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Singer Este Haim said she, sister Alana Haim and Taylor Swift were surprised by the mass attention their matching blue and orange shirts received at Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 10.

During a Tuesday interview with Variety, Este shared the behind the scenes of their “magical” night on Celebrity Row at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks pulled off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history over the Spurs in Game 4.

“I mean I think it surprised all of us,” Haim told Variety while at the Los Angeles premiere of “Voicemails for Isabelle” on Netflix on Tuesday. “I just went into being like were going to go to a basketball game and have fun, thats literally it.

“Taylor invited me and Alana. I’ve never sat courtside ever, so it was a magical experience.

“I’ve never heard the Garden be that loud in my life. It was amazing. I had the best time.”

The Haim sisters and Swift sported blue shirts with Knicks-coded puns on the front in orange.

Swift’s shirt said “Stevie Knicks,” which was a nod to the legendary singer, who she’s been friends with for some time.

Este’s shirt, “Knickole Kidman,” was a reference to actress Nicole Kidman.

Alana donned a shirt with “Knickelback,” a twist on Canadian rock back, Nickelback.

They were courtside with actress “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay — a close friend of Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson — who also donned a “Stevie Knicks” shirt.

Swift, Este and Alana were seen jumping up and down in the back hallways of MSG with the Knicks’ Seventh Ave Squad — the team’s entertainment team — after the Knicks rallied from a 29-point hole in the third quarter to beat the Spurs 107-106.

Swift, who owns multiple properties in New York City, and her fiancé, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will tie the knot at MSG on July 3.

The couple reportedly paid nearly $3 million to rent out the world’s most famous arena for three days.

The voice of the Knicks will be the voice of their championship commemoration.

Mike Breen, the Hall of Fame broadcaster, will emcee Thursday’s ceremony at City Hall, The Post has learned.

Breen, 65, will also be part of the parade down the Canyon of Heroes after calling play-by-play for Knicks either on the radio or TV since 1991.

For his national gig on ESPN, Breen called the title-sealing Game 5 in San Antonio.

“It’s over! It’s over! Knick fans, this is not a dream!” Breen said as the clock ticked down on the Knicks’ 94-90 win, a victory that gave them their first title since 1973. “Your long, long wait is ended. Go ahead and cry: after 53 years, the Knicks are finally NBA Champions once again!”

Breen, who grew up a Knicks fan as a Yonkers product and Fordham alumn, understood the moment before it happened.

“I do know what it would mean to the city and to the fans of the city,” he said during a pre-Finals conference call. “It might be one of the great moments in the history of New York sports if they win because of what the fan base has gone through and how loyal they’ve been to the team.”

The parade is set to kick off at 10 a.m. at Battery Park. It travels down Broadway and ends at City Hall, where Breen will take the microphone.

Walt Frazier and Patrick Ewing will finally get their parade.

The Knicks’ biggest legends, among other team alumni, will travel down the Canyon of Heroes during Thursday morning’s championship parade in lower Manhattan, The Post has learned.

Frazier led the Knicks to two titles more than 50 years ago, but he and his teammates never partook in a parade. In 1970, the Knicks were honored with a ceremony at Gracie Mansion.

In 1973, roughly 2,000 fans joined them at a celebration at City Hall.

During this run that broke the franchise’s 53-year championship drought, the Knicks welcomed back several former players to games at Madison Square Garden, including Bill Bradley, Bernard King, Larry Johnson, Latrell Sprewell, Marcus Camby, Jeremy Lin, among many others, including Ewing, John Starks and Allan Houston, who are each currently employed by the team.

Ewing, who brought the Knicks within one win of a championship in 1994, will now be showered with confetti on Broadway, a quarter-century after that long-awaited moment seemed lost to history.

“It means everything to the city,” Ewing said after the Knicks clinched the championship in San Antonio. “It was a magical run, all the things they were able to accomplish.”

Mike Dunleavy outlines Warriors' philosophy for second round of 2026 NBA Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With the 2026 NBA Draft approaching, there are many questions surrounding who the Warriors will take at No. 11 overall.

But what does Mike Dunleavy have in store for Golden State’s second-round pick, locked in at No. 54?

“I think the approach on the second round for us has been not to overthink it, you’re looking for a guy that can just make it,” Dunleavy told reporters during his Wednesday press conference at Chase Center regarding the upcoming draft. “You don’t worry about position, you don’t worry about size, you don’t worry about age, you’re picking, for example, late 50s, it’s hard to make it to the NBA that far back in the draft.”

