Knicks sing along with Alicia Keys to end City Hall celebration

The New York Knicks officially capped off their 2026 NBA championship celebration on Thursday with a parade through the streets of Manhattan. The Knicks are less than a week removed from hoisting their first Larry O’Brien Trophy in 53 years after knocking off the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the NBA Finals.

Numerous high-profile guests were in attendance for the parade on Thursday, including actors Timothee Chalamet and Ben Stiller, as well as New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Showing up at the end of the ceremony was recording artist Alicia Keys, who serenaded the crowd with a rendition of her song “Empire State of Mind,” with many in the audience singing along with her.

LET'S HEAR IT FOR NEW YORK.

Alicia Keys performs Empire State of Mind at City Hall! pic.twitter.com/mFlF8uR97U

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 18, 2026

She also performed a version of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”

Alicia Keys started off her City Hall performance with a rendition of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” pic.twitter.com/7HQhJOfCYi

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 18, 2026

It was a great moment for a city that has been starved of basketball success for decades, becoming the laughingstock of the NBA for the majority of the 21st century before finally turning it around after the arrival of Jalen Brunson back in 2022.

After Brunson blossomed into a star in New York City, the Knicks made savvy moves, including trading for OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Karl-Anthony Towns, and are the first champion in recent memory where none of the key pieces are home-grown talent. The Knicks were also a rare team to break the “40-20” rule, in which NBA champions historically had 40 wins in the regular season before 20 losses in the year they won it all.

Recent NBA history suggests that sustaining championship-level success is borderline impossible in today’s era of parity, but that was the last thing on New Yorkers’ minds as they celebrated the Knicks’ triumph on Thursday.

New York will hang a banner to the Madison Square Garden rafters on Opening Night for next season at some point in October.

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