Brunson Fires Back at Critics at Knicks' First Title
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Jalen Brunson, speaking at City Hall, dismissed his critics with a pointed line — "you really don't have to say s--- to them. They don't deserve it" — after winning the Knicks' first title in 53 years, taking aim at skeptics like Becky Hammon, who said in December 2023 that the 6-foot-2 guard could not lead a team to a championship.
- The Knicks' parade drew more than one million fans through lower Manhattan's "Canyon of Heroes," with confetti in team colors filling the air and chants of "Let's go, Knicks!" and "Knicks in five!" echoing off skyscrapers.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani, wearing a team jersey under his suit, presented keys to the city to players, coaches, owners, and staff, telling the crowd he and other fans "waited because we knew deep down in our sick, suffering hearts" the title would come.
- OG Anunoby was celebrated as the hero of Game 4, having hit the go-ahead tip-in with 1.2 seconds left; during the parade he left his float to mingle with fans, holding the NBA Cup trophy in one hand and a bottle of Patron in the other.
- Teammate Mikal Bridges said on Instagram that Hammon's 2023 comments had helped fuel Brunson, while Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier — who led the parade in a convertible wearing his 1970s title rings — said the late coaches and teammates from those teams "would be amazed" at the franchise's resurgence.
- The parade itself was historically overdue — unlike this celebration, the city did not hold ticker-tape parades for the Knicks' 1970 and 1973 championships, instead honoring those teams with receptions and a City Hall ceremony under then-Mayor John Lindsay.
- Security and safety logistics were massive, with 10,000 police officers deployed; police arrested 10 people and issued three summonses, while the FDNY took 30 people to hospitals and treated 31 more at the scene for heat-related ailments, asthma, and minor injuries.
Why it matters: A 53-year championship drought ended in the largest U.S. sports market with the city's 210th ticker-tape parade, the first Knicks celebration of any kind since 1973 — a milestone that rewards a long-suffering fan base, cements Brunson's stardom against a high-profile 2023 critique from Hammon, and positions the franchise for renewed commercial momentum in New York.
