The New York Knicks did something today that had never happened in the organization’s history. They rode down Broadway in a championship parade.
It had been 53 years since the Knicks last won an NBA title, and city policies meant they missed the ticker-tape tradition entirely in 1973. Today’s celebration on the Canyon of Heroes made up for five decades of waiting in a single afternoon.
A city that had waited more than five decades
Jalen Brunson, named NBA Finals MVP after leading the Knicks past the San Antonio Spurs in five games, addressed the crowd and pointed squarely at the doubters. He made clear that proving critics wrong had been a driving force throughout the season and thanked the organization for sticking with him when others would not. Head coach Mike Brown credited the fans, telling the crowd that the championship belonged to New York City as much as it belonged to the team.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani honored the players with keys to the city at City Hall. In the statement confirming the parade last week, Mamdani noted that New Yorkers had endured near misses and heartbreak for more than half a century without giving up on the team. He called the Knicks’ path to the title a reflection of the five boroughs itself.
The moment someone mixed up Jalen Brunson
Among the speakers was Jumaane Williams, the Public Advocate of New York City, who made what observers quickly identified as the sharpest verbal slip of the day. Williams referred to Brunson as Jaylen Brown.
Jaylen Brown is a real player. He plays for the Boston Celtics.
The clip surfaced on X almost immediately, and Knicks fans did not let it pass quietly. The reactions were swift and, by most accounts, not printable. At a parade marking the Knicks’ first championship in 53 years, accidentally using a Celtic’s name is not a minor error. It is the kind of mistake that follows a person for a long time, particularly in a city where the rivalry between the two franchises is taken personally.
The celebrities and the crowd
The parade drew the most recognizable Knicks loyalists in the country. Timothée Chalamet joined the floats alongside Tracy Morgan, Ja Rule and Teyana Taylor. Spike Lee, a fixture at Madison Square Garden for decades, celebrated atop a float. Ben Stiller lined the Canyon of Heroes, and Martha Stewart was photographed alongside Brunson in a pairing that the internet immediately made its own.
Patrick Ewing, who spent his best years as a Knick without ever winning a title, attended to watch the team finish what his era started. Walt Clyde Frazier, who played on both the 1970 and 1973 championship rosters, was present to witness a third title for his former franchise.
The confetti fell throughout. The original ticker-tape tradition dated to the late 1880s and used narrow strips of paper from Wall Street telegraph machines. Confetti replaced the paper long ago, but the route and the energy remain unchanged.
What comes next for the team
Karl-Anthony Towns held the Larry O’Brien Trophy high while wearing a custom jacket for the occasion. Josh Hart’s young sons reportedly took over a press conference beforehand in a moment that upstaged the players entirely.
Both the Brunson and Hart families have already mapped out quieter summers. Beach time, backyard time and early mornings without a schedule appear to be the general plan after a season that ended exactly the way New York had been imagining it for 53 years.
The confetti has settled. Brunson’s name, his actual name, is now permanently part of franchise history.