‘It’s euphoria’: New York City celebrates Knicks’ NBA title win after 53-year wait

By Eric Berger in New York • June 14, 2026 • US news

Celebrations filled the streets, subways and bars as police also reported some riots, damaged properties and violence

Marvita Davis, 70, was a teenager in Harlem the last time the New York Knicks won a championship, in 1973. “I was like, Oh, I like this game. I can get into this game,” recalled Davis, who went on to play basketball at Northeastern University. She maintained her love of hoops – even though she had knee and hip replacements and can no longer play – and her love of the Knicks, despite their more than a half-century of futility. “I will support all my hometown teams, regardless of how bad they are,” said Davis, a retired computer programmer. On Saturday night, that longstanding fanhood paid off when the Knicks finally won an NBA title again by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in five games. Davis watched as the game was projected onto a screen on the front lawn of her apartment building with other residents in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. Others watched from bars in the East Village and fire escapes in the West Village and erupted as the clock hit zero. “It’s euphoria,” Davis said. That was the feeling throughout all five boroughs. Car horns, fireworks, “Let’s go Knicks” chants and Jay-Z’s Empire State Of Mind and Frank Sinatra’s Theme From New York, New York filled the streets, subways and bars until well after midnight. (Some shouted an expletive directed at Spurs star Victor Wembanyama too.) “The city is alive, man, like never before,” said Nick Pineda, a 47-year Bronx resident who works in information technology and watched the game at Habana Outpost, a Brooklyn restaurant that also projected the game outdoors. Firefighters drove through the city holding a Knicks blanket. Even bus drivers got some love from residents. “B-52! B-52! B-52!” fans who filled sidewalks in Brooklyn chanted as a bus rolled past. Predictably, as after many championships – even ones less than a half-century in the making – some fans turned the occasion into an opportunity to riot, destroy property and commit violence. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the Knicks’ home, Madison Square Garden, according to a New York police department estimate. Whereas many in the city were chanting “Go Knicks,” police in riot gear tried to clear the area outside Madison Square Garden, yelling, “Move Back. Move back. Move back.” There was a shooting and four slashings or stabbings amid fights in the city, the police reported. Five school buses were destroyed – including by lighting them on fire. The vehicles were slated to transport fans from the city to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for World Cup games, a police spokesperson stated. People also badly damaged five police cars, including by smashing them with baseball bats. Police arrested 63 people connected to the game. Ten police officers suffered injuries, including ones who were punched in the face and struck with a glass bottle. But the mayhem was no match for the fervor. Brooklyn native Rashid Taylor, 51, said Jalen Brunson was the driver that guided them to the victory. “They got the champion, fearless leader just taking them through all the fire,” Taylor said of Brunson, who scored 45 points in the Game 5 win. “This team is just heart and soul and passion and not backing down.” And it was not only lifelong Knicks fans who were thrilled to see them win. Jeremy Friedman grew up in St Louis and a decade ago moved to Chicago, where Brunson played in high school and has plenty of fans, including Friedman’s friends. Friedman became one too. Friedman, a headhunter, wore former Knicks star Jeremy Lin’s jersey and celebrated with friends on a sidewalk in Brooklyn. “The Knicks – 53 years!” Friedman said. “It’s an amazing time to be part of this city.” There is only more celebration ahead. Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a ticker tape parade on 18 June, and said city hall will present the team the keys to the city – a symbolic gesture to recognize New York’s notable citizens. “For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have waited for this moment,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Through near misses, heartbreak and a hope that every year could be our year, this city never stopped believing in the Knicks. And this team fulfilled that hope with grit, resilience and heart – just like the five boroughs itself.”

Source: The Guardian