The Warriors have found recent success in the second round, drafting players such as Gui Santos, Quinten Post and Will Richard.

“If there’s a guard that we think could make it and it’s just going to mean we have more guards, you just got to do it because the rest of the guys if you try and pick for position at that point you could go wrong,” Dunleavy told reporters. “So I think the focus is just, which guy has the best chance to make it, let’s get him in our program, develop him, get him to Santa Cruz a little bit and see where it goes.”

That development path is exactly what turned Santos, a No. 55 overall pick in 2022, into a real contributor. He spent his entire rookie season in the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors, averaging 13.7 points per game over two seasons there before earning a consistent role in Golden State.

With Stephen Curry entering what could be one of his final seasons, every value pick matters more than usual for a Warriors roster trying to maximize what’s left of his prime — even one as far down as No. 54.

While the second round might not hold all the answers to the team’s recent struggles, Dunleavy’s philosophy suggests there could be a diamond in the rough waiting to join the Warriors in 2026.

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For the foreseeable future, the Knicks are New York's team. It's not surprising, then, that the Yankees want to get a piece of that action.

The ballclub announced Wednesday, June 17 that NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson and teammate Josh Hart will throw out the first pitches at that night's game against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium.

The ceremonial tosses will come a little more than 12 hours before the Knicks will be feted with a parade through Lower Manhattan's so-called "Canyon of Heroes," proceeding north on Broadway to City Hall.

Brunson averaged 32.8 points during the Finals as the Knicks won 15 of their last 16 playoff games, losing only Game 3 against San Antonio at Madison Square Garden. Brunson has pulled off first pitch duty in the Bronx as recently as 2024.

Brunson, Hart and Mikal Bridges, famously, were teammates at Villanova during the late 2010s.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Knicks champs Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart to throw out Yankees first pitch

The Los Angeles Lakers have been searching for a long-term answer at center for years. Now, one of their favorite targets may suddenly be available.

According to sources and confirmed by the California Post, Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler is increasingly frustrated with the organization over the handling of his contract situation, creating an intriguing offseason storyline for a Lakers team desperate for size, rim protection and a frontcourt partner for Luka Dončić.

According to sources, the Jazz offered Kessler a 5-year contract worth around $140 million, which would come out to $28 million AAV. That would make Kessler the 10th-highest paid center in the league, just below Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein ($28.5M) and ahead of Milwaukee’s Myles Turner ($26.6M).

However, sources say Kessler’s camp is not thrilled with that offer and is wanting signifcantly more, this putting the two sides at odds.

The development is notable because the Lakers have pursued Kessler before.

Utah has repeatedly rebuffed trade inquiries for the 24-year-old center, who has emerged as one of the NBA’s premier young defensive big men. But with tensions now reportedly simmering between player and team, a path that once seemed completely closed could become more realistic.

Kessler checks nearly every box on the Lakers’ wishlist.

At 7-foot-1, he provides elite rim protection, strong rebounding and efficient finishing around the basket. He is also viewed as an ideal fit alongside Dončić, whose ability to create lob opportunities helped turn centers like Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford into highly productive offensive weapons in Dallas.

Even after a shoulder injury limited him to just five games last season, Kessler averaged 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.4 steals while shooting 70.3 percent from the field.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently highlighted Kessler as one of the most intriguing names to watch during free agency.

“The Lakers do badly need a high-level starting center,” Windhorst wrote. “The two best ones on the free agent market this summer, Jalen Duren and Walker Kessler, are restricted free agents, and their teams have indicated they want to keep them.”

Windhorst noted that Los Angeles could attempt to pressure Utah by presenting Kessler with an aggressive offer sheet.

“The Lakers could try to work with Kessler — a defensive specialist with excellent size who has been far apart from the Jazz in contract talks since last summer — to try to stress the Jazz with an offer sheet,” Windhorst wrote.

He quickly added a warning.

“But that’s a dangerous game.”

Because Kessler is a restricted free agent, Utah retains the right to match any contract offer. League insiders still largely expect the Jazz to do exactly that.

Still, for a Lakers team that has spent years searching for a dominant young center, the fact that Kessler’s relationship with the Jazz appears strained is enough to make this one of the offseason’s most compelling situations to monitor.

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The Knicks enter the 2026 NBA Draft with picks No. 24, No. 31, and No. 55. Depending on how the board falls, Tarris Reed, Jr. could be available when New York is on the clock. Should the Knicks consider him?

