The Knicks will raise their first championship banner in 53 years on October 20, and one notable New Yorker has already ruled himself out of attending. Mayor Zohran Mamdani was asked by NBC New York whether he would be at Madison Square Garden for the ceremony, and his answer doubled as a comment on what the night now costs.

“Brother, I do not have $2,000 ready for that ticket,” Mamdani said. Offered the nosebleeds as an alternative, he perked up. “That's what I'm talking about.”

Asked earlier in the same exchange whether the Knicks would repeat, Mamdani crossed his fingers and added a wish of his own. “Come on. Hopefully at cheaper ticket prices,” he said.

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The sticker shock is real. Resale prices for the opener are reportedly up 526% on secondary markets compared to last season's opener against Cleveland, a jump driven by the combination of the banner ceremony and the opponent. Philadelphia arrives with a dramatically rebuilt roster, as LeBron James and Jaylen Brown are both set to make their 76ers debuts alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey on the same night New York celebrates its title.

The ceremony itself begins at 6:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden, with tipoff following at 7 p.m. on NBC and Peacock as the centerpiece of the league's opening night tripleheader. It marks the first time a network has carried three NBA tipoff games in a single evening, with Jayson Tatum and the Celtics visiting Cade Cunningham and the Pistons at 3 p.m. ET before the Garden takes center stage.

There is also a chance the Knicks unveil more than one banner. Before their title run, New York won the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup, beating San Antonio in the final, which gives the franchise the option to hang two legitimate championship banners on the same night.

For Jalen Brunson and company, the evening doubles as a celebration and an immediate test. Championship teams rarely get a soft landing in front of their own crowd, and this one will have to switch from ring ceremony to competition within minutes. The two teams meet again just 10 days later in Philadelphia for their first NBA Cup group game, turning a familiar divisional matchup into one of the season's early defining storylines.