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New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh.
In a city that celebrates every playoff game as if it were a street parade, the New York Knicks have turned into more than just a team on fire.
These days, the thing that everyone wants to be associated with them.
That attraction goes beyond basketball now as well. It is obvious that Madison Square Garden is on people’s minds even in the football world, with New York doing well and the excitement growing every day.
John Harbaugh Feels The Knicks Wave
GettyNY Giants HC John Harbaugh Makes Knicks Playoff Confession
There was something very New York about the way Giants coach John Harbaugh answered a simple question about the Knicks after Game 3. He did not sound like a distant observer.
Asked if he had been following the Knicks and whether he had been to the Garden, Harbaugh said, “We were there once a while back. My wife is on me. She wants to get in that, she wants to get there for a playoff game. So, where are they standing right now? 3-0? Yeah. Alright. I’m counting on another series.”
That line lands because of when it came. The Knicks had just beaten the 76ers 108-94 in Game 3 to grab a 3-0 lead, with Jalen Brunson pouring in 33 points and the team earning its sixth straight win in these playoffs.
Knicks Fan Celebrities Show What The Garden Means
GettyTimothée Chalamet, and girlfriend Kylie Jenner have become regulars at Knicks playoff games.
What Harbaugh said also fits the larger truth about these playoffs. A Knicks game at the Garden is not just basketball right now. It is one of the biggest scenes in New York, and the celebrity row says plenty about that.
Timothée Chalamet has become one of the clearest signs of the moment. He skipped the Met Gala to be at the Knicks’ Game 1 win over Philadelphia, then was back in the mix as the series kept moving. ClutchPoints reported that he “has recently become a fixture of Knicks games alongside Stiller and Lee.”
Then there is Ben Stiller, who might be the most relatable famous Knicks fan alive. He does not just show up when things are good. He feels every possession like the rest of us. During a rough regular-season loss, he posted, “What’s going on,” then “Trying to stay positive.” That is every Knicks fan with a phone, just with more people reading it.
Add in Spike Lee, Jay-Z, Fat Joe, Tracy Morgan, and even former Knicks stars around the building, and it becomes obvious why Harbaugh’s comment stood out. He is stepping into a city where playoff basketball is part sport, part identity, part event. Right now, the Knicks are the center of that feeling.
And if Harbaugh is counting on another series, he is hardly alone. So is the whole city.
Jayesh Pagar Jayesh Pagar is a writer at Heavy Sports, covering the New York Knicks and other NBA teams. He brings four years of experience across digital sports media, including NBA, WNBA, college basketball, and college football. He covered as the Knicks beat writer for ONSI and has written for PFSN, Sporting News, and ClutchPoints. More about Jayesh Pagar
