The New York Knicks are NBA champions for the first time in 53 years, and their parade will be held Thursday in Manhattan. New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani made an announcement on social media shortly after the Knicks’ Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals.
This will be the first parade in Knicks history — they did not hold one after either of their previous titles in 1970 or 1973 — and will be followed by a celebration at City Hall, where the team will be awarded keys to the city. The parade route is set to go down the “Canyon of Heroes” on Broadway from The Battery to City Hall. In addition, City Hall and other municipal buildings will be lit up in blue and orange.
“For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have waited for this moment. Through near misses, heartbreak and a hope that every year could be our year, this city never stopped believing in the Knicks. And this team fulfilled that hope with grit, resilience and heart — just like the five boroughs itself,” Mamdani said in a statement. “New Yorkers have cheered for our team from packed living rooms in the Bronx to watch parties in Brooklyn, from bars in Queens to Staten Island to Manhattan, and Madison Square Garden itself. Now it’s time for our city to celebrate together. Bing bong.”
The Knicks ended their decades-long title drought — the fifth-longest in the league entering this season — in dramatic fashion with a 16-point comeback win over the Spurs in San Antonio on Saturday. That came after a 29-point comeback at home in Game 4, which was the largest comeback in Finals history and tied for the second-largest postseason comeback in the play-by-play era (since 1997).
All five games of the Finals were decided by 10 points or fewer, and the Knicks won Games 2 and 4 by a single point to join the 1975 Golden State Warriors as the only teams to win multiple games in the same Finals by one point.
Jalen Brunson, who set a Knicks Finals scoring record with 45 points in Game 5, was named Finals MVP, and joined Willis Reed as the only players in Knicks history to earn that honor. Brunson wasn’t super efficient, but he came up with big plays time and again down the stretch in the series, and averaged 32.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and two steals.
“To have the fans that we have in New York City, and be able to bring home a championship after all these years is absolutely amazing. It’s a surreal feeling. I mean, I don’t know how long it’s been since that final buzzer went off but I still don’t believe it,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.
“I’m pinching myself. I’m telling myself to try to be present, all the stuff that I tell these guys every single day I’m trying do to do because — I can’t believe it,” Brown continued. “… I love my players, love the organization, but more importantly, let’s go New York. Let’s go New York. We can’t wait to get back home.”
The Knicks were reportedly planning to fly back to New York after the game on Saturday to celebrate.
