First, there were keys — the ceremonial keys to the city that Mayor Mamdani gifted the Knicks for bringing home the franchise’s first championship in 53 years.
Then, there was Keys — Alicia Keys, whose spirited rendition of “Empire State of Mind” capped a day of reveling among generations of Knicks fans who never knew whether this moment would actually come.
Indeed, New York City celebrated the Knicks on Thursday in ways only New York City could.
It started with a ticker-tape parade through Lower Manhattan’s storied Canyon of Heroes, where hordes of fans lined Broadway, peered down from windows and even climbed onto scaffolding to catch a glimpse of their favorite Knicks.
It continued at City Hall, where the procession took the players, coaches, alumni and front-office members for an exclusive ceremony, at which Mamdani compared the Knicks’ dogged resilience to that of New York as a whole.
And it ended with blue, orange and white confetti being shot into the sky, eliciting one final roar as Karl-Anthony Towns hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy from the City Hall stage and Queens’ “We Are the Champions” blared.
“The energy today, all around New York, is off the charts, and I want to thank you all for it,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown told the crowd outside of City Hall. “Let’s keep this energy going, baby, because this championship is about you guys. This is New York City’s championship.”
An NYPD estimate pegged the parade crowd at upwards of two million people, and by 7:28 a.m. — some 2 ½ hours before the festivities began — the department said the viewing pens were full.
But the scene inside the gated City Hall Park was much more intimate. The city made 600 tickets available via lottery, while a small number of additional attendees said they lined up outside for hours before getting in.
“We’ve been here since 1 a.m.,” said Lou Alassari, 40, of Bay Ridge. “We waited 40 years; 10 more hours, we could wait.”
The parade started at Bowling Green, about a half-mile away. Once the floats began to drive by City Hall Park, many inside pressed up against the west gate and enjoyed an enviable view.
Mamdani stood next to OG Anunoby at the front of one float and snapped photos from his personal camera. Behind them, Towns puffed on a cigar and sang along to a recording of “Empire State of Mind.”
A little while later, Mitchell Robinson passed in his towering, custom truck. A shirtless Jose Alvarado soaked in love from his fellow New Yorkers. Josh Hart leaned against the railing at the front of another float and waved in every direction.
And then came the car everyone was waiting for.
Jalen Brunson, the NBA Finals MVP, pointed out someone in the crowd, and his father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, had a laugh.
Behind them, MSG Networks analyst Monica McNutt held the Larry O’Brien trophy up to the crowd.
Before that float was out of sight, Rick Brunson spotlighted actress Mariska Hargitay, a courtside staple at Madison Square Garden, who seemed delighted to have even a supporting role in Thursday’s festivities.
The star power continued at City Hall, where Spike Lee, Patrick Ewing and Carmelo Anthony were among those who went from float ride-a-longs to seats at the ceremony.
Knicks play-by-play announcer Mike Breen emceed the event, while Broadway’s Avery Wilson — who became the Knicks’ lucky national-athem singer during their playoff run — performed “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
All of that helped make this the hottest ticket in town.
“My dad was a huge Knicks fan. I remember, in ‘73, watching the game with him,” said Denise Kemp-Bannister, 62, of the Bronx, who lined up at 5 a.m. to get into City Hall Park. “He was so excited when they won, and every year, we try to relive that same magic. And this was the year.”
Then came the speeches.
Mamdani referenced the Knicks’ 29-point comeback in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, pointing specifically to San Antonio Spurs’ 99.6% win probability when they led by 20 points with 9:33 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks won that instant-classic game at the Garden, 107-106, behind Anunoby’s go-ahead putback with 1.2 seconds left.
“There is one thing that the pundits just don’t get about this team, that they just don’t get about this city. It is in that 0.4% that we go to work,” Mamdani said.
“It’s in that 0.4% that the Knicks do what New Yorkers have always done when we’re told something is impossible. We find a way. We win.”
Overcoming the odds became a theme of the ceremony.
Brunson, the 6-2 poster child for willpower and odds-defiance, made a rare reference to the critics who had dismissed him as too small to be the leading player on a championship team.
“There’s a lot of people that have a lot of negative stuff to say, and a lot of people that have a lot of opinions,” said Brunson, who heard “MVP” chants before and after his speech.
“But when you prove them wrong, you don’t have to say s—t to them. Nah, they don’t deserve it.”
One by one, Mamdani handed keys to the city to Knicks owner James Dolan, executives Leon Rose and William Wesley, the coaches and the players.
The ceremony ended on the ultimate high note as Keys took the stage, began with a cover of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” then transitioned to “Empire State of Mind,” the 2009 New York City anthem she co-released with Jay-Z.
Towns, Alvarado and Ariel Hukporti were among those who danced along.
After the confetti fell, Knicks players were slow to leave the stage. It was as if they never wanted the day to end.
“We really did it, dog,” Brunson said during his speech. “Somehow, some way, I knew we were going to find a way to get this done.”
