New York Knicks parade brings generations of fans into the streets

Live from New York as the Knicks celebrate their NBA-championship" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="148750" data-entity-type="event">2026 NBA championship. By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Updated 5:42 PM MESZ, June 18, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit NEW YORK (AP) — New York is celebrating the Knicks in classic style Thursday, throwing a ticker-tape parade for the team that brought home the NBA championship longed for by generations of fans, who filled the streets to witness the spectacle. The Knicks’ victory — after a 53-year drought — has electrified New Yorkers. Confetti in the Knicks’ blue and orange colors swirled through the air as the parade rolled up the skyscraper-flanked “Canyon of Heroes” in Manhattan. Police said all the viewing areas filled up more than three hours before the procession began at 10:30 a.m. “In the words of Jalen, I have no words,” said Sandra Brunson, the mother of NBA Finals MVP and Knicks captain Jalen Brunson. “It was all worth it.” Karl-Anthony Towns hoisted the Eastern Conference championship trophy and a cigar in his mouth on top of a parade bus, alongside a dancing Mayor Zohran Mamdani — a huge Knicks fan. On a nearby float with other alumni, Carmelo Anthony had a victory cigar of his own. “New Yorkers are, as they say, ‘lit’ right now,” Anthony said. “The whole city won.” On one float with Brunson, film director Spike Lee, perhaps the team’s most iconic fan, was also soaking it in. Brunson and Hart throw out first pitches at Yankee Stadium as Knicks celebrate NBA title 2 MIN READ Knicks’ NBA title-clinching victory over Spurs averages 24.5 million viewers 1 MIN READ The Knicks made a championship run that will be remembered in New York and in NBA history 2 MIN READ “I’ve never been to a parade — ever — and I’m glad it’s this one,” Lee said. Fans were wedged around the famed “Charging Bull” statue, holding their phones out as far as their arms could reach as the floats passed by. OG Anunoby, who scored the go-ahead basket in Game 4 on a tip-in with 1.2 seconds left, left his float to interact with fans, holding the NBA Cup in-season championship trophy in one hand and a bottle of Patron tequila in the other. The parade will end at City Hall, where players are expected to get keys to the city. People streamed into the area on crammed subways, looking to get as close as they could or find any elevated spot to catch a glimpse. Several blocks from the parade route, fans stood shoulder to shoulder — sometimes on each other’s shoulders — or climbed traffic lights, sanitation trucks or Knicks-colored buckets they’d brought from home. Far away on the Brooklyn Bridge, people gathered just to hear the loudspeakers. “I had to be here today,” said Shareefa Wallace, 34, who got up at 3 a.m. to make her way from suburban Long Island. She grew up in the city going to Knicks games, and she sported the souvenir jersey of one of the legends from that era, Patrick Ewing. Nearby bars and delis filled with fans, some wishing they’d arrived at dawn. But many seemed at peace with the fact that they would only experience the parade from a distance. “We’re fine with the fray, we just want to be with the New York energy and the New York vibe,” said Jean Strong, who came to the parade from Harlem with his nephew and sister. Terrell Emerson, a chef who grew up in Queens before leaving New York, said he drove from Maryland with his daughter Madison – named in honor of the Knicks’ home arena, Madison Square Garden. undefined AP AUDIO: New York Knicks parade brings generations of fans into the streets In an AP interview, fan Angel Oliva, a high school student, says he arrived at 3am and was still unable to get a good spot because of all the chaos and checkpoints, but is just grateful to be near City Hall where the ceremony takes place. Madison, beaming, held a handwritten sign announcing she’d skipped her fifth-grade graduation to be there. Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier — a member of the ’70s champion teams — was riding along in style in a convertible, wearing his NBA title rings. Knicks play-by-play announcer Mike Breen was set to emcee the City Hall ceremony. Ben Stiller captured photos and videos from a parade vehicle. Alicia Keys, the singer who collaborated with Jay-Z on the New York-loving 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind,” has been tapped to perform. “How could I not?” Keys said Wednesday in a social media video that featured her on the phone with Knicks forward OG Anunoby. The mere fact that the parade is happening is historic in itself. Although the Knicks won the championship twice in the 1970s, the city didn’t host a parade for them either time. Then-Mayor John Lindsay had cut down on ticker-tape extravaganzas for financial and other reasons, and he instead honored the Knicks at a 1970 reception at the mayoral mansion and a jam-packed 1973 ceremony outside City Hall. This time, the city is going all out. A police officer could be seen holding a sign reading, “This is really happening.” Police plan to deploy 10,000 officers to secure the event, which follows ebullient but sometimes chaotic street celebrations and some violence during the Knicks’ run to victory over the San Antonio Spurs. At one point before the parade, a small group of people were crushed against a barrier near Fulton Street, a key subway hub, pinned between a swelling crowd and a group of police officers shoving the barrier to keep fans penned in. Some 650 sanitation workers have been assigned to clean up what could be tens of thousands of pounds (kilograms) of debris, if recent history is any guide. Ticker-tape parades derive their name from the narrow strips of paper used by telegraph-era “stock ticker” machines. New York brokerage firm workers took to tossing the paper out their office windows during parades in the late 19th century, adding a swirling aerial spectacle to the festivities. Over the years, especially up to the mid-1960s, the city rolled out ticker-tape parades to honor visiting foreign leaders, mark historic anniversaries and hail feats in aviation, war, sports, music, space travel and more. The Knicks’ parade will be the 210th, and it comes after a ticker-tape bash for the WNBA’s New York Liberty in 2024. Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz, Julie Walker and Stephen Whyno in New York and AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in Southampton, New York, contributed. JAKE OFFENHARTZ Offenhartz is a general assignment reporter in the New York City bureau of The Associated Press. twitter mailto