Live updates: Knicks ‘championship parade’ underway in New York City as fans celebrate NBA title

Following the ceremony at City Hall where the NBA champions were given keys to New York City, confetti canons showered the Knicks with paper in the team's colors.

After millions of Gotham residents cheered on their champion, that's when New York's Strongest got to work.

The Knicks parade route will be clear and ticker tape-free a few hours after the New York Sanitation Department hit the streets.

More than 700 sanitation workers were expected to hit the streets to clean up the celebration.

Knicks owner Jim Dolan took center stage and couldn't resist taking a shot at the mayor during the team's most joyous moment.

After Mamdani ran off a long list of his favorite players over the years, Dolan was not impressed and showed his disdain for hizzoner.

“I don’t need your vote," he said. "I don’t need to quote to you what happened. If you’re a real Knicks fan you know it already.”

The owner and mayor have long clashed, most recently as they blamed each for pulling a plug on a watch party.

Jalen Brunson had some words for his haters.

Speaking in front of City Hall, the Knicks captain and NBA Championship MVP addressed the "people who have a lot of opinions."

"When you prove them wrong, you really ought to, you don’t have to say s--- to them. Nah, they don’t deserve it. They don’t deserve it," he said to a roaring crowd.

In the brief address, he also thanked his fans, fellow players and coaches.

“Damn, New York. We really did it," he said. "We really did it, man."

Brunson choked up when thanking his family.

"Without them, their sacrifice and everything — wouldn’t be possible. My inner circle, I mean, they keep me humble every single day," he said. "They don’t let me get off track for nothing."

Even though the Knicks went more than a half-century without an NBA title, Mayor Zohran Mamdani recognized New York's great hoopsters who never lifted The Larry.

"We have waited. We waited as the memory of Willis Reed winning the championship on one leg grew fainter and fainter," Mamdani said. "We waited as Clyde came up clutch again and again."

But then the mayor rolled off a long list of his favorite Knicks who gave it their all for New York, but fell short of a title.

The mayor shouted out: John Starks, Patrick Ewing, Bernard King, Charles Oakley, Allan Houston, Charles Oakley, Larry Johnson, Stephon Marbury, Nate Robinson, Jeremy Lin, Carmelo Anthony, Rolando Blackman, Mardy Collins, Raymond Felton, Marcus Camby, J.R. Smith, Kristaps Porziņģis, Iman Shumpert, Toney Douglas, Amar’e Stoudemire, Jared Jeffries, Langston Galloway, Lance Thomas, Immanuel Quigley, RJ Barrett, Dante DiVincenzo and Julius Randle.

The mayor said the Knicks' miraculous comeback in Game 4 typified New York's never-say-die spirit.

"Time after time we thought about the worst possible scenario and time after time the Knicks went out there and did something about it," Mamdani said. "The Knicks did not just win for New York City, they won like New York City."

The Knicks had less than a 1% chance of winning Game 4 after falling behind by 29.

"What is New York if not your back up against the wall? A dream that feels just out of reach. A rent payment you don’t know how you’ll ever make," Mamdani said.

"What is New York if not 99.6% of the world stacked against you? And who are New Yorkers if not people who hear those odds and smile, who look at a .4% chance of success and ask, 'Why are you giving me a head start?'"

New Yorkers have enjoyed "two of the most magical months" in Big Apple memory, bringing nothing but "pure unfiltered joy," Mayor Zohran Mamdani told fans at the victory parade.

"New York City has just had two of the most magical months in as long as any of us can remember," Mamdani joyously said.

"What a gift it is to be brought together by pure, unfiltered joy. " 

The Knicks came out in front of City Hall for their ceremony after the parade, carrying their trophies, to deafening cheers.

While celebrating the Knicks’ championship win, longtime fans took a moment to remember lost loved ones who were fans, too — and what this moment might have meant to them.

"My dad saw the last championship and he passed away three years ago. I was 1 and he brought me to the Garden. And this is not only surreal to see them," said one fan. "When he passed away, he said, 'One day, you'll get to see them win," and I was like, 'Yeah, OK.' And this one was it. He's here."

New York's Finest on-screen cop celebrated with the Knicks.

Actor and Knicks super fan Mariska Hargitay was front and center for the big party today.

The "Law & Order: SVU" star was famously at courtside for historic Game 4 at MSG when she, Taylor Swift and the Haim sisters cheered on the Knicks to their remarkable comeback victory.

Video shows Knicks fans climbing up scaffolding to watch the parade in New York City.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made some moves with Knicks player Karl-Anthony Towns during the parade celebrating their championship win.

