The Knicks are a unifying force in New York City. It’s true when they’re bad, it’s true when they’re good and it’s proving especially true during this year’s run to the NBA Finals.
Residents of all ages and backgrounds are coming together to raucously celebrate their favorite basketball team, one that totally and completely embodies the true spirit of the city moreso than any of its other teams. There is no glitz and glamour with these Knicks—just a resilience and a relentless drive to succeed no matter what. These are traits most of the fan base align themselves with, because it’s impossible to live in NYC without them.
But few of those fans can actually go see the team play.
Madison Square Garden’s price of entry has always been wildly high for the Knicks, but this playoff run has taken it to a new level and Finals prices in particular have gotten completely out of hand. Between that factor and the simple numbers problem of a city of 8.58 million residents competing for 19,500 Madison Square Garden seats, the vast majority of Knicks fans can’t even dream of seeing their favorite players take the floor in person.
Where, then, do those fans watch the games? Where do New Yorkers flock to in order to find the same sense of community that MSG provides, but at a cost far less than multiple months’ rent? Where do the real Knicks fans plan to go to watch the NBA Finals?
Sports Illustrated found out. A trio of reporters ventured out into three of the five boroughs to take in the very best watch parties NYC had to offer for the opening two games of the 2026 NBA Finals contested in San Antonio—from bars to a club, a barbecue joint and even to Central Park.
Pig Beach—Astoria, Queens
Watching a Knicks game at Pig Beach is like attending the largest, loudest backyard barbecue you’ll ever find—at first.
At the center of the iconic Queens BBQ eatery is an enormous outdoor courtyard built in front of a TV screen over two stories tall with dozens of picnic benches littering the cobblestone. Inside is a spacious restaurant that offers great ribs, better brisket and a well-designed array of (smaller) televisions to ensure that not a seat in the house is blocked from seeing the action.
The crowd in attendance for Game 1 was jovial and energetic despite the hours-long line that was a prerequisite for entry and the standing-room-only rule announced less than an hour after doors opened. As the space filled, cheerful greetings could be heard to a degree most true New Yorkers would consider unbecoming under normal circumstances. Drinks of varying ABV% flowed freely and the scent of freshly made fries hung in the air.
Knicks fans are ready to go! pic.twitter.com/H4a9ZqXywT
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 4, 2026
This is what happens when the Knicks are thriving. The person next to you represents an opportunity to revel in your shared good fortune, instead of an obstacle to be tolerated. Or, more accurately, to be dodged on the sidewalk.
“It’s just about celebrating the city. Everyone coming out, and spending money and having a good time—on a Wednesday night! We’re gonna be out all night,” proclaimed Tracy and Tom, Knicks fans who live in Pig Beach’s home neighborhood of Astoria.
Given those vibes, nothing really prepares you for when the game starts and madness ensues. The cement walls that ring the stone courtyard amplifies every cheer tenfold—and those cheers are coming from everybody there. Nobody in attendance is half-paying attention while hanging out with their friends or family, as is the case for nearly any other watch party you’ve ever been to. Even those who brought small children ensured the strollers were facing a screen.
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Every miss sent a ripple of agony through the crowd. Every make led to a wordless roar audible from blocks away. And every commercial break was punctuated with “LET’S GO KNICKS” chants amid the banging of beer buckets from overenthusiastic attendees trying to mimic the Madison Square Garden P.A. system.
“The atmosphere has to be No. 1,” Knicks fans Reed and Chris told me pregame. “You really get the heart of New York that comes here. It’s just the epitome of the best vibe. You’ve got real fans and a lot of diversity. People coming from all the boroughs. Everybody’s into it and taking it seriously.”
The pleasantness of the setting—trees gently swaying in the breeze and the inescapable, delicious fragrance of top-tier barbeque—made for a stark contrast to the desperate intensity of Knicks fandom. It was very New York in that way; the discordant harmony of different lifestyles grating against each other is the heartbeat of the city. But as the final seconds ticked off the game clock and reality set in that the Knicks had taken Game 1, the only sound was the reckless joy of a fan base that waited a long time for this moment. —Liam McKeone
HOW YA FEELING, KNICKS FANS?! pic.twitter.com/Xe6QxYxTip
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 4, 2026
FancyFree—Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Biking through Brooklyn during rush hour is typically a hyperstimulating experience, but there was a specific flavor to the fervor on Wednesday. Pop Smoke’s song “Hello” blared out of car windows, the bass trembling in my eardrums before settling in the back of my throat. The lyric “I’m the king of New York, Melo” was interrupted by an errant “Go Knicks!” from the sidewalk, which elicited a cacophony of car horns. Entering Fort Greene, Brooklyn, the neighborhood was coated in royal blue and orange, even the dutiful pooches of Fort Greene Park were outfitted in Knicks jerseys.
Approaching the corner of S Elliott Pl. and Lafayette Ave., a group of fans could be spotted from blocks away. It was nearly an hour before tip-off of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and already FancyFree was at capacity, and the patrons were spilling onto the pavement. Legendary director and Knicks and Arsenal fan Spike Lee famously frequents the pub. Even Mayor Zohran Mamdani stopped by FancyFree this spring to cheer on his Gunners in the UEFA Champions League final.
Inside what some could argue is Knicks fans’ definitive Brooklyn outpost, it was hard to distinguish where one body ended and another started. But few seemed to mind, with people adopting a choreographed dance of negotiating space in this long, narrow, railroad-shaped bar. Bartenders and servers moved through the masses, balancing trays of tequila shots, beers and steaming-hot fries with little fanfare in a feat that was nothing short of a miracle.
