In what now seems like many, many moons ago, New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) once tried and failed to question President Donald Trump’s Knicks fandom by referencing the “1993 championship team.”
Knicks guard Tyler Kolek has not forgotten.
A post from X influencer Kaitlin Bennett spotted Kolek in a t-shirt commemorating the Knicks’ mythical 1993 championship team.
“Knicks player Tyler Kolek appears to defend Trump and troll NY Governor Kathy Hochul with a ‘1993 World Champions’ shirt, after she said, ‘I’d ask Trump to name the starting lineup of the 1993 championship team’ (which they never won),” Bennett wrote.
The timing of Hochul’s ill-fated attempt to troll Trump coincided with the president’s announcement that he would attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden at the invitation of his friend, Knicks Owner James Dolan.
The announcement prompted a flurry of scolding and mockery from New York-based politicians who questioned Trump’s fandom despite extensive photographic evidence of His attending several Knicks games over the years and his relationship with Dolan.
One such mocker was Hochul, who, after a reporter asked, “What do you say to President Trump saying he’s a lifelong Knicks fan?” responded by saying, “I’d ask him to name the starting lineup of the 1993 Championship team and see how he does.”
The only problem with Hochul’s response is that she’s 20 years off. The Knicks did not have a championship team in 1993. Instead, the last time the Knicks won an NBA crown was in 1973, when they knocked off the Lakers for the second time and earned their second championship of the decade.
The Chicago Bulls won the NBA championship in 1993.
Kolek, who only played 53 minutes in the postseason, grabbed a disproportionately large amount of the headlines on Thursday. In addition to mocking the governor, he was also nearly arrested by police who mistook him for a fan.