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New York Holds Championship Parade For Knicks. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired June 18, 2026 - 10:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[10:31:35]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Look right here. These are some live pictures of New York City this morning, where police are expecting millions of New York Knicks fans to gather in the streets to celebrate the team's first NBA championship since 1973.

Today's ticker tape parade could be the biggest parade the city has ever seen, 2,500 pounds of shredded paper ready to rain down on fans this morning. The celebration kicked off moments ago starting in Lower Manhattan. The parade, which features, by the way, 72 floats and bands and several celebrities, will make its way north, traveling along Broadway, or the Canyon of Heroes, eventually ending at City Hall.

That's where Mayor Zohran Mamdani will host a championship celebration for the team and present them with the keys to the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: This is the key to the city that we will be presenting to each of the players. And it is the first key that our administration is giving out, since it's been only six months, and it is designed by Azra Khafan.

It is manufactured by him, designed by Aneesh Boothaphy. And the typography of the key is actually designed by Tobias Frere-Jones, who designed the typography of the 9/11 Museum, NYU.

QUESTION: Oh, wow.

MAMDANI: A lot of the kind of iconic typefaces in our city.

QUESTION: It's really elegant, really elegant.

MAMDANI: And we're so honored that he did this.

QUESTION: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: And today's celebrations will be heavily secured by the NYPD. The department is deploying its largest number of officers to a planned event in the city's history. More than 10,000 officers have been assigned to today's victory parade.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said there will be no tolerance for violence or disorder after celebrations turns chaotic and at times violent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: O.G.! O.G.! O.G.!

(SHOUTING)

(CHANTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all said we was going to sweep. We didn't sweep, but we cleaned up really quick.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to cry because it's like, wow, like we won. We showed out. We continue to show up just as fans for the Knicks, be supportive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please let the guys know New York TRACON, LaGuardia Tower, Kennedy Tower, maybe even Newark Tower, Westchester Tower, we're all -- we're all on about three to four hours of sleep, but as happy as we could ever be. Congrats.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And we're covering all the action this morning. We're down with the fans as the team makes their way to City Hall.

So let's go straight to CNN's Omar Jimenez in Lower Manhattan, where the parade is kicking off right -- actually, we're going to go to Shimon in just a second.

But, Omar, I want to go first to you. You're right there in the middle of all of it. What are you seeing and hearing from the fans?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, fans are steadily coming in here as they're awaiting the parade to end here, where we will see the mayor.

[10:35:03]

We will see a large celebration, ceremony to, of course, congratulate the Knicks, but show how much the Knicks mean to the city of New York. You were showing just some images from over the course of these playoffs and after the Knicks actually finally won this series for the first time in more than 50 years.

That celebration has not stopped one bit. People were waiting for today. The parade started around 10:00 in the morning Eastern time, and people were here at 4:00 in the morning waiting for the opportunity just to get as close as possible to this parade that you're seeing play out on your screens here.

This is something that means so much to this city. And the way New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani described it to me is, this energy turned the biggest city in the country into the smallest town in the world. Everywhere you look, you see a blue shirt, you see an orange hat. You go up, you congratulate them, you look each other in the eyes, you celebrate even on the subways here in the city.

And it is something that we have seen play out for now weeks and, of course, culminating in a day like today.

I want to bring in Shimon Prokupecz, who's on the parade route as well.

NYPD expecting and has been preparing at least for millions to show up. We know at least you got a show of that pretty quickly when the viewing pens closed because so many people had poured in. What have you been seeing over the course of the morning? How have people been feeling after having waited for so long for this moment?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, SENIOR CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: They're getting a little restless. They want to get the party going.

But speaking of the people and the fans that have made their way in here, there is no doubt millions here at this point. And while the pens were filled and they didn't have any more space along the parade route, we saw something happen here just a short time ago.

You're looking up Vesey Street here just off of Broadway. All those people you're seeing were not there initially. It seems that they were up the street on the outer part of the parade route and then somehow all of a sudden we suddenly saw a bunch of them started rushing towards this area.

What's been happening is, there are so many people on the perimeter of this parade that essentially the NYPD just had to let them through. And so now they're all here, pushed their way through to the front of these barriers. And like many of the people out here, they're just trying to get a glimpse, waiting to get a glimpse of the players, waiting for the floats to make their way up the Canyon of Heroes to City Hall, where you are.

