James Dolan seemed to have taken a shot at NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani during the New York Knicks championship parade.
The championship team, several Knicks alumni, celebrities, and New Yorkers came to celebrate the Knicks’ win. Before Mayor Zohran Mamdani handed the Knicks owner, president Leon Rose, head coach Mike Brown, and the Knicks stars keys to New York City, he took the stage and shared why the moment was so big for the city.
“It is in that .4 percent that Jalen Brunson, the same guy that so many said was too small, proves that not only is he good enough, he is the new standard of greatness,” Mamdani said. “It is in that .4 percent that OG Anunoby watches the ball float from the top of the arc and start running toward the basket, fingers reaching toward the heavens. It is in that .4 percent that Karl-Anthony Towns finds the strength to mourn his mother and still grab rebound after rebound, make block after block.”
He continued: “It is in that .4 percent that Jose Alvarado shows every kid growing up in public housing that a son of Brooklyn and Queens can win for every one of the five boroughs. It is in that .4 percent that [Mitchell Robinson] breaks his finger before Game 1 and says ‘Go get the tape.’ It’s in that .4 percent that Josh Hart grabs rebounds that break teams and Mikal Bridges proves he was worth every single draft pick, that Landry Shamet pulls up from downtown, that every one of these 18 players transforms the franchise, that Mike Brown keeps believing.”
Additionally, Mamdani called out past Knicks greats like Pat Ewing, who has continued to support the team, and how much the win means for sports fans as well as the city as a whole.
here is Mamdani's entire speech at the Knicks parade, which is easily the best speech I've ever heard at an event of this sort pic.twitter.com/FiTxy81Yq3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 18, 2026
While many fans thought that Mamdani’s speech was moving, he seemed to have caught a stray from Dolan when he took the stage.
“I don’t need your vote, I don’t need to quote to you, right, about what happened here because if you’re real Knicks fans, you know it already,” Dolan said.
"I don't need your vote. I don't need to quote to you what happened. If you're real Knick fans you know it already"
–– New York Knicks owner James Dolan after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani recites a history of the Knicks and the past season pic.twitter.com/xodm8Cfrhl
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 18, 2026
The MSG owner didn’t mention Mamdani by name but the two have had a history of some back and forth after Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Mamdani wanted strict security parameters and a set limit to fans that wanted to attend the watch party outside the Garden and Dolan blasted him for wanting to ruin the fan experience. Dolan then decided to cancel the watch party instead.
Dolan would then go onto continue to blast the NYC mayor by referencing him in an interview on WFAN on June 10.
“They’re sitting there trying to say, ‘Well, we’re big Knicks fans,’ but they’re not Knicks fans,” Dolan said.
“He’s not a Knick fan,” he added in reference to Mamdani.
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