The New York Knicks are your 2026 NBA champions. Full stop.
And hey, it was very obvious from the moment the final buzzer sounded inside that sad-for-the-hosts arena in San Antonio, that the thing that mattered the most to everybody in New York City was going outside. Going mad outside.
There will be two banners. There will be a proper parade. There will surely be a whole lot of summer to review and replay and comment on Jalen Brunson’s historic 45-point Game 5 masterpiece.
Now, though? Now it’s the
New Yorkers who stuck around for 53 years who are getting all the spotlight they too deserve.
You know why? Cause before Game 5 tipped off on Saturday evening, the Knicks were -500 to win the series on FanDuel. That’s cool! But you know what and why, too? The damn oddsmakers had the Knicks as the underdogs at +172 to close it out in San Antonio, as 5.5-point underdogs. To hell with that, fam.
New York beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90, finishing the Finals in five games and ending a five-decade-plus championship drought. Brunson won Finals MVP after scoring 45 points in the clincher. The damn Knicks did it again and came back from a 16-point deficit on the road, in a closeout game. What’s not to love!?
The NBA showed Knicks fans celebrating in Central Park as the title became a reality.
SNY posted a video showing a damn pack of Knicks fans celebrating in unison the first title most of them have ever witnessed.
Nets fans might not be many. After seeing this, however, it’s unclear if the franchise will relocate again, and not just from New Jersey to Brooklyn…
Right after the game and during Josh Hart’s presser, James Dolan briefly interrupted the Knickerbocker to send a message to the New York masses. “Stay safe out there,” he said. Good luck with that! (But stay safe out there, fam)
ABC7NY captured fans celebrating after Game 5, with New York City finally getting to release everything that had been eating them since 1973.
Breaking911 posted the Times Square scene, which looked like every Knicks fan in the city had agreed to meet in the same spot to lose their minds collectively.
NBC Sports went bigger, posting every borough going crazy after the Knicks’ championship.
CBS wasn’t lucky avoiding F-bombs, with a fan out of her mind making it clear what she was feeling, and the reporter nearly collapsing live in reaction to the best statement ever.
Acyn shared aerial footage of New Yorkers celebrating on fire escapes, balconies, and pretty much every available surface.
Another Acyn clip showed CNN footage of traffic stopping, fans getting out of cars, climbing on roofs, and partying in the streets.
Speaking of CNN, God bless their on-location reporter after he was slowly but surely devoured by a ravenous Knicks crowd.
WFAN posted fireworks going off in the streets, because what’s a Knicks celebration without fans gambling on their physical integrity?
Want a classic? Your light-pole climbers didn’t lose any time going for it.
Want some hope as a hapless New York Jets or New York Mets fan, as I am? The Knicks’ victory might already be breeding a new generation of banana/football/baseball throwers!
And finally, as a Euro myself, I couldn’t drop a tear listening to the most-used title song on the continent blaring inside Radio City Music Hall.
I wouldn’t blame if you don’t read this or anything we post for the next two days or all the way until the parade takes place on Thursday.
Go outside. Join your fellow Knicks fans. Turn stupid. Y’all deserve anything and everything that is happening right now.
The damn New York Knicks are your 2026 NBA champions.
