Knicks Finals bring alumni row back to life

When the Knicks play their first home NBA Finals game since 1999, courtside isn’t just for VIPs—it’s for the players who built the franchise’s legend. Walt “Clyde” Frazier calls it a “family reunion,” as a dedicated Alumni Row has grown from 14 reserved seats

New York loves a return—especially when it’s dressed in blue-and-orange and sits front row.

Walt “Clyde” Frazier doesn’t just remember Knicks home games. Every time he walks into Madison Square Garden. he says it feels like “a Knicks family reunion” on “Alumni Row. ” where former players are pulled back into the atmosphere they once helped create. It’s not a casual meet-and-greet. It’s the same energy. years later. fueled by a fan base that hasn’t stopped recognizing the faces from the franchise’s past.

Frazier described why that matters when he told Andscape: “It’s very rewarding that they appreciate what we’ve done in the past and what we have meant to the team. They are not forgetting us with the team success. They’ve made us a part of it.” He added, “All the decades are represented. And they know the struggle.”.

That struggle is part of what makes the moment larger than a typical home game. The Knicks are trying to win their first NBA title since 1973, and tonight they’ll do it with a Finals spotlight shining on the same place where alumni have been gathering.

Because this isn’t a random collection of retired stars showing up when they can. The Knicks have built something dedicated. John Starks. a former Knicks All-Star who played for the team from 1990-98 and is the Knicks’ all-time leader in 3-pointers made. said the tradition has become formal—starting with a specific decision from Knicks owner James Dolan.

Starks pointed to the 2023-24 season, when Dolan began reserving 14 courtside baseline seats for former players. Starks said that move first began drawing attention on TV during the 2025 Eastern Conference finals when the Knicks played the Indiana Pacers. He described how the sideline energy spread: “I sit down there. Larry sits down there. and a few guys sit down there when they’re in town. … The excitement we were generating down there going back to the Indiana series. I think everyone kind of picked up on that. TV picked up on us getting up, cheering the team on, and it kind of grew out of that. It showed that these guys are still valuable to the organization. [So the Knicks] keep bringing them back.”.

That pool of recognizable faces has included Patrick Ewing. Larry Johnson. Allan Houston. Stephon Marbury. and more—players from across decades. including Carmelo Anthony from the 2010s. It’s also where Starks’ own alumni role comes into play. In 2004. the Knicks hired him as an alumni and fan development advisor. and Starks said part of the job is keeping former players connected and involved in community events.

Another layer of the tradition is the way players talk about it among themselves. Johnson. the former Knicks forward who played with the team during the 1999 NBA Finals. said he calls the group “Alumni Row.” In his remarks to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Johnson said reuniting in New York has brought back teammates he hadn’t seen in decades. He said, “Marcus [Camby] and ‘Spree’ [Latrell Sprewell] I hadn’t seen in 20, 25 years. … And even Kurt Thomas, I hadn’t seen in 20-25 years. I saw Marcus and Spree last year. Same goes with Chris Childs, started coming back this year. And we got Charlie Ward at a couple games this year.”.

Carmelo Anthony put it simply: he hasn’t seen another organization do this the same way. Speaking to Andscape, Anthony said, “I haven’t seen no other organization do that. It’s only in New York where I’ve seen them bring back the legends of the game.” He pointed to the way the viewing experience connects generations on the same courtside patch: “You got Clyde at the table calling the game. P.E. [Patrick Ewing] to Starks to my generation watching the new generation.”.

Anthony called it something fans can feel in real time. “You become a fan. You become a fan of the [former Knicks]. … That camaraderie. You can’t buy that.”

It isn’t just about the seats. Starks said Dolan sees what it means to Knicks fans and the organization’s former players. and that Dolan could have offered different seating but chose to keep alumni “front and center.” Starks said. “You got to thank Jim [Dolan] for that because those are some expensive seats down there that he’s giving up for the players… [Dolan] could have said. ‘Here is some seats up here.’ No. He has us front and center. It’s been good.”.

The financial commitment is clear even in the way ticket prices are described. In New York. Starks said former players sit together in courtside seats that range in cost from $2. 650 to $5. 600 per seat during the regular season. according to ticket marketplace SeatGeek. For the Finals. the stakes climb sharply—courtside NBA Finals seats at Madison Square Garden range from $45. 000 to $200. 000 per seat on the secondary resale market. according to USA Today.

Yet for the players who’ve come back, the point isn’t the market. It’s the feeling of being welcomed into the franchise again.

Iman Shumpert, who played with the Knicks from 2011-15, said he notices the difference in how the team treats alumni. While he said he gets love from the Cleveland Cavaliers when he is in town as part of their 2016 NBA title team. he added that “nothing in the NBA compares to how the Knicks treat their former players: VIP parking. a private entrance and former player seating.”.

He described what it looks like from the inside: “It’s sort of like a family vibe that happens at MSG. You don’t get it in other places.”

Starks noticed that too—watching other teams bring former players in ways that don’t match the Knicks’ approach. He said, “You see it all around the league now, which is good. But they can’t look like ours. I notice that [other teams] don’t sit [former players] baseline. They sit them in the stands somewhere.”.

