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New York Knicks fans are about to party like it’s 1999.
For the first time in 27 years, the Knicks are in the NBA Finals, but for a brief period the New York Police Department issued a ban on watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden because the Knicks faithful got too rowdy.
Well, for the biggest Knicks game this millennium, the NYPD reversed course.
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Knicks fans celebrate winning the Eastern Conference championship against the Cleveland Cavaliers in New York City on May 25, 2026. The Knicks last reached the NBA Finals in 1999 and are seeking their first championship since 1973. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
The Knicks will hold a watch party at Plaza 33 outside the arena for Game 1 Wednesday night after Madison Square Garden applied for permits.
The San Antonio Spurs host the first two games before MSG hosts Game 3 on Monday. Game 1 will also be shown live inside the arena, with tickets costing $10 and proceeds benefiting the Garden of Dreams Foundation.
Six arrests were made outside MSG during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks took a 2-0 series lead just days after completing a 22-point comeback in the fourth quarter, really starting the ruckus.
Knicks fans celebrate their team’s Eastern Conference championship victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers in New York City on May 25, 2026. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET CELEBRATES WITH FANS IN NYC STREETS AFTER KNICKS GO TO EASTERN CONFERENCE FINAL
Despite no watch party for the Knicks’ clincher last week, fans still took to the streets to celebrate.
Videos poured out from Manhattan intersections, packed bars outside Madison Square Garden and booming “WE WANT WEMBY” chants outside MSG.
Fans carried brooms through Manhattan streets in anticipation of a Cavaliers sweep, climbed atop traffic lights as NYPD officers ordered them down, unleashing the kind of basketball pandemonium New York has waited decades to experience again.
Even Radio City Music Hall erupted into Knicks chants as the city collectively lost its mind last Monday night.
From booming “WE WANT WEMBY” chants outside Madison Square Garden to chaos spreading through Midtown intersections, New York City was transformed into a massive street party after the Knicks swept the Eastern Conference. (Getty Images) ((Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images))
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The Knicks are underdogs to the Spurs, who knocked off the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 on the road on Saturday.
New York is seeking its first title since 1973, if you’re wondering what the city might look like if it wins it all.
