NEW YORK — First, there were keys — the ceremonial keys to the city that Mayor Mamdani gifted the Knicks for bringing home the franchise’s first championship in 53 years.

Then, there was Keys — Alicia Keys, whose spirited rendition of “Empire State of Mind” capped an epic day of reveling among generations of Knicks fans who never ...Read more

NEW YORK — Scores of Knicks fans were left on the sidelines Thursday after they were turned away from the packed-to-capacity ticker-tape parade hours before the celebration even kicked off.

Some fans scrambled up building construction scaffolding just to get a glimpse of the championship team.

The NYPD estimated that more than two million ...Read more

The Knicks’ championship parade through Lower Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes is set for Thursday morning, but that’s hardly the only stop on their victory tour.

Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and the rest of the Knicks have been living it up since defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday to end the ...Read more

DETROIT — This offseason will be the summer of Giannis Antetokounmpo. After spending his entire 13-year career with the Milwaukee Bucks, his departure appears inevitable this summer after nearly two years of countless trade rumors.

Antetokounmpo could be traded before the first round of the NBA Draft on Tuesday. But given the number of teams ...Read more

The WNBA continues to grow.

Citing demand that has never been greater, the WNBA plans to expand its regular season from 44 to 50 games next year.

“This move reflects our commitment to growing the game and creating more opportunities for fans to watch the best players in the world and experience the extraordinary talent and competition that ...Read more

NEW YORK — Alicia Keys will perform at City Hall to wind down the Knicks championship celebration on Thursday.

“How could I not?” Keys said in an Instagram chat with Knicks star OG Anunoby when asked if she’d attend the team’s parade. “This is my city and the city is on fire.”

ABC7 reports that the Hell’s Kitchen native will ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The question has lingered.

Would Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris have fired president Daryl Morey if the New York Knicks hadn’t rolled the Sixers?

Working big sporting events can be an exercise in frustration. The Olympics, the World Cup, the Super Bowl, the World Series are objects of spectacle and celebration for a ...Read more

NEW YORK — Well-heeled fans are shelling out big bucks to beat the crowds at Thursday’s ticker-tape parade celebrating the New York Knicks’ first NBA championship in 53 years.

New listings on Airtasker, an app that connects users with gig workers willing to take odd jobs and run errands, show offers of up to $100 for anyone willing to ...Read more

NEW YORK — Hank Azaria is bugged by what he sees as preferential treatment certain A-listers receive for Knicks’ game seats at Madison Square Garden, and in a recent interview he homed in on Taylor Swift as a prime example.

The Queens-born actor also implied he was sick of seeing the pop star at sporting events, decrying her presence at NFL...Read more

DETROIT — The president is leaving, the athletic director is leaving, the football coach has barely been around long enough to get his name on a parking spot. And understandably, the basketball coach is furious.

Of course Tom Izzo is much more than Michigan State’s basketball coach. He’s the face of the school, the emotional touchstone. ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is defending his decision to schedule the NBA champion Knicks ticker-tape parade for Thursday, even though NYC students will be taking their Regents exams.

The date, which was selected in partnership with a coalition that included the Knicks organization, the NYPD and other city agencies and ...Read more

CHICAGO — Change is nothing new for Tiago Splitter.

That was an important factor when the Chicago Bulls decided to hire the former Portland Trail Blazers interim coach to helm the franchise’s next era. After taking over a team in tumult last fall, Splitter spent this past NBA season proving he wouldn’t flounder in uncharted waters.

For ...Read more

LAWRENCE, Kan. — With the NBA draft just about a week away, one thing is clear: Kansas star Darryn Peterson wants to be picked first overall by the Washington Wizards.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Woo and Shams Charania, Peterson has reportedly only visited the Wizards and does not plan to work out with any other team. According to the report...Read more

DETROIT — Tom Izzo is "ashamed." "Disgusted." "Hurt," he said. And it has nothing to do with a performance on the basketball court. Instead, it’s the state of Michigan State leadership.

Izzo sounded off on the loss of Athletic Director J Batt to Kentucky and the impending departure of President Kevin Guskiewicz to Clemson University in a ...Read more

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks are underdogs again — already.

Days removed from winning their first championship in 53 years, the Knicks hold only the fourth-best title odds among NBA teams for next season, according to the DraftKings sportsbook.

The San Antonio Spurs, at +250, are the early favorites, followed by the Oklahoma City Thunder...Read more

NEW YORK — The New York Knicks, fresh off their first NBA Championship since 1973, are heading from the court to the “Tonight Show” as part of their long-awaited victory lap.

The Knickerbockers’ Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, as well as Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Head Coach Mike Brown — and “the rest of the Knicks ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — In a Rock Hill, S.C., restaurant last Wednesday night, during a recruiting road trip to the Nike 100 Camp, Ashley Howard locked his eyes on a television above the bar, enthralled by the most dramatic comeback in NBA Finals history, his mind recalling a more modest rally from nine years earlier.

Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — All Karl-Anthony Towns needed was a chance to play in a small, low-pressure market to realize his dreams.

The Timberwolves did him a favor by trading him from the cauldron of Minnesota sports to a backwoods retreat named Madison Square Garden, which, it appears, is located on a very small island known as Manhattan. I’m ...Read more

UNCASVILLE, Conn. — It always starts with the long lines outside the arena’s entrance, and then the crunch of bodies leaning over the railings above the tunnel that leads onto the court.

A day at the office for Caitlin Clark, in this case the last she will spend in Connecticut for the foreseeable future with the Sun franchise relocating, ...Read more