Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart kept the Knicks’ championship celebration rolling Wednesday night, this time in front of a packed Yankee Stadium crowd. Their ceremonial first pitches added another high-profile stop to New York’s victory tour after the team’s first NBA title since 1973.
The pair walked onto the field before the Yankees faced the Chicago White Sox and were greeted with a standing ovation and loud cheers. A highlight montage from the Knicks’ title run played as they took the field, giving the moment a postseason feel of its own.
Two Knicks, two pitches, one loud welcome
Wearing Yankees pinstripes, Brunson stood in front of the mound and threw to backup catcher J.C. Escarra. Hart followed with his own toss to utilityman Max Schuemann, turning the ceremonial appearance into a rare crossover between two of New York’s most visible sports teams.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the reaction around the Knicks has been easy to understand. “Oh, I think’s it been awesome,” 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.”
A celebration that keeps growing across New York
The Yankee Stadium appearance came after Brunson and Hart were honored on NBC’s The Today Show and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Monday. Brunson, Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby also appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America the same day.
The city is now preparing for a massive ticker-tape parade in lower Manhattan on Thursday, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani saying the celebration could be “the largest parade in New York City history.” It will be the first parade for the Knicks after their championships in 1970 and 1973.
Brunson has now thrown out a first pitch at Yankee Stadium 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 in New York.
On the court, Brunson’s playoff run was just as memorable. He averaged 32.6 points in the Knicks’ five-game victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals and earned MVP honors after scoring 45 points in the clinching Game 5.
Hart’s connection to the Yankees added another layer to the night. He is a great-nephew of former Yankees catcher Elston Howard, whose No. 32 is retired by the club and honored with a plaque in Monument Park.
The Knicks finished their postseason 16-3, matching the 2024 Boston Celtics for the second-best winning percentage in the modern best-of-seven format since 2003. New York also won 13 straight playoff games, set a record with nine consecutive road victories and outscored its opponents by 283 points during the run.
Boone said the team’s place in New York sports history may be secure after everything it accomplished. “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 fanbase 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.”
