Anthony Rieber: The Knicks are winning more than just NBA playoff games. They're winning fans, too.
Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 2026. Credit: Getty Images/Sarah Stier
A week ago, a radio sports talk show did a segment headlined, “The New York Knicks are actually . . . likable?”
The radio show was Jones & Keefe on WEEI.
In Boston.
And the hosts concluded that yes, the Knicks are likable.
Knicks fans might say what’s not to like? The team is riding an 11-game postseason winning streak into the NBA Finals. Everyone likes a winner.
But it’s more than that. The individual players on this year’s squad are popular for more than their stellar play on the court.
From Jalen Brunson to Karl-Anthony Towns to Josh Hart to OG Anunoby to Landry Shamet and all across the roster, these Knicks are winning more than games. They are winning hearts and minds with their unique personalities.
"You're supposed to be asking questions and you went and got chicken wings!"
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) May 26, 2026
Josh Hart (with his glass of wine) talks to a reporter 😂 pic.twitter.com/QgjLLDjL0b
It all starts with Brunson, the team captain who passed up a bigger payday when he re-signed with the Knicks to allow them to add other players under the salary cap.
Brunson is from New Jersey, but right now he is the King of New York.
At the end of the regular season, Brunson was No. 3 on the NBA’s list of top-selling jerseys behind Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic. The Knicks were No. 2 as a team, behind only Doncic and LeBron James’ Lakers.
Chances are good the Knicks have climbed up the charts during their dominating run to the Finals.
Karl-Anthony Towns was really enjoying this Gatorade —
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 19, 2026
KAT’s reactions are priceless. 🤣💀
(via @NBA_NewYork)
pic.twitter.com/mkdYlol13T
"This Gatorade's still good as hell."
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) April 26, 2026
- Karl-Anthony Towns pic.twitter.com/QEcjp3IT4r
"I'm not even gonna touch the Gatorade"
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) April 29, 2026
*two seconds pass*
"I lied, I lied.. I'm thirsty bro"
The Karl-Anthony Towns Gatorade saga continues 😂 pic.twitter.com/wmGBCHtCPH
But it’s more than just selling stuff. The Knicks appear to be having fun along the way and letting fans peek behind the NBA curtain.
On Memorial Day night, after the Knicks finished off a sweep of Cleveland to make it to the Finals for the first time since 1999, Brunson, Hart and Mikal Bridges were together at a podium doing the postgame news conference.
The players spotted a reporter who – hungry for more than a scoop – walked in with a plate of chicken wings.
Hart paused mid-answer. Brunson said, “Don’t say anything. I see it. Don’t say anything.”
Hart couldn’t resist.
“You got chicken wings," he said. "You’re supposed to be asking questions and you went and got chicken wings.”
Hart, by the way, brought a glass of red wine to the podium. In the NBA, champagne is reserved for when you win the NBA Finals. No bubbly for just making it.
Hart’s beverage reveal reminded some of the April night when Towns sat at a postgame podium and was making pronounced quizzical expressions while trying a new Gatorade flavor called “Mashups Glacier Cherry/Glacier Freeze” at the same moment Brunson was answering a question.
Towns liked the drink, so much so that it has become a running gag during the playoffs as he has continued to bring it up in subsequent interviews.
If Towns was just acting like he enjoyed the flavor, that would make sense because he has recent thespian experience, as does another Knicks star.
Towns has a cameo in the recently released film “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” Anunoby recently appeared as himself in an episode of Apple TV’s Jon Hamm series “Your Friends & Neighbors.”
Both the movie and TV show are set in New York. The timing of Towns and Anunoby’s appearances couldn’t be more perfect because right now the Knicks are the toasts of this town.
There will be a day in the future when the stars of this Knicks team will appear at a game at the Garden and get cheered just as former players such as Patrick Ewing, John Starks and Allan Houston do today. None of those players won a title.
Imagine how much louder the cheers will be for the current players if this group wins the Knicks’ first title since 1973.
Knicks fans would certainly find that to be likable.
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
