New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani stunned Knicks fans by delivering a rousing speech at the ceremony to celebrate their NBA championship on Thursday.
Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji joined millions of Knicks fans on the streets to celebrate their NBA Finals victory over the San Antonio Spurs, which secured their first title since 1973.
The mayor paraded through the streets of downtown Manhattan on a float with some of the Knicks’ biggest stars as fans lined Broadway to catch a glimpse of their heroes.
He then held a lavish ceremony outside City Hall to praise the players, coaches and owner James Dolan before handing all of them a key to the city as a reward for their success. Alicia Keys took to the stage to perform Empire State of Mind.
During a nearly 10-minute speech from a stage erected outside City Hall, Mamdani recapped the team’s championship highlights while also referring back to a number of Knicks legends.
The democratic socialist rattled off Bernard King’s 60 point game on Christmas Day 1984, Willis Reed’s gutsy performance in the 1970 NBA Finals and Patrick Ewing’s battles with the Indiana Pacers.
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani stunned Knicks fans by delivering a rousing speech
‘Over these past weeks, as the Knicks kept winning, our city has come together as one,’ Mamdani said.
‘Neighbors invited neighbors over. Strangers high-five one another in the street. Subway conductors saying their announcements, and bus drivers dance behind the wheel.
‘So often when the city comes together, it is because we are forced to by a moment of tragedy or adversity. What a gift it is to be brought together by pure, unfiltered joy.
‘For as long as we live, we will remember this feeling of a city together, a city alive, a city overcome by happiness.
‘The Knicks did not just win for New York City. They won like New York City. 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, 99.6 per cent of the world stacked against you.
‘And who are New Yorkers if not people who hear those odds and smile and ask, “Why are you giving me a head start?”
‘This is our city. This is our team. For 53 years, we watched; for 53 years, we waited. Now we’ve won.’
Footage of his passionate speech quickly went viral on social media and left Knicks fans stunned.
One fan commented: ‘You can’t fake this, you have to genuinely care for what you are speaking about to speak this good.’
Another posted: ‘If this doesn’t get you misty eyed, I don’t know what does. This guy is a special man.’
A third added: ‘First mayor in 80 years of Knicks history who gets to give a championship parade speech and he came with actual poetry instead of talking points.’
Rama Duwaji wore an upcycled dress made out of Knicks shirts made by a promising designer
She wore the custom T-shirt over a black skirt and paired it with orange pom-pom earrings
Sat next to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Duwaji watched Mamdani give a rousing speech
‘It’s just so nice to see someone deliver a speech like that who sounds like a normal fan,’ another commented.’
One Knicks fan posted: ‘Amazing… passion as a fan is felt throughout, amazing to hear someone in public office can actually speak and show how to bring people together.’
‘Generational politician, whether you like his politics or not,’ another declared.
But while the Knicks-obsessed Mamdani wore a Josh Hart jersey under his suit jacket, New York City’s first lady grabbed everybody’s attention with her choice of outfit.
Duwaji wore an upcycled dress made out of a number of Knicks T-shirts that was made by 2026 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Miss Claire Sullivan, according to Vogue.
The 28-year-old wore the custom T-shirt over a black skirt and paired it with some eye-catching orange pom-pom earrings. Although, her outfit was widely mocked on social media.
One critic posted: ‘High fashion? That is horrendous and guarantee she can’t even name a player on the team before the final.’
Another posted: ‘It’s just a bunch of T-shirts tied together’ with a laughing emoji.
A third added: ‘Looks like she’s wearing the locker room laundry’.
‘Looks like it was made from trash from a construction site,’ another replied.
Others described Duwaji’s outfit as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘like my kid made it’.
Talking about her inspiration, Sullivan told Vogue: ‘My entire family is from New York, but have all since moved away, and everyone was texting me about wanting Knicks shirts.
‘I wasn’t able to go to any of the street vendors myself, so my friends helped me source. When I saw how many colors there were, I was inspired to get one in every color and turn them into a dress.’
One man who was not left impressed by Mamdani was Knicks owner Dolan, who appeared to snub a photo with him during the celebrations.
There appeared to be tension between the mayor and the Knicks chief, a close friend of Donald Trump, when they came face-to-face onstage.
Dolan, who was the first to receive the honor, did not appear too enthused to pose for a photo opportunity with Mamdani.
Dressed in an orange blazer and a blue Knicks cap, Dolan quickly shook hands with Mamdani and accepted the key, but refused to stand close to the mayor.
Mamdani then stood awkwardly in preparation of a photo but Dolan did not hesitate, instead immediately turning back towards his seat.
The pair shared another tense exchange during the ceremony when they appeared to trade sly digs at one another.
Mamdani name dropped Charles Oakley during his speech, whose longstanding feud with Dolan stems from a 2017 incident where Madison Square Garden security forcibly removed the former player from a game and arrested him.
Knicks owner James Dolan appeared to snub a photo with Mamdani in an awkward moment
Mamdani and Duwaji had front row seats to watch Alicia Keys perform Empire State of Mind
The New York City mayor presented every Knicks player and coach with a key to the city
He also made his way along the parade route on a float with Knicks ace Karl-Anthony Towns
The MSG boss then fired back with snappy comments of his own when his turn to take to the podium came.
‘I don’t need your vote, I don’t need to quote to you, right, about what happened here because if you’re real Knicks fans, you know it already,’ Dolan said in an apparent dig at the mayor.
The bitter exchange came after the pair feuded ahead of Game 4 over watch parties outside the iconic Garden.
Dolan took aim at the mayor for setting up restrictions around the famous arena that dampened the raucous watch parties taking place outside the venue.
‘They’re sitting there trying to say, “Well, we’re big Knicks fans,” but they’re not Knicks fans,’ Dolan said on WFAN on June 10.
‘He’s not a Knick fan,’ he added in reference to Mamdani.