We've talking to fans out here all morning, some been here since four in the morning.

Louis (ph), let me talk to you. What time did you get here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I got here at -- 5:00 in the morning, I got here. And it was a wild morning seeing all the Knicks fans, seeing all the Knicks fans going crazy, seeing all these people.

All these people is family, because we all Knicks fans at the end of the day. So it was a great morning. It was a great day. I'm excited. I think everybody's excited.

PROKUPECZ: What are you most excited for? What do you want to see?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to see Brunson. I want to see KAT. I want to see Mike Brown. I want to see everybody, everybody on the parade. And I want to see them next year too, because we're going back to back.

PROKUPECZ: What's it been like for you these last few weeks?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These last weeks have been unbelievable, nervous, happiness, exciting. Seeing them win after going down to the Atlanta Hawks is unbelievable.

This is a run I will never forget in my life.

PROKUPECZ: What do you say about the people in New York City and how they have been reacting to all of this, your friends-, your family?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I just say that -- I always tell them one thing. We're a family. We always will be a family. Win, lose, draw, we're always a family. When we lose, we're together. When we win, we're together.

It's always been like that in Knicks culture and New York culture. And it will continue like that for the rest of eternity.

PROKUPECZ: Have fun, all right, man? Be safe. Thank you for talking to me.

The thing is here, Omar-, as you know, people -- these last few weeks for people has -- it's been the most joyous celebrations, the best of times, the happiest of times. New York City knows how to get together. New York City knows how to band together, how to support each other.

And we have done it during tragic times and times of sorrow, like 9/11 and then the pandemic. We have not had a moment like this.

JIMENEZ: And, Shimon, we lost your audio there, but I know exactly what you mean. I mean, this is a city that has been through a lot. And many cities have.

And that united feeling is oftentimes around tragedy, as we watch some of the players here. But this is united by joy. There's O.G. Anunoby, one of the heroes of this series back in game four, capping off the largest NBA Finals comeback in the history of the game here in the U.S.

[10:40:08]

And then there's Karl-Anthony Towns also on the bus there as well. The players are out. They're out celebrating as much as the fans. Earlier, we actually saw Karl-Anthony Towns walking with some of the trophies and actually shaking hands with the fans that had come out and, of course, had been waiting for hours just for an opportunity like that. And when you talk about what the fan that Shimon was talking to was saying -- and there you go. There's -- there are some of the players out there. I think that's the Larry O'Brien Trophy that they're holding up. That's, of course, the trophy that you get for winning the championship in the NBA.

And it is something that has not had a lot of rest over the last few days since they won, and the fans there all with their signs. But one of the things that the fan that Shimon was talking to was saying was just how early he got here.

I tried to get here at 5:30 in the morning just to do this job, and I couldn't even get out of the subway. I mean, literally, we were at a standstill for almost 30 minutes just trying to exit the subway station, as you see Karl-Anthony Towns waving the Dominican flag, which is his roots as well.

I want to bring back in Shimon Prokupecz. I think we got his signal back.

You were talking just about the joy that unites the city. There's Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The joy that unites in this moment as compared to what we might see in the past, you're seeing some of that play out firsthand. How would you describe it?

PROKUPECZ: No, it's been incredible. As a lifelong New Yorker, someone who was born here, grew up in Brooklyn, I have lived through a lot of pain and a lot of sorrow.

But to see the city the way it was in those 10 weeks of the Knicks winning and coming back and the resiliency, and it really spoke to what New York is about. And there's nothing like a Knicks fan. Knicks are special to this city.

And because it took so long to get here, it made it extra special. The other thing is, we should reflect on what the Canyon of Heroes is, this stretch of roadway of Lower Manhattan and what it represents, not only to New York City, but to the country, heroes, astronauts, political figures, people who have really made a difference in the world, sports figures, women's soccer, New York Rangers, the Giants.

All these teams that have meant so much to the city, and also the heroes of the world who have made their way up the same stretch that we're now seeing the Knicks come up and what that represents to this city. This is why they wanted to have this parade here. A lot of people were questioning, well, how are you going to fit all these people?