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Richard Drew / AP

Fans reach out to touch the championship trophy as Jalen Brunson shows it off along the parade route in downtown Manhattan.

Video posted on X shows a massive crowd of people lining up for the parade in downtown Manhattan.

It took a lot of heart for Knicks fans to survive a half-century of title-less basketball.

So NBA journeyman Josh Hart showed his appreciation for long-suffering Knicks faithful by jumping off his bus today and sharing his love with fans.

Angelina Katsanis / Getty Images

Mayor Zohran Mamdani waves next to OG Anunoby on a Knicks float.

A couple says they’ve been engaged for 53 years and finally decided it was time to get married on the day of the Knicks championship parade.

Knicks star Jalen Brunson is rarely not around family when he's on the job.

So it was totally in character that Brunson was accompanied by wife Ali Marks and toddler son Jordyn at today's big parade.

Of course Brunson is well known for punching the clock with family, as his father, Rick Brunson, serves as a Knicks assistant coach.

Ryan Murphy / AP

Ryan Murphy / AP Photo/Ryan Murphy

Chalamet and Stiller were courtside mainstays at Madison Square Garden throughout the postseason.

Gov. Kathy Hochul thanked Jalen Brunson for bringing joy back to New York.

"Thanks for bringing joy back to the state," she said in a video she posted on X.

Brunson thanked her before the pair posed for a photograph with the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

OG Anunoby became an iconic figure in the Knicks championship run with the NBA Finals' most memorable basket.

The Knicks hero was soaking in the parade glory as Bad Bunny's "Debí Tirar Más Fotos" played in the background.

Here's the one time a Knick can celebrate a Celtic.

Karl-Anthony Towns was joyfully cradling the Bob Cousy Trophy, which he won as MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, at the parade today.

Mamdani dances with Karl-Anthony Towns during Knicks parade in New York City

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New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns holds up the trophy. Ryan Murphy / AP

As the parade begins, a group of revelers is popping orange confetti from the rooftop of a building at the corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane.

Parade watchers have also been throwing rolls of toilet paper and beach balls into the crowd.

Aerial video shows huge crowds in New York City unable to enter the Knicks viewing area along the parade route.

Aerials capture huge crowds unable to enter Knicks viewing parade

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The parade is starting!

It was supposed to begin about 30 minutes ago.

Parade revelers are breaking out into a chant: "Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks!"

'Let's go Knicks!': Revelers break out into chants

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Jalen and Rick Brunson are enjoying the best Father's Day weekend the NBA could possibly offer.

The Knicks star and his assistant coach dad were all smiles today as they joined the team's victory parade.

While young folks know Jalen as the Knicks all-star who just led the team to its first title in a half-century, old heads remember his pops, Rick, as an NBA journeyman who played nine seasons in the association — including portions of three campaigns in New York.

The parade appears to be running behind schedule. It was supposed to begin at 10 a.m. ET.

City Hall just released the parade's march route.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Kathy Hochul will join Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby on the parade's first float, following a marching band, a long line of NYPD vehicles and the media.

Behind them will be a bus carrying rappers Fat Joe, Wu-Tang Clan and Jadakiss; several floats carrying Knicks players and coaches; a convertible carrying former Knicks players Bernard King and Spencer Haywood; and a float with unnamed "VIPs and Celebs."

Jalen Brunson will be on his own float, in what the city has titled the "TROPHY FLOAT."

Marching bands from city schools and fire stations will also take part in the parade, according to the march's route.

The New York City Police Department says it is deploying more than 10,000 officers for this morning’s Knicks championship parade up Broadway — what it calls the largest planned deployment of officers for an event, according to a spokesperson.

Included will be NYPD Aviation with its helicopters, NYPD drones, heavy weapons teams, K-9s and explosive detection dogs, highway units and transit, the spokesperson says.

The police department says we’ll see most of those deployments, but there will also be a plainclothes, covert operation we won’t readily see. 

New York Police Department officers watch as fans arrive ahead of the parade.  John Lamparski / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Jalen Brunson is the newly crowned King of New York. But ask the average New York sports fan where Brunson ranks among the city’s historic sports royalty, and you’ll get a few different answers. Consider the obvious contenders:

Derek Jeter: “The Captain” led the New York Yankees to championships in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. Jeter won so often and so consistently that he made it look easy — and during his era, the Yankees’ dominance in baseball was simply unquestioned.

Eli Manning: Once you get past the goofy grin and aw-shucks demeanor, Manning was a pure killer on the football field. Just ask Tom Brady — arguably the greatest quarterback of all time — who lost to Manning when it mattered most: in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.

