’s not going nowhere. I’m done. If he’s a Knicks fan I’m staying with them for ever. I’m loyal!”
The sweetness of Thursday’s celebration hardly ended there as the now-viral “Baklava Guy” – who was previously seen giving out his eponymous dessert to Knicks fans outside Madison Square Garden. – doled out baklava to fans at the parade.
Roy Donk, the owner of Good Baklava, told CBS: “There’s just special moments in New York history which we’re living right now, and I usually sell it, but there’s no chance of selling it right now.”
Benny Tuchman, a lifelong fan from Westchester, was observing the Shabbos with family and friends on the evening the Knicks won game 5.
“We had to wait until the second quarter to watch,” he remembered, laughing. When they finally turned the TV on the Knicks were down 15. “But we knew 15 was nothing for this team,” he said, referring to a series of miraculous comebacks during the playoffs.
He knew coming to the parade that he probably wouldn’t get close enough to see the team. Looking out at the thousands of his fellow fans he said: “This is why we came. I just wanted to see the people. I just wanted to see everyone happy.” His friend chimed in: “This is what makes sports great.” Another friend added: “It’s the equalizer.”
Diehard fans climbed scaffolding, fire escapes, street signs — and even precarious treetops nearly two stories high — in desperate attempts to catch glimpses of their NBA champions parading down the Canyon of Heroes for the first time Thursday.
NYPD officers seemed to be letting rowdy Knicks fans slide as long as they don’t get too disruptive Brian Zak/NY Post
Wild video from Lower Manhattan showed revelers resorting to acrobatics almost fit for the basketball court to get a view of their hometown team’s first-ever ticker-tape parade, which an estimated 2 million people attended.
One maniac in a Knicks jersey dared to scale to the very top of a tree, where the branches seemed dangerously thin.
Elsewhere, a mass of fans decked out in orange and blue could be seen running around on top of scaffolding, hyping up the ecstatic mob below, video from the street shows.
Others dared to hop up onto fire escapes for a better view, with video showing fans helping each other climb up.
In one chaotic scene, dozens of fanatics even packed on top of a pair of NYPD vans and a Department of Sanitation truck.
New York Knicks fans celebrate at the Fulton Center. REUTERSFans celebrate during the New York Knicks’ NBA championship parade. AP Photo/Ryan Murphy
At least 20 revelers climbed on top of the South Ferry Station during the Knicks’ championship celebration — and ignored an MTA worker who pleaded with them to get down as they chanted “Knicks in five.”
Hundreds more could be seen climbing balconies, light posts and trees.
One fan wearing a Knicks jersey and a Batman mask was spotted watching the chaos from the solitude of a rooftop.
Luka Bouras, 15, of Westchester, climbed a tree where he stayed for hours — but instead of Jaylen Brunson and Karl Anthony-Towns, all he was able to make out from so far away was “some tall ass dudes.”
“It’s the first championship in 53 years. I’m not gonna lie, I cried a little bit when they won, and what better way to celebrate than climb a tree?” the teen said.
But NYPD officers seemed to be letting rowdy Knicks fans slide as long as they didn’t get too disruptive
REUTERS
Cops told some fans to get off the scaffolding with a man standing on top of a garbage bin, downing a beer, but they were not about to blow up the celebration.
“What am I going to do?” an officer said. “He is not killing anybody.”
While most of the climbing chaos was in good fun, at least one led to an X-rated brawl between two women.
A wild video captured the moment the claws came atop the Trinity Place and Thames Street corner signs when one woman seemingly scolded another for twerking on the pedestrian signal — and tried to block her climb back down.
The dancing fan grabbed the jersey-wearing woman by the neck and ripped her off the street sign, but the tossed woman popped back up and ripped the lady’s pants down, revealing her Knicks-orange thong, and pounded her buttocks.
But the unbothered woman stayed on top of the street sign and began twerking as the crowd went wild.
Every step of this — including the ones likely to come — has been expected.
Washington Wizards point guard Trae Young will decline his $48.9 million player option for next season, something first reported by Marc Spears of ESPN.
In something that may seem counterintuitive, this just means Young is more likely to stay in Washington.
As reported before here at NBC Sports, the expectation in league circles for some time was that Young would opt out, then re-sign with the Wizards on a multi-year deal at a lower per-year number. For example, something like three years, $120 million (with a team or player option on the final year). Here is how ESPN’s Brian Windhorst put it on “Get Up.”
"When Trae Young was traded to Washington in January, it came with the understanding that he would opt out of his contract... The expectation is he may take a meeting or two, for appearance's sake. (But) he's going to re-sign with the Wizards, likely on a three-year, very large contract."
Washington is not going to be a lottery team next season, they will be a team on the rise in the East. It will have a young core led by AJ Dybantsa (assuming they take him, not Darryn Peterson, with the No. 1 pick), Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and others. Young and Anthony Davis bring two All-Star-level veterans to the roster.
Expect to hear a lot of Davis trade talk in the coming weeks, and he is available at the right price, league sources told NBC Sports, but they added that they expect he will start the season with the Wizards. Young may have opted out of his contract, but he's not going anywhere.
Knicks star Mikal Bridges brought his dog to the ticker-tape parade Thursday, following through on a plan he first revealed for Sonny — his 8-year-old Labrador — on “Good Morning America” earlier this week.
“I just want to bring my dog on the float. That’s it,” Bridges said.
Mikal Bridges only has one guest with him for the parade.
In the lead-up to the parade, though, concerns rose about whether Sonny would be able to attend.
It wasn’t until Wednesday that Bridges confirmed the Labrador would be in the parade through an Instagram story.
“It’s official. Sonny’s got a spot on the float,” he said.
Sonny has been seen throughout the Knicks’ celebrations, most notably dancing with Bridges during his Instagram livestream on Monday.
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges enters the parade with his dog Sonny. @barstoolsports/X
Knicks coach Mike Brown will likely enjoy Sonny’s presence at the parade after he went viral post Game 5 for singing “Who Let the Dogs Out” in the locker room with the team, during the trophy ceremony, and in the postgame press conference.
“We got some dogs on this team, baby,” Brown said after the 94-90 win against the Spurs.
Knicks gaurd Mikal Bridges walks through parade with dog Sonny. @NBA_NewYork/X
The head coach also joined in on the fans’ rendition of the song before the parade began.
Bridges was one of those critical pieces for the Knicks, averaging 13.5 points per game in the playoffs, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and one steal.
The guards’ play was particularly important in a one-point Game 2 victory, in which he had 20 points on 61.5 percent shooting, adding six rebounds and six assists.
It was a good response after fans were getting on Bridges for the first five-round picks they gave up to get him.
“The times I’ve been struggling, the fans were on me — the thing is about me, I want to always be better,” Bridges said. “So whatever, how they feel, I always want to be better. They keep pushing me and if they strongly believe that we have a chance every year and if they strongly believe I have a chance to be better, I’m already thinking about that.”
