Ben Stiller at the Knicks championship parade and victory rally on June 18. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images Spike Lee, Timothée Chalamet, and other famous New Yorkers 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 odds with two historic comeback games in a streak that ended Saturday with the team winning its first NBA Finals in 53 years.
The Knicks’ historic win was incredible television, not only 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 right there watching the action courtside in what became known as “celebrity row.”
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On Thursday, Lee, Chalamet and fellow Knicks megafan Mariska Hargitay were downtown to support their team after making it to watch the games at Madison Square Garden as a fervor overtook midtown Manhattan on game nights over the past two weeks, whether the teams were facing off at the city’s famed home arena or in San Antonio.
The Thursday parade began at 10 a.m. near Battery Park and traveled north along Broadway through the iconic Canyon of Heroes before ending at City Hall.
Lee, probably the team’s number one fan, rode on a float with NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson. At the same time, Chalamet, who attended all of the Finals games, including in San Antonio, riled up the crowd as he led attendees in a “Let’s go, Knicks!” chant while standing atop a double-decker bus. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was also there to celebrate the team, which took 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 Knicks blue and bright orange pants as she celebrated with her husband, actor Peter Hermann, and their teenage son, August. The Law & Order: SVU actress drew attention when she ran onto the court after the team’s clinching Game 5 victory.
Patrick Ewing and Mariska Hargitay are seen at the New York Knicks championship ticker-tape parade. Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Stiller was seen on one of the floats on Thursday. The actor-director was spotted at every game filming the action, which was confirmed to be for a documentary that will follow the team’s full arc from the ’90s to the improbable, record-breaking run this year; he is teaming up with the NBA, A24 and HBO for the project.
Lifelong Knicks fan Tracy Morgan, one of the team’s more devoted supporters, was spotted on Jalen Brunson’s float. Brunson scored 45 points in the clinching Game 5, erasing a 10-point, first-quarter deficit. Ahead of the win, Morgan predicted that if the team won the championship, the Statue of Liberty would become pregnant.
Following the march through the ticker tape, the team was presented with the key to the city by Mayor Mamdani. In addition to the Knicks players, coaches and staff, including owner James Dolan, were given the honorary keys. And who better to follow that moment than local favorite Alicia Keys, who performed a cover of “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel before launching into what has become the city’s unofficial anthem, her own “Empire State of Mind.”
Hometown hip-hop stars were also at the parade to celebrate the team. Staten Island natives Wu-Tang Clan headlined a hip-hop float and were joined by local acts including the legendary Q-Tip, Mobb Deep, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Fabolous, Ja Rule, and M.O.P. Mary J. Blige also made an appearance, along with Yung Miami.
Former Knicks were in attendance, including Patrick Ewing, Carmelo Anthony, Latrell Sprewell, Larry Johnson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Allan Houston, Stephon Marbury, John Starks and Walt Frazier to help celebrate the team’s first title in over half a century.
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