Mark Messier: Messier delivered the Stanley Cup to the New York Rangers on June 14, 1994, ending a 54-year drought since the franchise’s last title in 1940. He didn’t quite pull a Namath and guarantee a championship, but he did famously guarantee a win in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals when the Rangers were staring down elimination.

If De’Aaron Fox couldn't drive the lane successfully against the Knicks, why do cops at the wheel of this NYPD vehicle think they can?

The crush of humanity in lower Manhattan to cheer on the world champions made any kind of traveling (the legal kind) a challenge.

Even a police car couldn't get through the crowds quickly, as this WNBC footage showed.

Today's celebrations will mark the 210th ticker-tape parade held in Manhattan, but the first for the Knicks.

There doesn't appear to be a good reason the championship teams in 1970 and 1973 didn't get showered with confetti downtown, but plenty of other teams and foreign dignitaries have reveled in the glory since 1886, when the first ticker-tape parade was held in dedication of the Statue of Liberty.

Sports teams in New York aren't the only ones presented with such an honor. The centennial of George Washington's inauguration in 1889 was marked by a parade, as were visits by several royal families in the 1800s and the 1900s.

A ticker-tape parade honored pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh in 1927.   Universal Images Group via Getty Images file

Ticker-tape parades have honored war veterans, presidents, emperors, Olympians, astronauts and others. The Yankees have, of course, had their fair share of parades.

The most recent ticker-tape parade was for the New York Liberty's WNBA championship in 2024.

Video shows large crowds in downtown Manhattan in anticipation of the Knicks' parade.

Crowds wait for the Knicks parade to begin in downtown Manhattan

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The MTA said that due to the large crowds for the parade, "bus service is suspended in much of lower Manhattan. Subways are skipping stations in that area. There may be changes to your railroad trip."

The city also said in an update that "all lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge are closed in both directions. Consider alternate routes and allow for additional travel time."

"Following a prior closure, all lanes of the FDR Drive have reopened at 38th Street in Manhattan. Expect residual delays," the city said in another update.

Those who aren't as familiar with Knicks lore are probably confused about why everyone keeps talking about Villanova, a university outside Philadelphia, in relation to the team's NBA championship.

Let's rewind about 10 years.

Young Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges all ventured to the Philadelphia suburbs to play college ball, met for the first time, and played together in one season, then rose to the top and won the NCAA Tournament in 2016.

The end of the 2017 season didn't prove as successful, and it marked the end of Hart's college career.

But Brunson and Bridges were able to pull off another win their junior year, nabbing the 2018 NCAA championship together, before declaring for the NBA draft.

The players went their separate ways until the Knicks traded for Brunson in 2022. Hart followed in 2023, and Bridges joined the team in 2024.

Some say friendship wins championships. This could prove it to be true.

Let us not forget Donte DiVincenzo, who played on both Villanova championship teams with Brunson and Bridges, and played for the Knicks in the 2023-24 season. But the Knicks traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves, away from his friends, in exchange for big man Karl-Anthony Towns after that season.

 Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images

Kevin Mazur / Getty Images

Waiting a few hours for the start of the parade is nothing for a city that's been waiting 53 years for an NBA championship.

The now-iconic starting lineup — Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby — made a pit stop at “TODAY” on their victory tour Monday morning to talk about bringing the first NBA championship to New York City in 53 years.

“It hasn’t settled in yet,” said Brunson, who could barely speak when he was interviewed moments after the win. He added that, at the time, “I was just trying to find the right words, and I really couldn’t.”

“It was a magical moment. It was honestly something truly special that, no matter how I try to explain it, it won’t grasp how truly special it was,” Brunson told “TODAY” co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Craig Melvin.

Read the full story here.

Fans in New York erupted in celebration across the city on Saturday night as the Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years.

Fans across New York celebrate Knicks' win

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The ceremony at City Hall, which is where the parade ends, is open only to ticket holders.

Those lucky enough to get a glimpse will be held to the same security standards as those at the parade: no bags, no weapons, no glass or metal bottles.

It's been a long 53 years.

The Knicks seemed poised to have a special season when they nabbed the NBA Cup in December, but no one expected a playoff run so historic.

After drawing the third seed in the Eastern Conference for the NBA playoffs, the Knicks started off strong in Game 1 against the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks.

But after losing Games 2 and 3 to the Hawks, the Knicks did the unthinkable: they won their next 13 playoff games.

Games 4, 5 and 6 against the Hawks belonged to the Knicks, as did Games 1 through 4 of the second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

The team then swept its next opponents, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the Eastern Conference finals. It was a euphoric win after the Knicks fell to the Indiana Pacers in the same series last year.