Stephon Marbury, for all the turbulence of his Knicks years, still returns to Madison Square Garden and embodies the “Once a Knick, always a Knick” slogan. That motto is part of the franchise identity—and Marbury has a seat, too.

But his story is the kind that reminds people the past isn’t always smooth. Marbury. a Coney Island. New York. native. endured a turbulent tenure with the Knicks from 2004-09 that included coaching changes. front-office dysfunction. a single playoff appearance. and a contract buyout in 2009. Even then, he’s among the most enthusiastic, flamboyant former Knicks sitting courtside. Marbury told Andscape he expects to attend a Finals game.

“There is nothing on earth like what the Knicks alumni does for the players who have worn this jersey. whether they started their career here or ended it elsewhere. ” Marbury said. “Once you’re part of this family. that legendary slogan becomes real. because it’s true. it’s authentic. and it’s alive. No matter who you are, Dolan makes sure you stay in the family. And in this family, it’s one family, always family. Once a Knick, always a Knick.”.

Even current players notice how the alumni presence sits in the building. Knicks forward Mikal Bridges said he gets so “zoned in” during home games that he doesn’t exchange affection with the former players during or after games. But he appreciates their support and described what it means for the atmosphere.

Bridges told reporters he values “them just being at every game. them being in the atmosphere and just loving it and being a fan and knowing that they’re being a part of the culture.” He added that he imagines himself joining them one day after his career ends: “Obviously one day [to sit there]. yeah. that would be dope. with how much I love the city. how much I love the fans. my teammates. Of course, you want to be that.”.

Knicks guard Jose Alvarado said on ESPN Hoop Streams: “Seeing those legends sitting courtside cheering us on, cheering me on, is dope.”

This is happening, too, in a season where the Knicks are living dangerously—close to the franchise’s biggest stage. Their first home Finals game since 1999 arrives after they took a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the best-of-seven series. The last time an NBA Finals game was played at Madison Square Garden was June 25. 1999. when the Spurs defeated the Knicks 78-77 in Game 5 to win the NBA title. The Knicks will host Game 3 tonight, with Game 4 on Wednesday and a possible Game 6 on June 16.

After the Game 2 win in San Antonio. John Starks held up four fingers to signify the Knicks potentially winning the series in a four-game sweep—and he knows what it would mean to the people sitting courtside. In his remarks to Andscape about the title chase. Starks said. “It’s gonna feel good. it really is… I know we are not quite there yet. We’re halfway to our goal. But the writing is on the wall. And one thing I know about this team — and watching them for the last couple of years. and especially this season — once they smell blood in the water. they are like piranhas. They go up for the kill. It’s going to be such an incredible moment.”.

The alumni row is also showing up beyond home games. Starks, Ewing, Frazier and Houston have been regulars at road playoff games this year.

New York head coach Mike Brown said Ewing gave the Knicks an inspirational speech during a first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks, a series in which the Knicks trailed 2-1 before rallying to win three straight games to clinch it 4-2.

But not every former Knicks story resolves neatly back into the same kind of welcome.

Charles Oakley has a complicated relationship with the franchise and has not been seen courtside since 2017. That year. Oakley reportedly tried to go after Dolan during a Knicks home game. and play was momentarily stopped after the former player shoved a team security guard. Oakley was later arrested, charged with assault and trespassing, and banned from Madison Square Garden.

The New York Times has reported that Oakley’s ban has been lifted, but Oakley rejected an invitation to attend a Knicks home game in 2024 and hasn’t returned. Oakley was, however, in attendance when the Knicks swept the host Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the 2026 Eastern Conference finals.

Before this year’s Finals. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he and NBA legend Michael Jordan tried to broker peace in 2017 between Oakley and Dolan to no avail. Oakley responded that he wasn’t satisfied with Silver’s account. In remarks to TMZ Sports. Oakley said. “[Silver] is coming back out with something from 2017 when we met with that guy from New York. Michael. and himself. and he tried to act like they tried to solve a problem. And he went to the public in 2017 and said we met and we came to an agreement that it’s over with. ” Oakley said. He added, “And now, you look in the paper. He made another statement about that. You didn’t solve the problem in 2017 because it’s nine years later; it’s still going on.”.

That contrast hangs over the night in a way the Knicks’ tradition can’t erase: the “family” includes complicated chapters, even as it keeps widening its circle.

It will be the final detail that decides the vibe on court. Who gets the coveted Finals courtside seats at Madison Square Garden—and how the building reacts when they arrive—will be another kind of test for the promise Frazier described.

Frazier’s line was about appreciation. Marbury’s was about authenticity. Starks’ was about the writing on the wall.

Tonight, the Knicks’ first home Finals game since 1999 doesn’t just bring a team back to its biggest stage. It brings their past in close again, ready to watch the new generation try to finish the job—while the phrase “Once a Knick, always a Knick” turns from slogan into seating chart.

New York Knicks Madison Square Garden Alumni Row Walt Clyde Frazier John Starks James Dolan Carmelo Anthony Patrick Ewing NBA Finals 2026 once a Knick always a Knick Stephon Marbury Iman Shumpert Mikal Bridges Jose Alvarado Charles Oakley