The New York Knicks completed yet another improbable comeback, defeating the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, and New York City is partying like it’s 1973.
The 53-year championship drought, one of the longest in professional sports, marks a full-circle moment for a franchise that has known far more downs than ups over the last…well…more than 50 years.
The Knickerbockers had scarcely hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy when revelers near Madison Square Garden, at watch parties, and all points in between, began celebrating with reckless abandon.
Here is but a sampling of the fun-filled frolic, tearing up the streets of the Big Apple.
Okay, so maybe not all of it is so innocent.
Some rioting kicked off before the game was even over.
“For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have waited for this moment. Through near misses, heartbreak and a hope that every year could be our year, this city never stopped believing in the Knicks. And this team fulfilled that hope with grit, resilience and heart — just like the five boroughs itself,” said Mayor Mamdani. “New Yorkers have cheered for our team from packed living rooms in the Bronx to watch parties in Brooklyn, from bars in Queens to Staten Island to Manhattan, and Madison Square Garden itself. Now it’s time for our city to celebrate together. Bing bong.”
Of all of New York’s major professional sports teams – the Giants, Yankees, Mets, Rangers, Jets, and Islanders – only the Jets have had a longer championship drought than the Knicks.
With a championship in tow, the Knicks will make their way back from San Antonio to what promises to be a hero’s welcome the likes of which New York City has not seen in some time.