The Knicks proved their dominance against the San Antonio Spurs in the first two games of the Finals, both in Texas, but lost their stride when they returned home to play Game 3 in Madison Square Garden.

In a remarkable Game 4, the Knicks pulled off the biggest-ever comeback of the NBA Finals, clawing their way to a win after being down 29 points.

Finally, the Knicks clinched the championship on the road in San Antonio with a low-scoring win Saturday night that cemented them in history.

Jalen Brunson holds the MVP trophy after game five. Wu Xiaoling / Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images

Singer Alicia Keys is expected to make an appearance at today's parade.

In a video call posted on her Instagram page, the singer is seen chatting with Kicks forward OG Anunoby, who asks her if she's going to show up at the parade.

“Like how could I not?," Keys replies. "This is my city and the city’s on fire.” The Grammy-winning singer added: "There’s so much love in the city. It’s crazy ... Everybody just united, feeling amazing - I’m excited.”

Starting at 4:30 a.m., the Wall Street 4/5 station and the City Hall R/W station will be closed.

The following stations will be open:

• Bowling Green (4, 5)
• Fulton (4, 5, J, Z, 2, 3)
• Brooklyn Bridge (4, 5, 6)
• Chambers St (J, Z)
• Park Place (2, 3)

Jordyn Woods, founder and CEO of Woods by Jordyn and fiancée of Knicks superstar Karl-Anthony Towns, talked to Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones about her lucky bag earlier this week, which people online are crediting for locking in the Knicks’ championship.

The orange bag has been used at all playoff games since Game 3 against the Hawks, spurring a 13-game winning streak. She couldn't bring it to Game 3 of the Finals at MSG because President Donald Trump's attendance mandated a no-bag policy — and the Knicks lost.

She talked about how the bag went viral, revealed her plans for where she will go next with it, and opened up about what the NBA championship win was like for her and Towns, saying, “When you’re with someone, their dream becomes yours.”

Jordyn Woods reveals plans for lucky New York Knicks bag

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The NYPD says all viewing pens for the parade are full, more than two hours before the event is set to begin.

"All viewing pens are full. No one else will be allowed in the viewing area," the NYPD said in a post on X at 7:28 a.m. "As a reminder, if you leave the viewing pens, you will not be allowed reentry."

Police added that "there are no trains stopping south of Canal St in Manhattan."

NBC New York will air the parade starting at 9 a.m. Those without cable can catch the broadcast on Peacock.

New York City is reminding people to stay hydrated ahead of today's parade, as temperatures will rise to the high-80s.

"Bring plastic water bottles to the Knicks Championship Parade, wear sunscreen and hats, and stay hydrated, New York," the city said in a post on X.

According to the New York City mayor's office, all parade attendees will be screened.

Pens open at 6 a.m., and no one is allowed to bring bags inside (sorry, Jordyn Woods).

Other prohibited items include:

• Glass or metal water bottles (plastic bottles are allowed)
• Bats/batons
• Bicycles or scooters
• Chairs
• Coolers
• Drones
• Backpacks
• Pets
• Strollers
• Umbrellas
• Weapons

Those who work and live in buildings along the route will be allowed to enter with proper building ID.

The parade starts at 10 a.m., but fans have been staking out their spots since 6 a.m.

Crowds gather for the New York Kicks' victory parade in Manhattan this muggy morning. Three hours before the parade is set to begin, paradegoers are already annoyed at the disorganization and slow-moving lines.

Amina Kilpatrick / NBC News

The New York City mayor's office has said that if the weather gets too bad, the parade will be rescheduled, but so far, it's shaping up to be a nice enough day.

Parade weather will feature quite variable conditions, with a shower threat in the morning and a scattered thunderstorm threat in the afternoon.

It won’t be raining for most of the parade, but the chance for a scattered shower or thunderstorm does exist.

The parade starts at 10 a.m. at Bowling Green in lower Manhattan. It will travel up Broadway, through the Canyon of Heroes, until it reaches City Hall.

At City Hall, Mayor Zohran Mamdani will present the team with keys to the city.

The ticker-tape parade is a long-standing tradition unique to New York City, dating to the dedication of Lady Liberty in 1886.

While paradegoers marched through downtown, there was no confetti raining over the city.

Instead, scraps of ticker tape — ribbons of paper historically used to print real-time stock market data by telegraph — were used, and the parade got its name. Those who worked in Wall Street offices around the parade route have been known to throw the paper scraps out of the windows and down over the city as part of the celebration.