New York to honor historic Knicks championship with ticker-tape parade

NEW YORK, June 18 : Massive crowds are expected in New York on Thursday for a ticker-tape parade celebrating the NBA champion New York Knicks, capping a dream season for one of basketball's most long-suffering franchises.

The Knicks' dominant run through the NBA playoffs, which included wins in 15 of their last 16 games, unified and electrified this sports-mad city. Saturday's victory in Game 5 of the NBA finals over the San Antonio Spurs sealed the team’s first title in 53 years, sparking celebrations in the streets across the city's five boroughs as fans streamed out of packed bars, frenzied fan zones and impromptu watch parties.

The parade, which Mayor Zohran Mamdani predicted could be the largest in the city's history, will start at 10 a.m. near the southern tip of Manhattan and proceed to City Hall, where he will present the team with symbolic keys to the city.

Unlike the chaotic celebrations overnight Saturday, when a 17-year-old was shot in the foot and a World Cup shuttle bus was set on fire, Thursday’s festivities are being organized by municipal authorities. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who estimated crowds could number in the millions, has ordered the deployment of 10,000 officers to Lower Manhattan.

Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys will serenade the revelers, according to Knicks owner James Dolan. Viral videos following the team's 94-90 clinching victory on Saturday showed hundreds of fans celebrating on the streets singing the 2009 hit "Empire State of Mind," an unofficial city anthem she recorded with fellow New Yorker, rapper Jay-Z.

"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