The Basics

• School: UConn
• Position: Center
• Height: 6’10” (Measured 6’9.75” barefoot at the 2026 Combine)
• Weight: 263 lbs
• Age: 22 (Turns 23 in August)
• 2025-26 Stats: 14.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.3 APG, 61.0% FG, 0.0% 3P, 62%
• Projected Draft Range: Late first to early second round (Picks 24–40)

The Numbers

On the surface, Reed profiles as a traditional, retro low-post center. But deeper investigation of his senior season under Dan Hurley at UConn shows a highly modern interior engine. Reed posted an efficient 61% field goal percentage, largely because he understands his limits and dominates the restricted area.

The advanced metrics that stand out are his defensive and playmaking indicators. Reed grabbed nine boards per game with a strong defensive rebound percentage, but his defensive utility is what pops: he averaged two blocks per game, anchoring the paint using his massive 7’4.25” wingspan and a 9’2” standing reach.

Perhaps the most surprising evolution in Reed’s game is his passing. Jumping up to 2.3 dimes per game as a center isn’t an accident. He logged an impressive eight-assist game against Georgetown in the Big East tournament, showing he can act as a high-post hub or find cutters out of short-roll scenarios. The red flag remains at the charity stripe, where a 62% free-throw mark (and a total lack of three-point shots) confirms he is strictly an interior finisher.

What Does He Do Well?

• Interior Physicality & Screen Setting: Reed is absolute bruising. At 263 pounds, he sets bone-crushing screens that create massive separation for ball-handlers. He creates extreme roll gravity because defenders must respect his strength as he barrels toward the rim.
• Elite Rebounding Motor: He doesn’t rely solely on height; he understands boxing out and using his lower body to carve out space. He is relentless on the offensive glass, generating second-chance opportunities through pure effort and physical dominance.
• Short-Roll Passing & Processing: Unlike many traditional college enforcers, Reed doesn’t suffer from tunnel vision. When teams blitzed UConn’s guards, Reed caught the ball at the free-throw line and quickly mapped the floor, hitting weakside shooters or dumping it off to baseline cutters.
• On-Ball Interior Defense: While he won’t explode out of the gym with raw vertical leap, his 9’2″ standing reach makes him a wall at the rim. He handles post-up threats with ease, holding his ground without fouling, and rotates with exceptional timing.

Concerns?

• Limited Vertical Explosiveness: Reed is a below-the-rim athlete in terms of explosiveness. His 29.5” standing vertical at the combine shows that he wins with positioning and length rather than jumping over people. This raises minor questions about how his finishing will translate against elite NBA shot-blockers.
• Zero Floor-Spacing Capability: The shooting is entirely non-existent from the perimeter. He didn’t make a single three-pointer this past season, and his sub-optimal free throw shooting indicates that a reliable mid-range or pick-and-pop jumper could be years away.
• Perimeter Switchability: While Reed has nimble feet for a guy his size, he will struggle if isolated on an island against the NBA’s quickest elite guards. He would flourish in a drop scheme, and matching up against modern, highly skilled stretch-bigs who pull him out to the arc will be a challenge.
• Age: Turning 23 shortly after draft night means Reed is older than your typical prospect. Teams might view his ceiling as relatively capped compared to an 19-year-old developmental big. But how old was Tyler Kolek when Leon Rose drafted him? We’re obliged to mention it, but age probably won’t be a big deterrent.

The Knicks Fit

Reed is a physical, blue-collar enforcer who thrives on doing the dirty work that impacts winning. The Knicks have a need for dependable, low-mistake interior depth off the bench, and Reed fits like a glove. Unlike a raw developmental project who needs two years in Westchester, Reed spent two seasons under Dan Hurley playing a highly disciplined, demanding style of basketball. He understands defensive rotations, values every possession, and sets the exact type of physical screens that Jalen Brunson loves to exploit. He would be a safety net at the five spot, giving the Knicks a rugged interior presence who can be a physical rebounder and pass out of the short roll.

NBA Comparison

• Best-Case Comparison: Isaiah Stewart / Day’Ron Sharpe
• Median Outcome: Michael Cage with a passing gene
• Low-End Outcome: Reggie Evans / Modern Enforcer off the bench

The Verdict

Pass at 24, Draft at 31.

If the Knicks keep both picks, taking Reed at No. 24 might feel like a slight reach given his lack of vertical explosiveness and spacing. However, if he is sitting there on the board at No. 31, run don’t walk Leon.

For our other Draft Profiles, go here.

Go Knicks!