Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: I mean this team — it's incredible. And to be in the Finals for the first time since ‘99, for it to be Jalen Brunson who led us last night — [who] has been leading us all season, Captain Clutch — the son of Rick Brunson, who was in the last Knicks team who lost to the Spurs four-one, and now we beat the Spurs four-one. It just feels like this beautiful full-circle moment, not just for the Brunsons, but for the entire city. And you know, it is a beautiful thing that the city feels like the nation's largest city has become the world's smallest town — all of us thinking about the same thing.
Jaysha Patel: I've been — when I'm talking to people, you know, I ask them: “Have you ever seen anything like this unite the city”? Because it seems like it just brought literally everyone together. What are your thoughts seeing everyone together celebrating, kind of coming together to cheer the Knicks on?
Mayor Mamdani: It's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen as a New Yorker. And, you know, I was reading a piece this morning that wrote about how oftentimes in our city's history, this kind of unity comes in a moment of tragedy, and it's so beautiful that this unity is coming in a moment of joy, and that we are coming together not only of our hopes of this team but our hopes of the city. And the team frankly reflects the city, the relentlessness, the drive, the hustle, the never-give-up, and you look at the stories of each of these individual players — so many of them were overlooked at different points in their careers and Mike Brown built a team where every single player had a role. And even over the course of the Finals, we saw different players show up for this team — show up for the city — and as a city, we can't wait to show up for all of them now.
Patel: Anything you can tell us about the parade on Thursday? I mean, how's the planning process? Do you know when we're gonna learn about the timing of it all?
Mayor Mamdani: So, we're going to be sharing some additional details over the next few days, but it is going to be on Thursday. There's going to be a ceremony at City Hall, then there's going to be a ticker-tape parade — the first time in Knicks' history. And we're also going to be presenting keys to the city to the team.
Patel: And I imagine it's going to be a big operation. Everyone in town with the World Cup as well. Thousands and thousands of fans [are] here to see the parades. I'm sure it'll be a big plan, security plan, right, going into that?
Mayor Mamdani: Absolutely, and I do want to just say thank you to the men and women of the NYPD, who've been such a critical part of not only keeping New Yorkers safe over the course of this Finals run, but also are going to be an integral part of our preparations for the parade. And I can tell you that as a fan, I haven't wanted to jinx it, but as the mayor, we've been preparing for all these logistics.
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