The New York Knicks ended a 53-year wait for an NBA championship by beating the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the Finals, and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza used the moment to congratulate Mike Brown and the entire Knicks organization.
When the New York Knicks finally climbed the NBA mountaintop, the joy didn’t stay inside Madison Square Garden.
On Saturday night. the Knicks won their first NBA title in 53 years by defeating the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The celebration is set to spill into the city soon as the team gears up for a championship parade through the streets of Manhattan on Thursday. with an offseason that’s expected to be full of celebration and momentum for the 2025-26 season.
Among the New Yorkers fired up by the win was Carlos Mendoza, the Mets manager across town. Mendoza said he’s been watching the Knicks’ run closely—despite a season that hasn’t delivered the same level of success for his own club. He offered congratulations to Mike Brown and everyone behind the title.
“I’ve got to see congrats to coach Mike Brown and the entire Knicks organization. Coaches, front office, players. That was fun. What an unbelievable season, and way to go,” Mendoza said, according to SNY on X, formerly Twitter.
For Mets fans, the Knicks’ parade comes at a time when attention is split for a New York baseball season that has been anything but smooth. The Mets are currently sitting at 31-39 on the 2026 MLB season, leaving many in the city to focus their excitement elsewhere for now.
The Knicks’ title wasn’t just the product of one night—it was the payoff from a playoff run that began to resemble what the front office expected after major moves at the start of the journey. During the run. the Knicks finally started “to click” as the team that management thought it was building when it traded five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges and also gave up significant assets to bring in OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Still, on Saturday, the headline performance came from Jalen Brunson. He backed up his Finals MVP win with a 45-point masterpiece in a Game 5 where not many of his teammates could consistently get things going offensively.
Heading into next season. the Knicks will likely bring back essentially the same core of players. with the possibility of tweaks along the margins over the summer. For a franchise that had waited 53 years for a championship moment. the plan now is simple: savor what’s already happened. then sharpen up for what comes next.
Thursday will bring the parade through Manhattan—another reminder that this title isn’t just a result on a scoreboard. It’s a city-wide release, shared even by someone whose own season has been far more difficult.
New York Knicks San Antonio Spurs NBA Finals Game 5 Carlos Mendoza Mike Brown Jalen Brunson Finals MVP 53-year championship OG Anunoby Karl-Anthony Towns Mikal Bridges Manhattan parade