New Yorkers lined the streets of decrease Manhattan Thursday morning to observe the New York Knicks parade down Broadway to rejoice the staff’s first NBA championship since 1973.
Knicks level guard Jose Alvarado joined “Good Morning America” forward of the parade and stated attending to rejoice with followers in his hometown is additional significant to him.
“Knicks, we gained, and that is superb. However I am from right here, and it is like, it is simply dwelling, completely different,” Alvarado said. “I have been a Knicks fan since I used to be born, proper? My mother and father [have] been Knicks followers. Simply seeing this progress, that every part occurred, cannot actually be put in phrases. It is simply particular to me. It is actual particular.”
A view of the New York Knicks Parade is proven from the Woolworth Constructing, on June 18, 2026, in New York.
Mike Segar/Reuters
The ticker-tape parade kicked off close to a downtown park at 10 a.m. ET and labored its manner north up Broadway, coming to an finish at Metropolis Corridor.
The entire viewing pens had been full earlier than 8 a.m. ET, in line with the New York Police Division.
“Nobody else will likely be allowed within the viewing space. As a reminder, in the event you go away the viewing pens, you’ll not be allowed reentry,” the NYPD stated in an announcement.
Forward of the parade, Mayor Zohran Mamdani additionally joined “GMA” and known as the occasion “a parade of immense pleasure throughout our metropolis, and admittedly, even throughout the area.”
Members of the New York Knicks joined by New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani journey atop an open-top bus throughout a championship ticker-tape parade celebrating the staff’s NBA Finals victory in New York, on June 18, 2026.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP through Getty Photographs
“It may very nicely find yourself being the biggest parade in New York Metropolis historical past,” the mayor stated.
Mamdani is about to carry a ceremony on the finish of the parade, awarding the staff — which includes star players Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Cities, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby — keys to town, an instance of which he confirmed on “GMA.”
New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani reveals a key to town.
ABC Information
“That is the important thing to town we will likely be presenting to every of the gamers and it’s the first key that our administration is giving out, since it has been solely six months,” Mamdani stated. “It’s designed by Azra Khafan. It’s manufactured by him, designed by Aneesh Bhoothaphy, and the typography of the hot button is truly designed by Tobias Frere-Jones, who designed the typography of the 9/11 museum.”
Alicia Keys may even take the stage at Metropolis Corridor for a reside efficiency of “Empire State of Thoughts” to rejoice the staff.
“To see nice New York groups have that moment and for it to lastly be our time, you realize, it is a type of stuff you all the time dream of as a child, particularly rising up within the space,” stated Karl-Anthony Cities, a New Jersey native, on “GMA” this week.
The ticker-tape parade is a primary for the Knicks, who didn’t rejoice with the famed custom throughout their final wins in 1970 or 1973, according to the AP, who famous the profitable staff celebrated at different New York Metropolis areas as an alternative.
The final ticker-tape parade to return for town belonged to the New York Liberty in 2024 following their WNBA championship win, in line with Downtown Alliance, which compiles research on the parades.
The Downtown Alliance notes the custom of the ticker-tape parade started in 1886 when Wall Avenue staff threw ticker-tape out the window to rejoice the Statue of Liberty unveiling.
The victory occasions will likely be closely secured, drawing the biggest variety of law enforcement officials ever assigned to a deliberate occasion, the NYPD stated Wednesday.
Greater than 10,000 members of the NYPD are safeguarding the route.
The celebration comes after an awe-inspiring playoff run which noticed the Knicks safe the staff’s first NBA title in additional than 50 years with a 4-1 sequence win over the San Antonio Spurs.
New Yorkers rejoice through the closing moments of Recreation 5 of the NBA finals at Harlem Tavern on June 13, 2026, in New York.
Jeremy Weine/Getty Photographs
The Knicks’ beginning 5 joined “GMA” Monday and mentioned what the parade and what the championship means to town.
“You by no means know in the event you’re even going to have the ability to attend the parade and get shut sufficient to see the greats, however to be those truly doing the trail, and following behind some superb legends earlier than us in New York historical past. I believe it is going to be one thing actually, actually particular,” Cities stated.
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges added with a smile, “I simply need to deliver my canine on the float.”
Cities additionally touched on how a lot this championship means to a metropolis and fanbase that has waited for fulfillment for thus lengthy, saying it “was therapeutic taking place in actual life, in actual time.”
“Knicks followers have been asking for this second for 27 years, since 1999,” he stated, referencing the staff’s final Finals look. “That is actually a once-in-a-lifetime occasion you are watching in New York sports activities historical past.”
In an interview that aired Tuesday, Knicks proprietor James Dolan additionally advised WFAN that the staff accepted an invite to go to the White Home to rejoice their championship title.
“We simply did obtain an invite from the White Home, which we accepted. We nonetheless have to determine the small print,” Dolan stated. “I invited the president to return down for the sport, proper? He’s a good friend. I’ve recognized him for 30 years and I am very proud to deliver the staff to the White Home.”
