The New York Knicks have won their first NBA championship since 1973 and longtime fans Spike Lee and Timothée Chalamet were on hand to watch their team win the long-awaited title.
Both Lee and Chalamet were shown celebrating on the court after the Knicks’ 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5. Chalamet was seen hugging Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns and proclaiming to ESPN’s SportsCenter, “way rather this than the Oscars,” after the acclaimed actor has failed to win the best actor Academy Award two years in a row.
The win, which took place in San Antonio, Texas, wasn’t as celebratory as it would have been if the Knicks had won on their home court at Madison Square Garden as the Frost Bank Center arena mostly full of Spurs fans quickly cleared out after the final buzzer.
Still at watch parties in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, New Yorkers were cheering at the long-awaited victory.
Longtime Knicks superfans Lee, Chalamet, John Turturro and Ben Stiller, who’s been filming the team’s Finals run on his iPhone, made the trip to San Antonio for Game 5, as they did for the first two games of the series. Knicks stars Walt “Clyde” Frazier, part of the 1973 championship team, and Patrick Ewing were also on hand for the Knicks victory. Other stars spotted courtside during the finals include Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Pete Davidson, Adam Sandler, Jay-Z, Jimmy Fallon, Michael J. Fox, Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld, Mariska Hargitay and, in Game 4, Taylor Swift.
The NBA Finals appearance was the first for the Knicks since 1999, which incidentally was also against the Spurs and saw the Knicks lose to San Antonio in Game 5.
The Knicks, who led the series against the Spurs 3-1 going into Game 5, made the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history in Wednesday’s Game 4, winning 107-106.
Ahead of Game 5, New Yorkers across the city were decked out in their Knicks finest, sporting jerseys, merch and, in some cases, just orange and blue attire.
Even New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen got caught up in the Knicks spirit, ending his brief performance at the Tribeca Festival in Lower Manhattan on Saturday with “Go Knicks.”
Read on to see how Hollywood stars and public figures are reacting to the Knicks’ win.
