Inside Madison Square Garden on June 3, fans bustled to get through security, eagerly holding their phones and talking hoops before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. A line of orange-and-blue spilled onto the 7th Avenue patio, carefully controlled by security, while a row of metal gates lined the background in anticipation of the celebrations to follow.
With the New York Knicks 27 years removed from their last Finals appearance and 53 years from a title, the city’s desperation for a championship was palpable. But even though their team wasn’t playing until hours later in San Antonio, and wasn’t debuting at home for another few days, this crowd was preparing to look the part.
“I’m just waiting to try to get the Siegelman Stables hat. It’s a Finals edition,” Louis Lopez, a Bushwick native, told Front Office Sports. “I already got the Finals hat from Dick’s Sporting Goods, and I actually got the locker room edition Eastern Conference Champion t-shirt.”
As the Knicks ascended basketball’s mountaintop, the hype surrounding their swag crescendoed in lockstep. Since making the Finals, New York’s faithful have come out in droves to the official team store at MSG and the NBA Store, clearing out inventory on a daily basis.
