NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is rolling out the ultimate welcome for its NBA champions Thursday, treating the Knicks to a classic ticker-tape parade after the team finally delivered a title that fans had been waiting more than half a century to celebrate.
The Knicks’ triumph — ending a 53-year championship drought — has sent the city into a frenzy. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has suggested Thursday’s festivities could go down as one of the grandest parades in the city’s storied history.
The occasion carries extra significance beyond just the championship itself. Despite winning back-to-back titles in the 1970s, the Knicks never received a ticker-tape parade either time. Then-Mayor John Lindsay had scaled back such elaborate celebrations for financial and other reasons, opting instead for a reception at the mayoral residence in 1970 and a packed ceremony outside City Hall in 1973.
This time around, the city is holding nothing back.
