'We Were Starved' — NYC Erupts for Knicks Championship Parade Through Canyon of Heroes

Knicks title parade takes over New York

New York celebrated the Knicks’ NBA Finals win with a ticker-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes. Mayor Mamdani handed the team the key to the city as 10,000 NYPD officers secured the event.

Knicks parade floods Manhattan as fans celebrate first NBA title since 1973...

Thousands of Knicks fans packed Manhattan on Thursday for a heavy-security championship parade. Blue and orange took over the streets as New York celebrated its team’s NBA Finals win.

“Let’s go Knocks” chants rolled through the packed crowd. Some fans even paid hundreds for line-sitters who waited overnight to hold spots for the procession.

“The Knicks unite the city unlike any other team. We were starved for so long,” said Anthony Martorelli, a 29-year-old retail worker.

New York went wild on Saturday when the Knicks ended a 53-year title drought by beating the San Antonio Spurs on the road in Texas.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s team organized Thursday’s parade, which brought out 10,000 NYPD officers - the biggest security deployment for a planned event in department history.

The NYPD said public viewing areas filled up 3 hours before the parade started. That left latecomers scrambling to find other spots.

Some fans got creative - dozens climbed on a city dump truck set out for security just to catch a look at the players and the trophy rolling by.

“I think there's been so much bad around America in the last couple of years, and it's really nice to see this,” Martorelli said.

Brunson with the NBA trophy

He said that as cheers bounced off skyscrapers near the World Trade Center, where the Knicks met fans while National Guard troops kept watch over the area.

'Means so much'

The parade kicked off at 10:00 am ET, 1400 GMT. The Knicks rolled from Bowling Green at Manhattan’s southern tip up to City Hall along the 10-block “Canyon of Heroes” route.

The city said 2,500 pounds, about 1.1 tonnes, of recycled confetti would rain down on them. It’s a ticker-tape style parade, a tradition dating back to the late 1800s.

Later at City Hall, Mayor Mamdani planned to hand the Knicks the symbolic key to New York. Team owner James Dolan said an all-star show was lined up for the ceremony.

“We have everybody from Walt Clyde Frazier from the old team to the new team, the Knicks City Dancers, there's like five marching bands,” Dolan told local media.

He also said Grammy winner Alicia Keys will perform “Empire State of Mind” - the 2009 hit she recorded with Jay-Z.

Manhattan was already packed with World Cup soccer fans, and Thursday’s parade added more street closures and traffic headaches across the borough.

NEW YORK ENERGY 🏆 pic.twitter.com/gwlSJzDxBs

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 18, 2026

For diehard Knicks fans though, the hassle was worth it. The parade felt like the payoff after years of sticking with the team.

James Smallwood, 62 and retired, said it brought him back to 1973 - the last time the Knicks won the Finals.

“I was nine, doing New York stuff, riding bikes and playing tag and I remember my sisters drinking Miller High Life when the Knicks won.

“That's when I became a fan. I'm a five-time cancer survivor, so this means so much to see.”