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Players celebrate during the New York Knicks' NBA championship ceremony at City Hall Thursday, June 18, 2026, in New York. | Yuki Iwamura, Associated Press
The reigning NBA champions, the New York Knicks, held a ticker-tape parade Thursday to celebrate their victory. More than a million people crowded the streets to celebrate with the players, celebrities, and other big names who attended the event.
The Knicks won their first championship in more than 50 years on June 13 after defeating the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in a best-of-seven series.
During the parade, the team rode on a bus through the city as fans cheered and applauded.
New York City broke a city record as it deployed more than 10,000 police officers to provide security at the event.
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Crowds fill the sidewalks for the NBA Champion New York Knicks ticker-tape parade in New York's "Canyon of Heroes," Thursday, June 18, 2026. | Richard Drew, Associated Press
The viewpoints for watching the parade reached maximum capacity hours before the event even began. Fans crowded outside of the checkpoints, but no more fans were let in to watch the celebration.
The parade saw a star-studded cast as the players were joined by Ben Stiller, Timothée Chalamet, Spike Lee, Martha Stewart and many others.
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Spike Lee celebrates the New York Knicks' NBA championship during a ticker-tape parade down Lower Manhattan's "Canyon of Heroes" on Broadway, Thursday, June 18, 2026 in New York. This was the Knicks' first NBA championship in 53 years. | Jason DeCrow, Alliance for Downtown New York via the Associated Press
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also attended the celebration.
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Fans celebrate during the New York Knicks' NBA championship parade Thursday, June 18, 2026, in New York. | Ryan Murphy, Associated Press
Ceremony and speeches
Following the drive through the city, the team held a ceremony where several people gave speeches.
Jalen Brunson, the team’s Finals MVP, thanked his team and said, “Somehow, some way, I knew we were going to find a way to get this done.”
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New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and wife Ali Brunson are in the NBA championship ticker-tape parade on Broadway, in New York's "Canyon of Heroes," Thursday, June 18, 2026. | Ted Shaffrey, Associated Press
“Most importantly,” Brunson continued, “thank you to the fans. Not gonna lie, though, y’all are some pretty hard critics.”
Mamdani presented players and team owner James Dolan with keys to the city before giving a speech.
“For 53 long years, we have watched and we have waited,” the mayor said. “We have watched alone from our apartments with our heads in our hands, shoulder to shoulder at bars where the signal flickers, alongside friends and family.”
The speech continued with shoutouts to iconic Knicks moments that happened while they awaited a championship to return to the city.
“New York City,” Mamdani said, “this team has done it. The New York Knicks are NBA champions.”
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani celebrates while speaking during the New York Knicks' NBA championship parade Thursday, June 18, 2026, in New York. | Yuki Iwamura, Associated Press
“So often when this city comes together, it is because we are forced to by a moment of tragedy or adversity. What a gift it is to be brought together by pure, unfiltered joy.”
The celebrations ended as confetti was blown into the sky covering the team, fans and streets.
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Fans are reflected in a trophy held by New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns during the New York Knicks' NBA championship parade Thursday, June 18, 2026, in New York. | Heather Khalifa, Associated Press
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