From Sports Bars to BBQ Joints: Inside New York’s Best Watch Parties for the Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals

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 fanbase 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 PA 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 fanbase 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.

A lucky handful of groups staked out tables lining the perimeter of the bar. Prince, a lifelong Knicks fan from Brooklyn, got to FancyFree at 4 p.m. ET (more than four hours before the start of the game) to secure his spot. I counted eight bartenders behind the bar and roving around the space, and seven TVs (including one large projector) affixed to the walls. The servers moved efficiently, but for some, the congregation in front of the bar was too overwhelming to broach. A pleasant but exasperated fan asked if I would order him and his friends drinks if he bought mine. I took him up on the deal. (I was there to get the full fan experience, after all.)

Ian, a 44-year-old from Flatbush, told me he was actually a Celtics fan but just had to be part of the hype. When another patron overheard him tell me this, she exclaimed, “You’re a Celtics fan? Get out of here!” For the most part, though, the bar was filled with regulars who greeted each other with familiarity. Christian from Bed-Stuy, another lifelong Knicks fan, said he planned to attend Game 3 with his son, whom he described as a delusional New York fan, while he considers himself the more practical of the two.

Necks craned to watch the game on various flat screens fastened to brick walls punctuated by posters of Lee’s most famous movies. Jalen Brunson opened the scoring for the Knicks, draining a three-pointer that elicited such a loud reaction from the FancyFree crowd that my legs shook from the vibrating floor. As the matchup unfolded, various phrases were thrown out like “It’s a game of runs.” And when Brunson left the game and appeared to be injured, the group around me kept reiterating “he’s alright.” Turns out he was more than alright, playing hero in Game 1.

As the Knicks pulled ahead late in the fourth quarter and the game’s outcome appeared inevitable, the decibels inside the pub climbed. When the game clock hit zero, Frank Sinatra came on over the speakers. “Start spreadin’ the news,” the crowd began to croon. Some sang with their heads in their hands in euphoric disbelief. “I’m leavin’ today.” The supporters swayed, resembling a wave, before taking a collective breath and really belting out the next line.

“I want to be a part of it. New York, New York.” -- Clare Brennan

Dive Bar—Upper West Side, Manhattan

“I want to murder everyone,” a passing waitress at Dive Bar muttered under her breath during Game 2 of Knicks-Spurs. Welcome to the NBA Finals, where the NYC bars are packed, the people are outside and the city that can’t sleep is dreaming of its first championship in 53 years.

The so-called “best” sports bars to watch Knicks games, per a large number of media outlets, really only have one thing going for them: Their proximity to The Garden. Travel five miles uptown and trade in convenience for camaraderie at Dive Bar, an unassuming watering hole on 96th and Amsterdam that prides itself on cold beers and (surprisingly) good food ranging from your standard buffalo wings and burgers to New Orleans muffulettas and chicken torta sandwiches.

New York Knicks, NBA Finals — An exterior shot of Dive Bar on 96th and Amsterdam. | Photo by Kristen Wong

Dive Bar is one in a franchise chain of four other dive-style sports bars that’s been around on the Upper West for over 40 years and have heavily leaned into their dual-layered name. Inside the 96th and Amsterdam location are two fish tanks housing real fish along with nautical-themed decorations that differentiate it from the plentiful pubs lining the block.

As to be expected, the place got absolutely slammed Friday night for the Knicks’ Game 2 vs. the Spurs, hence the waitress’s semi-sarcastic complaint (those who’ve worked in hospitality know the feeling all too well). Thankfully, my friends were able to snag a booth hours before tip-off, sparing me of the sardine-like experience of standing shoulder-to-shoulder for hours and craning my neck to watch the game.

As each quarter of Game 2 passed, I became more and more immersed in the experience of watching the game at a bar, rather than the game itself. The world outside the booth was a non-stop rushing current of servers delivering pints, barbacks fetching more ice and customers ordering grub. But from my seated vantage point in the eye of the storm, it felt as though time slowed down. Sports were on. Life was good. There we sat, sharing nachos, cheers-ing our beers, playing drinking games and keeping ourselves well-entertained (“Kiss! Kiss!” we yelled at the TVs when Brunson and De’Aaron Fox got up in each other’s faces).

As just one of many Dive Bar regulars, my experience wasn’t all that unique.