Why not do it somewhere else? But there is a level of symbolism here. There is a level of recognition here that these streets represent not only to this city, but to the world. These are heroes. Heroes come up this way. And for this city, these are the latest heroes, these Knicks players.

And what they have been able to do in such a moment to bring everyone together is something that will last with all of us forever and ever, from the little kids to the older folks who have been following the Knicks for so many years, even when they were horrible and weren't winning, but still spending the money, because it's really expensive to go to a Knicks game.

And so now they're making their way up the Canyon of Heroes. And we will see the loudest cheers, the confetti that will fall over them. And I think, for the players, it's going to be a moment.

And they're going to feel certain things probably that they have never felt before, just being surrounded by this crowd, who, think about this, some of them spent the night here just to be able to stand here, just to stand here, to get as close as they can to these players.

It's going to be quite a moment when they certainly pass through here and make their way to you, Omar, where that ceremony is going to be just incredible, as they're given the keys to the city and then recognized by the mayor and other city officials and so many celebrities in attendance.

It's going to be quite a moment. I think we're all just hoping this happens soon, because it's been quite a long morning for many people out here. They want to see those floats. Everyone's trying to look and see, OK, where are they? Are they going to be here soon?

And we're going to see this crowd erupt as they pass through here. And it's going to be a moment for certainly for all of us to remember.

JIMENEZ: No kidding. And, as you have been talking, we have been showing images from the parade itself.

[10:45:03]

We have got a little girl on camera excited about what we're seeing. We have been seeing the players on top of these floats, Karl-Anthony Towns with a cigar in his mouth. This is the time to light that cigar, champions of the world here, of the basketball world.

We saw Mayor Zohran Mamdani on one of those floats as well. I mean, this is a citywide celebration. And as Shimon was listing the teams here, there are a lot of teams in New York City. If you follow baseball, you have got the Yankees and the Mets. It often divides the fan bases, the Jets and the Giants the same way, the Rangers, the Islanders the same way.

Even though there are the Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets, it is not the same there. The Knicks are what reign supreme in this particular city, even as compared to other championships. Now, maybe it's because it's been so long, over 50 years since the Knicks have seen this.

But after the game four, where we saw the largest finals come back in history for the NBA, I was talking to C.C. Sabathia. He was a former Yankees pitcher. He won the World Series back in 2009 here for the city. And I asked him, how does this moment compare to when the Yankees won the World Series?

And at that point, the Knicks had not won the championship yet. And he said there was absolutely no comparison. And then, over the course of this week and these weeks, we have been talking to fans, some of the most iconic ones. I have got a chance to sit down with Spike Lee and John Turturro, two entertainment collaborators that have been friends for so long.

And they were telling me a story about how, back in the early days, back when they were collaborating on movies like "Do the Right Thing" and "Mo' Better Blues," that Spike would sometimes go to John Turturro and say, "I can't quite pay you what you want."

And John Turturro would say: "It's fine. Just give me five Knicks games."

That is the currency we are talking about in the city of New York, as you see Karl-Anthony Towns in his Knicks jacket, dancing cigar in hand. You have got O.G. Anunoby and others on this particular float too. It just means so much to the city that has been waiting for so long.

And as we were talking about earlier, it has transformed what is the biggest city in the country into the smallest town in the world, to borrow a phrase from the mayor, as he told me. And it is no more apparent than when you walk down the streets, when you're on the subways, both places where you typically don't look people in the eyes.

And now you're giving high-fives. You're talking about how you can't believe that the city is where it is, in a state of pure jubilation.

We're going to continue to follow this. And we will check back in as this parade makes its way towards me at City Hall in New York City. The celebration continues.

Stick around. We will be right back.

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JIMENEZ: Welcome back to New York City, where you are watching the celebration of the New York Knicks after having done something they have not in more than 50 years, with the entire city cheering them on.

The NYPD had been preparing for millions to show up. I haven't counted every single person, but there are a lot of people out and people that have been out for hours, since the early morning, lining this parade route just to get a glimpse, just for the chance to get a glimpse at some of their heroes as they make their way down this parade for what will be a ceremony at City Hall and even more of a celebration.

