NEW YORK — The New York Knicks’ victory tour following their first NBA championship since 1973 made another stop Wednesday night when Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart threw out ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium.
Before the Yankees played the Chicago White Sox, Brunson and Hart were met with a standing ovation and loud cheers from fans as they took the field to a montage of highlights from the title run.
Standing in front of the mound and wearing Yankees pinstripes, Brunson made his toss to backup catcher J.C. Escarra while Hart threw to utilityman Max Schuemann.
“Oh, I think’s it been awesome,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “What a fun team to get behind and just the story of that team and how it’s kind of come together over the last couple of years and just a lot of grit, a lot of mental fortitude and to see the fanbase and then some galvanized around that club has been a lot of fun to witness.”
Brunson and Hart were honoured after the Knicks made appearances on NBC’s “The Today Show” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” on Monday. Brunson and Hart along with starters Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby also appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday.
The ceremony occurred a day before the Knicks will be honoured with a massive ticker-tape parade in lower Manhattan. Mayor Zohran Mamdani predicted Thursday’s celebration could be “the largest parade in New York City history.”
The parade will also be the first for the Knicks, who won their first two NBA champiosnhips in 1970 and 1973. After those titles, then-Mayor John Lindsay celebrated the team at the mayoral mansion and City Hall.
Brunson threw out a first pitch for the second time since joining the Knicks. He also did it before a Mets-Yankees game in July 2024, shortly after signing a four-year, $156.5 million contract to stay with the Knicks.
Brunson averaged 32.6 points in New York’s five-game victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals and won MVP honours. He led the Knicks to a 94-90 victory in the clinching Game 5 by scoring 45 points.
Hart is a great-nephew of former Yankees catcher Elston Howard, whose No. 32 jersey is retired by the team. Howard is also honoured with a plaque in Monument Park.
The Knicks finished 16-3 in the post-season, an .842 winning percentage that matched the 2024 Boston Celtics for second-best since the format changed to best-of-seven series in all NBA playoff rounds beginning in 2003. The 2017 Golden State Warriors went 16-1.
New York won 13 consecutive post-season games, second to Golden State’s 15 in a row in 2017, and set records by winning nine straight road games and outscoring their postseason opponents by 283 points.
Brunson and the Knicks also pulled off several big comebacks on the way to their title.
“It’s just been a captivating run that they’ve been on and with a group that’s now been together for a couple of years and then on top of the 53 years since a championship, it’s been a great story and a fan base that has come to know several of these guys as they’ve kind of climbed that ladder to ultimately winning a championship,” Boone said. “So I think it’ll be one of the historic teams that we talk about when it comes to the NBA.”