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“Just growing up in New York, this city is basketball. You see it now when the team is in a position to win a championship, how everybody gets behind them,” said Danny, a 29-year-old from Brooklyn who’s supported the Knicks his whole life. “Brunson, KAT, OG, Hart, they’ve given this generation something to be nostalgic about when they’re our age. Like, ‘Remember the 2026 Knicks?’ I think it’s going to breed a whole ’nother generation of Knicks fans.”
Danny’s friend, Johnny, shared a similar sentiment through puffs of his joint:
“I don’t even know how to feel because this is unmarked territory for a newer generation of Knicks fans who didn’t experience anything before ’98, ’99. I work in Midtown, and today I was damn near chest-bumping people, doing fist bumps, like the energy is ridiculous. I’m getting goosebumps right now.”
Toward the end of Game 1, as Brunson took over in the fourth to seal the win for the city that loves him so dearly, a fiery spirit swelled above the pulsing heat of the crowd in the neon-lit halls of Elsewhere. A simple, unspoken understanding among those of us who made the trek to this tucked-away concrete hideout to watch history unfold.
If the Knicks win, we dance.
And they won. —K.W.
SummerStage—Central Park, Manhattan
An older Knicks fan by the name of Gio stood up on the SummerStage wearing a chef’s hat and holding a wooden ladle. At the prompting of the emcee, he broke out his best dance moves to the tune of “Get Low” by Lil Jon and The East Side Boyz. The fans in the crowd below him went wild in response; a few moments later Gio was declared the victor of the Central Park watch party dance competition. He received a gift bag of team merchandise for his efforts.
This scene perfectly captured the family friendly yet still riotous energy at SummerStage for Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Nestled just north of the Central Park Zoo and a short stroll from the East 72nd Street entrance, it’s a venue most commonly used for concerts and other such events. For this Knicks playoff run it had been co-opted into an NBA-sanctioned watch party location—one that became quite popular by Friday’s Game 2.
The line for the Knicks watch party in Central Park 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3qjPQ0apvt
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 5, 2026
Manhattan’s biggest green space is a popular place on warm Friday nights and so it should come as no surprise the line for entry consisted of hundreds of fans and wound through the heart of Central Park. Cheers of “Let’s go Knicks!” made for a constant refrain from residents speeding by as they biked, ran or roller-skated through the park. Game 1’s win seemed to relieve a certain tension throughout the Knicks’ fandom, an elimination of the fear that the team would flop right out of the gates, and so the scene was more patient than earlier in the week. College students quietly played hacky sack while their line neighbor was consumed with a novel. The party would start—but everyone was content to wait, perhaps still basking in the safe glory of Game 1’s victory.
Once things started rolling, though, they didn’t stop. Equipment usually dedicated towards blaring the deep bass of rap or electric riffing of punk rock was reconfigured for thunderous “DE-FENSE” chants that rattled the teeth. A number of elementary school-aged Knicks fans were left to roam on the artificial turf as their parents watched from the aluminum bleachers that made up the only actual seating of the venue; everyone else sat on blankets and their own chairs.
And, as an official watch party, there were tons of bells and whistles. The emcee hosting the night dangled a green, special Christmas edition Kristaps Porziņģis jersey from his belt. Two tickets to Game 3 were given away during a commercial break. Former Knicks Wilson Chandler and Tim Thomas were brought out to galvanize the crowd, standing on a stage framed by five cutouts of the current starting lineup (most pictures were taken next to cardboard KAT). If you ignore the 30 or so Porta-Pottys that made for the only bathrooms at the venue, one might even describe the scene as … pure. Which is not what one expects from a large gathering of Knicks fans.
That energy persisted for much of the evening. There weren’t many groans or curses when the team fell behind in the first quarter. Plenty of cheers were had as the Knicks came back in resounding fashion to take a lead of their own. It felt like a backyard hangout, the vibe of which didn’t quite reflect the stakes of Game 2—a feeling that dissipated with shocking speed once the Spurs ripped off a 14–0 run to tie the game late.
Then it felt like the rest of the parties you’ve read about to this point. Every single possession was a life-or-death experience. Kids who had snoozed throughout the second half wound up on their parents’ shoulders. The more intense fans in attendance adopted fiercely concentrated looks and power stances that mirrored their concern the Knicks might actually lose for the first time since April.
By the time the Spurs had the ball down by one point with seconds remaining, the tension and frustration was so thick in the air you could grab it with your hands; the nuns of San Antonio were heartedly booed upon being shown on the broadcast. A happy-go-lucky evening had, at last, morphed into the bloodthirsty experience that is watching your team compete in the NBA Finals.
Victor Wembanyama caught the ball, dribbled inside the arc and launched as hundreds of fans ensconced by the grand trees of Central Park held their breath. The shot missed—and the collective scream of happiness that followed must have been heard from the skyscrapers dotting the skyline.
Knicks watch party in Central Park reacts to Wemby’s miss at end of game to take 2-0 series lead 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/O16SNE5Lio
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 6, 2026
The celebration immediately spilled into the park. No spot of grass was safe from the victorious strides of Knicks fans, one of whom screamed “I LOVE YOU JALEN BRUNSON” so loudly it echoed off the multimillion dollar penthouses dotting Museum Mile on 5th Ave. The chants carried into the subway and onto the downtown Q train as the more energetic fans made a beeline for MSG.
Every New Yorker has a favorite night they’ve spent in Central Park, but Friday might’ve topped them all. —L.M.
More NBA Finals From Sports Illustrated
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