‘My Heart Would Stop’: Knicks Fans’ Dreams of NBA Title Within Reach After Game 1 Win

Attendees at a Queens watch party opened up about what a championship would mean for New York City.

Knicks fans gathered en masse across the city—including at Madison Square Garden—watch Game 1 of their NBA Finals series with the Spurs. | Adam Gray/Getty Images

NEW YORK CITY — The people of New York are dreamers. It is almost a prerequisite to living here. Willingly putting yourself among this mass of humanity, numbering over eight million at last count in (at best) the second-most expensive city in the country, requires a deeply held, even irrational belief that destiny is a tangible object to be grabbed with both hands. In many ways such belief is the only way to survive the grinding, unforgiving process of carving out a life in the five boroughs. 

This is why the Knicks are so special to New Yorkers. For decades, the team has represented a blank canvas upon which they could project the highest highs their imaginations could muster. And for many of those decades, the Knicks let them down. Fell short in gut-wrenching ways. Failed to spectacular degrees. But their fans continued to dream anyway—because around these parts, when you get knocked down, the only option is to get back up again. It was a cycle that became habit for most of this century as disappointment reigned year over year. 

But now … greatness is within reach. The Knicks are three wins away from a championship, the third in franchise history and the first in over a half-century of basketball. It took a rollercoaster of a Game 1 and the continuation of a downright incredible playoff winning streak to get there. But after coming back to beat the Spurs and take the opening game of the 2026 NBA Finals, New York is closer to the Larry O’Brien Trophy than most fans have seen in their lifetimes. 

What would it mean to those fans? How would such a triumph resonate after so many years of struggle? Sports Illustrated ventured out into the New York City streets to hear firsthand. 

Numerous Knicks fans, including celebrity super fans like Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan, Fat Joe and Timothée Chalamet, traveled to San Antonio for Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Spurs. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

“I think my heart would stop,” Reed from Melville declared to SI when asked to consider the possibility the Knicks emerge champions from this series. 

Reed and several friends were patiently waiting at the front of a very long line to watch Game 1 at Pig Beach, a BBQ joint in Queens that doubles as one of the biggest Knicks bars in the city. Behind him, hundreds of fans stretch down the block (one of the long NYC blocks at that) and around the corner in an effort to do the same; those in back would have to wait as long as two hours to gain entry. Reed arrived long before doors opened at 6 p.m. to secure pole position, and his eyes shined as he envisioned how sweet victory would feel after suffering through the Chris Duhon days.

“Outside of that, I think that you're gonna just bring life into the city again,” he continued. “I think that you're going to see no business gets done that day. I think that kids are not going to go to school that day. It’s just a story that's gonna be told for generations to come, especially when it comes to New York basketball.” 

“I might cry,” Tashi from Queens was willing to admit as he waited in line far behind Reed and Co. He became a Knicks fan in 2013 upon moving to NYC. “It’s like a dream. We’ve been supporting the Knicks for the last 10 years now and I’ve never imagined [they] could get to the Finals. There’s a lot of people who are going to cry.” 

Knicks fans are ready to go! pic.twitter.com/H4a9ZqXywT

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 4, 2026

Sports just… mean something to people. The Knicks certainly do. Those personal testimonials are merely two of millions you can hear from New Yorkers of all shapes and sizes. But beyond that emotional connection, fans are quick to mention the unifying factor the Knicks bring to the most diverse city in America. When the team is good? It lifts everybody up. If that team wins a championship? The city itself will touch the sky. 

“It's about the city,” Tracy and Tom from Astoria insisted from inside the massive Pig Beach courtyard, where fans gather around (and on top of) the dozens of picnic tables set out in front of a gigantic TV screen stretching two stories high. “That’s really what it's about. The city is so excited. Whether you’re a new fan or an old fan, it doesn’t matter, you know? 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.” 

"It's been 25 years since I’ve seen people come out of the woodwork and band together [like this],” Sam from Woodside shared. He gathered a big group of friends both new and old to watch Game 1, spread across several tables. “This is just like an example of that, you know what I mean? Like how many people coming from God knows where in the city, who don't know each other, but are just here enjoying the Knicks? I mean, it speaks for itself. It’s magical.” 

HOW YA FEELING, KNICKS FANS?! pic.twitter.com/Xe6QxYxTip

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 4, 2026

Some fans even believe such unifying power could stretch across the nation. 

“I think if the Knicks win, New York will be united, and the United States of America will be united as a whole,” Andrew from the Bronx stated earnestly after watching the Knicks pull out Game 1’s win. “Because everyone is just backing the Knicks right now, I feel like. I feel like even people in Texas are backing them, the whole country is backing them. And if they win, I think we’ll all be united.” 

A touch optimistic? Perhaps. But that’s the real beauty of sports—in the euphoria of victory, anything seems possible.

It feels especially true watching these Knicks. The organization was a laughingstock for several generations and has suffered gutting loss after gutting loss in the Jalen Brunson era. Yet only three wins stand between them and the ultimate goal. A goal most fans cherished as the most unlikely of dreams, one they held close to their hearts but didn’t dare to truly believe in until Wednesday. 

Sam from Manhattan put it best, and simply too. 

“[A championship] would mean everything. It would mean literally everything.”  

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