Spike Lee, Timothée Chalamet and other New York and Hollywood celebrities were in the Big Apple on Thursday as the city celebrated the New York Knicks with a ticker-tape parade in lower Manhattan after the team defied the odds with two historic comeback games in a series that ended Saturday with the team winning its first NBA Finals in 53 years.
The Knicks’ historic win was a stunning TV win, not just because the team won the championship last week over the San Antonio Spurs in five games, but because some of Hollywood’s biggest stars were there watching the action on the court in what became known as “Celebrity Row.”
On Thursday, Lee, Chalamet and fellow Knicks megastar Mariska Hargitay were downtown to support their team after being able to watch games at Madison Square Garden as excitement has overtaken midtown Manhattan on game nights over the past two weeks, whether the teams are facing off in the city’s famous home arena or in San Antonio.
Thursday’s parade began at 10 a.m. near Battery Park and traveled north along Broadway through the famous Valley of Heroes before ending at City Hall.
Lee, perhaps the team’s number one fan, got on a plane with NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson. Meanwhile, Chalamet, who attended all of the Finals games, including the San Antonio game, enraged the crowd when he led the crowd in a “Let’s go, Knicks!” They chant while standing on top of a double-decker bus. New York City Mayor Zahran Mamdani was also on hand to celebrate the team that captured the championship title in his first year in office. He rode on a float with star center Karl-Anthony Towns and forward OG Anunoby.
Hargitay wore bright blue and orange Knicks pants as she celebrated with her husband, actor Peter Herman, and their teenage son, August. the Law & Order: SVU The actress attracted attention when she ran onto the field after the team won the fifth game.
Stiller was seen on one of the floats on Thursday. The actor and director was spotted at every match filming the event, which has been confirmed as a documentary that will follow the team’s full path from the 1990s to their improbable record-breaking run this year; He’s teaming up with the NBA, A24, and HBO for the project.
Lifelong Knicks fan Tracy Morgan, one of the team’s most loyal fans, was spotted on Jalen Brunson’s float. Brunson scored 45 points in Game 5, erasing a 10-point first quarter deficit. Before the win, Morgan predicted that if the team won the championship, they would carry the Statue of Liberty.
After marching through the tape, the team was handed the key to the city by Mayor Mamdani. In addition, Knicks players, coaches and staff, including owner James Dolan, were given honorary keys. And who better to follow that moment than local favorite Alicia Keys, who performed Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” before launching into what has become the city’s unofficial anthem, its own “Empire State of Mind.”
Hometown hip-hop stars were also at the show to celebrate the team. Staten Island natives Wu-Tang Clan headlined a hip-hop showcase and were joined by local acts including the legendary Q-Tip, Mobb Deep, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Fabolous, Ja Rule, and MOP Mary J. Blige also appeared alongside Yung Miami.
Former Knicks, including Patrick Ewing, Carmelo Anthony, Latrell Spruell, Larry Johnson, Amare Stoudemire, Allan Houston, Stephon Marbury, John Starks and Walt Frazier, were on hand to help celebrate the team’s first title in more than half a century.
