Dolan Jabs Mamdani During Knicks Championship Celebration
New York Knicks owner James Dolan took a subtle shot at Mayor Zohran Mamdani during Thursday’s championship celebration at City Hall and appeared to brush off a photo opportunity with the mayor as he accepted a ceremonial key to the city.
The awkward moment came at the end of the Knicks’ championship parade through the Canyon of Heroes. Moments earlier, Mamdani had delivered a nearly 10-minute speech that revisited the franchise’s history, memorable playoff moments and numerous former players.
When Dolan took the podium, he seemed to reference the lengthy remarks without mentioning the mayor by name.
“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 to cheers from the crowd.
The tension appeared to continue during the key-to-the-city presentation. After receiving the key from Mamdani, Dolan shook the mayor’s hand and immediately turned toward his seat as Mamdani stood ready for a photo. Dolan briefly looked back but did not stop to pose before returning to his chair.
The exchange comes after recent friction between the two men over security measures around Madison Square Garden during the NBA Finals. Dolan publicly blasted restrictions imposed by the NYPD, arguing they dampened the atmosphere surrounding the outdoor watch parties.
“They’re sitting there trying to say, ‘Well, we’re big Knicks fans,’ but they’re not Knicks fans,” Dolan said during a June 10 appearance on WFAN. Referring to Mamdani, he added, “He’s not a Knick fan.”
During his remarks, Mamdani highlighted several iconic moments in franchise history, including Bernard King’s 60-point Christmas Day performance in 1984, Willis Reed’s legendary appearance in the 1970 NBA Finals and Patrick Ewing’s battles with the Indiana Pacers. He also gave a shoutout to former Knicks enforcer Charles Oakley, whose feud with Dolan dates back nearly a decade.
The mayor also mentioned dozens of former players, including Jared Jeffries, Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins, before reliving the team’s remarkable playoff run and dramatic comeback victory over the Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Mamdani noted that Knicks fans had waited 53 years to celebrate another championship. Dolan responded by joking that some in attendance did not look old enough to have suffered through every championship-less season.
“But we’re very, very happy to have brought you a championship,” Dolan said. “I’m very proud of our team.”
“Thank you for supporting our team,” he added. “We’re gonna keep working to bring you even better basketball.”