NEW YORK — Jalen Brunson raised the NBA championship trophy to the crowd, inviting fans to reach out and touch it, as the NBA Finals MVP and the rest of the New York Knicks were honored in the city’s classic style with a ticker-tape parade Thursday for the franchise’s first title in 53 years.
“It makes everything worth it,” said Brunson, a Stevenson High School alumnus. “I can’t put it into words.”
Confetti in the Knicks’ blue and orange swirled through the air as thousands of people watched the parade roll up Broadway, the skyscraper-flanked “Canyon of Heroes.” OG Anunoby, who scored the go-ahead basket in Game 4 of the Finals on a tip-in with 1.2 seconds left, left his float to interact with fans, holding the NBA Cup in-season championship trophy in one hand and a bottle of Patron tequila in the other.
Film director Spike Lee, perhaps the team’s most iconic fan, was on a float with Brunson, savoring the moment.
“I’ve never been to a parade — ever — and I’m glad it’s this one,” Lee said.
The MVP’s mom, Sandra Brunson, wearing a shirt with photos of Jalen and husband Rick, a Knicks assistant coach, echoed her son’s words: “It was all worth it.”
Karl-Anthony Towns hoisted the Eastern Conference championship trophy and a cigar on top of a parade bus, alongside a dancing Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a huge Knicks fan. On a nearby float with other alumni, Carmelo Anthony had a victory cigar of his own.
“The whole city won,” Anthony said. “New Yorkers are, as they say, ‘lit’ right now.”
Massive cheers of “Let’s go, Knicks!” erupted from the crowd as the trophy float made its way near City Hall, the parade’s endpoint, where players were expected to get keys to the city.
Knicks fans turn out in force
People streamed into the area on crammed subways, looking to get as close as they could or find any elevated spot to catch a glimpse.
Several blocks from the parade route, fans stood shoulder to shoulder — sometimes on each other’s shoulders — or climbed traffic lights, sanitation trucks or Knicks-colored buckets they’d brought from home. Far away on the Brooklyn Bridge, people gathered just to hear the loudspeakers.
“I had to be here today,” said Shareefa Wallace, 34, who got up at 3 a.m. to make her way from suburban Long Island. She grew up in the city going to Knicks games, and she sported the souvenir jersey of one of the legends from that era, Patrick Ewing.
‘The New York vibe’
Nearby bars and delis filled with fans, some wishing they’d arrived at dawn. But many seemed at peace with the fact they would experience the parade from a distance.
“We’re fine with the fray, we just want to be with the New York energy and the New York vibe,” said Jean Strong, who came to the parade from Harlem with his nephew and sister.
Terrell Emerson, a chef who grew up in Queens before leaving New York, said he drove from Maryland with his daughter Madison — named in honor of the Knicks’ home arena, Madison Square Garden.
Madison, beaming, held a handwritten sign announcing she skipped her fifth-grade graduation to be there.
Stars and Knicks legends
Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier — a member of the 1970s champion teams — led off the parade, riding along in style in a convertible and wearing his NBA title rings. Frazier had late teammates and coaches on his mind.
“They would be amazed at what has happened to the Knicks and how they’ve really captivated the city this year,” Frazier said. “This has exceeded any expectations I ever thought that we’d have.”
Knicks play-by-play announcer Mike Breen was set to emcee the City Hall ceremony. Ben Stiller captured photos and videos from a parade vehicle.
Alicia Keys, the singer who collaborated with Jay-Z on the New York-loving 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind,” was tapped to perform.
“How could I not?” Keys said Wednesday in a social media video that featured her on the phone with Anunoby.
Massive security operation
Police planned to deploy 10,000 officers to secure the event, which followed ebullient but sometimes chaotic street celebrations and some violence during the Knicks’ run to victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
At one point before the parade, a small group of people was crushed against a barrier near Fulton Street, a key subway hub, pinned between a swelling crowd and a group of police officers shoving the barrier to keep fans penned in.
About 650 sanitation workers were assigned to clean up what could be tens of thousands of pounds of debris, if recent history is any guide.
AP’s Jennifer Peltz, Julie Walker and Stephen Whyno in New York and Brian Mahoney in Southampton, N.Y., contributed.