But we have been watching these players on the buses, on the floats. They're smoking cigars. They're wearing jackets. They're hoisting the trophies. They're doing every single bit of what you would expect for a team that has earned the right to be here and celebrate with this entire city. As one official described to me, the biggest city in the country has

become the smallest town in the world, fans greeting each other like neighbors on the street.

I want to bring in CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan, because one of the things we were talking about over the course of this show is that, yes, it's been more than 50 years since the Knicks have done this, but they have been so close in the decades since, just haven't quite crossed that threshold until this year.

Can you just talk to us a little bit about what it has been like for this organization and the pressure it faces being in New York City, as compared to some of the other franchises who have won much more than the Knicks have?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Omar, that's absolutely correct.

I mean, the disappointment, the heartbreak that New York Knicks fans have felt for decades, for generations, it's extraordinary. And I think that's one of the reasons we're seeing the scenes that you are witnessing and you're in right now, is that the absolute joy of this long drought, of course, as we know, 53 years since they won an NBA title.

And something that I think most people haven't kind of looked at the bigger picture, I had a chance to kind of delve into it a little bit. The Boston Celtics, Omar, have won 18 NBA titles, the Lakers, both Minnesota Lakers and L.A. Lakers, 17 NBA titles, and the Knicks just won their third.

I think that crystallizes the conversation as well as anything about, as you said, throughout the '90s, so close, but no championship, great teams, expectations through the roof. It is New York, obviously, the media center of the United States and the world. Everyone focuses on New York, whether you love the New York teams or you hate the New York teams.

There's such an incredible focus. And for that kind of disappointment year in and year out, where kids were born, went to high school, went to college, got married, had kids, and never saw victories, never saw something like this, I think that's the magnitude of this moment and what we're seeing here and why we're seeing such an outpouring, not just in New York, but around the country, in terms of their love of and celebration for the Knicks, Omar.

[10:55:13]

JIMENEZ: It really is extraordinary. And we are seeing it firsthand.

I want to bring in Shimon Prokupecz, who's along the parade route, has been talking to fans who have been waiting to see these players up close over the course of this.

Shimon, can you just show us what you are seeing right now? Are they any closer to getting to your position? It looks like there's a lot of activity.

PROKUPECZ: Yes, there's a lot of activity.

I want to show you here, the NYPD, their band just went through kind of warming up the crowd. And, actually, people here were cheering them. These fans have had a lot of interaction with the NYPD these last several weeks during a lot of the celebrations. So it was nice to see that the band went through here and they have been able to cheer them on.

Speaking about the NYPD and security, I want to bring in our chief law enforcement analyst, John Miller, on the security and the preparation.

And, John, can you talk about some of the security preparations for this? The NYPD saying it's unprecedented. What's your take on that?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, planning started for this, Shimon, before the Knicks even won the game on the idea that they might have to put this together.

And once that final basket went in and this was a fait accompli, they had between that night, Saturday and Thursday to build this out. They're using the plan that is very similar to the ones they have used in the past. I can remember as a kid being in the Canyon of Heroes in 1969 watching the astronauts who landed on the moon came up -- come up that road.

And, since then it's been the Mets and the Yankees and the Rangers and now today the Knicks, so that they have a plan, a set piece for this Canyon of Heroes route. But they're really using elements of the plan that they use for New Year's Eve, which is a massive crowd. They knew this was going to be one of the biggest ever, if not the biggest ever.

You have got 8,535 cops assigned to this route and the subway stations and several clubs around it. And you have got layers and layers of counterterrorism teams and detection teams that you don't see working in the background. It's quite an extensive plan.

PROKUPECZ: All right, thank you, John.

Omar, we're going to toss it back to you now.

JIMENEZ: Yes, we have been watching this New York Knicks championship parade, as the players are celebrating. We are following it along live, doing something for the first time they have not done in more than 50 years.

And on a little bit of what John was saying, yes, the mayor actually, as a fan, didn't want to jinx it, but also had to start planning for it days ahead. And one fan told me, this is much beyond what they have seen for New Year's Eve, at least from that fan's interpretation.

So we're going to have much more on what we are seeing over the course of this parade, especially as they make their way to the final ceremony.

We will be right back. Stay tuned.

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