“Can you feel the camaraderie in here?” Sarah, a regular who lives in Hamilton Heights, said. “It’s the greatest community of people. I don’t know where I’d be without this bar, I think I would’ve left the city by now. Dead serious.”

“People that we’ll grow old with. That’s what Dive Bar gives you,” Alex, a current bartender at the establishment who lives on the Upper West Side, added. “It gives you friends for life.”

Sarah and Alex met at another one of the bar’s franchise locations, Dive 106, four years ago and immediately hit it off. They’re now best friends and frequently go out to watch sports games—Sarah is a huge Seattle Mariners fan (“Bring back the Sonics!”)—while supporting the bar that originally brought them together.

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In NYC where the mayor is Muslim, the bagels are Jewish and the Christian’s Dior, there’s no shortage of great places to catch a Knicks basketball game. What matters less is where; what matters more is who you’re with.

Dive Bar is one place in the city that has always felt like home to me. Watching playoff basketball surrounded by the people you care about, sitting beside new and old friends, chatting up the waitress who’s six hours into a ten-hour shift and cheering a few tables away from the 75-year-old bar regular with tears forming in his eyes—that’s something special worth celebrating during this Knicks’ championship run. -- Kristen Wong

Elsewhere—Bushwick, Brooklyn

On the intersection of two forgettable street names, seven L train stops deep in Brooklyn, stands one plain-looking building. In the daytime, this building blends into a homogenous concrete landscape, but at night, it comes alive with the nauseating sights, sounds and smells of a damn good time. This is Elsewhere, a longstanding music venue in Bushwick well-known for its DJ events and live concerts, and nowhere else could you find a more interesting place to watch the NBA Finals.

Interesting is putting it one way, at least. My first encounter came with a group of girls in line for Game 1’s watch party all dressed up in Knicks gear. Of the four, one grew up in New York and was “indoctrinated” into the fandom from birth while the other three appeared to be there just for the vibes.

“For the costumes,” Jen, a transplant who moved from California to NYC ten years ago, corrected me. She and her friend sported matching cropped Brunson jerseys that they had bought on Amazon. “Unfortunately I wanted an adult XL but I got a child’s medium instead. So, here we are,” Jen said. “This is our city. And we love winners.”

The gravity of the moment wasn’t lost on them, as short-lived as their fandom was. After all, the Knicks haven’t been to the Finals since 1999, which probably marked the birth year of a decent number of the watch party’s attendees.

To get into Elsewhere, a bouncer gave me an orange wristband and stamped my hand. (The universal rite of a club, no matter the city.) I then ventured down a dark and narrow passageway and found myself in the main dance hall in front of a projector screen that stretched across the back wall. There were no seats, just one black leather sofa that sat below a shimmering disco ball. If you ever wondered what the crossover of New York’s sports and music scene looked like, this was it, in all its musky, dimly-lit glory.

“The whole city’s buzzing,” said Elsewhere bartender Cameron, a lifelong Knicks fan. “We’ve done a couple [of Knicks watch parties] but we’re generally a music venue. It’s just always fun to change it up.”

Far removed from the “bing bongs” of MSG, Elsewhere brought its own catchy tunes to the Knicks watch party, with guest artist DJ Purp playing techno beats during breaks in the game. Whenever the Knicks scored or got a defensive stop, orange and blue strobe lights would flash from above, keeping the essence and ambience of the venue intact.

It was impossible to have a conversation in the main hall without screaming, but there was a small courtyard that perhaps summed up the entire New York experience in a single still: cliques of jock, hipster and too-cool-for-this Knicks fans in vintage and homemade orange-and-blue threads gathered around steel pillars smoking vapes, drinking beers and eating hot dogs (a vendor was selling Italian-style sausages outside). Here, I met Nico, a Nate Robinson fan who told me he was writing a short narrative film about the Knicks’ Finals run, and Desta, who freelances and turned down four days’ worth of work to watch the playoffs.

Through the thick, wafting smoke from cooked pork and burnt cigarettes, and in between the pulsating sounds of a relentless bass beat that felt like it could stop your heart, was the almost palpable feeling of hope. Every single person at the club was brimming with collective pride and tipsy anticipation that they were about to live through a truly momentous event.

pic.twitter.com/RnRwGk9ApT
— Kristen Wong (@kriscwong) June 8, 2026

“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. -- KW

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 multi-million 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. -- LM

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