New Yorkers lined the streets of decrease Manhattan Thursday morning to observe the New York Knicks parade down Broadway to rejoice the crew’s first NBA championship since 1973.
Knicks level guard Jose Alvarado joined “Good Morning America” forward of the parade and mentioned attending to rejoice with followers in his hometown is further significant to him.
“Knicks, we gained, and that is superb. However I am from right here, and it is like, it is simply house, totally different,” Alvarado mentioned. “I have been a Knicks fan since I used to be born, proper? My dad and mom [have] been Knicks followers. Simply seeing this progress, that all the things occurred, cannot actually be put in phrases. It is simply particular to me. It is actual particular.”
A view of the New York Knicks Parade is proven from the Woolworth Constructing, on June 18, 2026, in New York.
Mike Segar/Reuters
The ticker-tape parade kicked off close to a downtown park at 10 a.m. ET and labored its method north up Broadway, coming to an finish at Metropolis Corridor.
All the viewing pens had been full earlier than 8 a.m. ET, based on the New York Police Division.
“Nobody else will likely be allowed within the viewing space. As a reminder, for those who go away the viewing pens, you’ll not be allowed reentry,” the NYPD mentioned in a press release.
Forward of the parade, Mayor Zohran Mamdani additionally joined “GMA” and known as the occasion “a parade of immense pleasure throughout our metropolis, and albeit, even throughout the area.”
Members of the New York Knicks joined by New York Metropolis Mayor Zohran Mamdani experience atop an open-top bus throughout a championship ticker-tape parade celebrating the crew’s NBA Finals victory in New York, on June 18, 2026.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
“It may very properly find yourself being the biggest parade in New York Metropolis historical past,” the mayor mentioned.
Mamdani is ready to carry a ceremony on the finish of the parade, awarding the crew — which incorporates star gamers Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Cities, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby — keys to town, an instance of which he confirmed on “GMA.”
Zohran Mamdani, New York Metropolis Mayor and OG Anunoby of the New York Knicks are seen on a float in the course of the New York Knicks Championship ticker tape parade and victory rally celebrating successful the 2026 NBA Finals on June 18, 2026, in New York.
Angelina Katsanis/Getty Photographs
“That is the important thing to town we will likely be presenting to every of the gamers and it’s the first key that our administration is giving out, since it has been solely six months,” Mamdani mentioned. “It’s designed by Azra Khafan. It’s manufactured by him, designed by Aneesh Bhoothaphy, and the typography of the secret’s really designed by Tobias Frere-Jones, who designed the typography of the 9/11 museum.”
Alicia Keys will even take the stage at Metropolis Corridor for a stay efficiency of “Empire State of Thoughts” to rejoice the crew.
“To see nice New York groups have that second and for it to lastly be our time, , it is a kind of stuff you at all times dream of as a child, particularly rising up within the space,” mentioned Karl-Anthony Cities, a New Jersey native, on “GMA” this week.
The ticker-tape parade is a primary for the Knicks, who didn’t rejoice with the famed custom throughout their final wins in 1970 or 1973, based on the AP, who famous the successful crew celebrated at different New York Metropolis areas as an alternative.
The final ticker-tape parade to return for town belonged to the New York Liberty in 2024 following their WNBA championship win, based on Downtown Alliance, which compiles analysis on the parades.
The Downtown Alliance notes the custom of the ticker-tape parade started in 1886 when Wall Avenue staff threw ticker-tape out the window to rejoice the Statue of Liberty unveiling.
The victory occasions will likely be closely secured, drawing the biggest variety of law enforcement officials ever assigned to a deliberate occasion, the NYPD mentioned Wednesday.
Greater than 10,000 members of the NYPD are safeguarding the route.
The celebration comes after an awe-inspiring playoff run which noticed the Knicks safe the crew’s first NBA title in additional than 50 years with a 4-1 sequence win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Jalen Brunson celebrates with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in the course of the New York Knicks Parade on June 18, 2026, in New York.
Gary Hershorn/ABC Information
The Knicks’ beginning 5 joined “GMA” Monday and mentioned what the parade and what the championship means to town.
“You by no means know for those who’re even going to have the ability to attend the parade and get shut sufficient to see the greats, however to be those really doing the trail, and following behind some superb legends earlier than us in New York historical past. I believe it may be one thing actually, actually particular,” Cities mentioned.
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges added with a smile, “I simply wish to convey my canine on the float.”
Cities additionally touched on how a lot this championship means to a metropolis and fanbase that has waited for achievement for thus lengthy, saying it “was therapeutic taking place in actual life, in actual time.”
“Knicks followers have been asking for this second for 27 years, since 1999,” he mentioned, referencing the crew’s final Finals look. “That is actually a once-in-a-lifetime occasion you are watching in New York sports activities historical past.”
In an interview that aired Tuesday, Knicks proprietor James Dolan additionally informed WFAN that the crew accepted an invite to go to the White Home to rejoice their championship title.
“We simply did obtain an invite from the White Home, which we accepted. We nonetheless have to determine the main points,” Dolan mentioned. “I invited the president to return down for the sport, proper? He’s a buddy. I’ve identified him for 30 years and I am very proud to convey the crew to the White Home.”
