For the first time since 1973, the New York Knicks are NBA champions. Thanks to a heroic performance from Jalen Brunson and another series of clutch late-game plays, the Knicks beat the Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to win the series, 4–1. It was another incredibly close game that followed the pattern established from the first four games—San Antonio jumped out to a big, early lead but wobbled as New York clawed back into it. And when the game came down to the wire, the Knicks proved up to the challenge of making winning plays, while the Spurs were not. It marks an end to a wondefully entertaining NBA Finals, as well as a landmark moment for one of the league’s most famous franchises; New York will be celebrating the breaking of a 53-year title drought for days, weeks and even months to come. The celebration started in San Antonio, however, as the Knicks raised the Larry O’Brien Trophy in celebration at the Frost Bank Center. Here are the best moments from that celebration, which leaked into the early hours of the morning. Knicks give championship trophy a champagne shower The Knicks happily followed the traditions laid out by champions of the past and broke out the champagne in their locker room immediately. Champagne showers were given to all—including the Larry O’Brien itself. As they piled into the locker room New York’s players dumped bottles of champagne upon the golden trophy that accompanied them inside. — NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2026Everyone barks with Mike BrownBefore the Finals started and everything heated up, the Knicks coach shared a lighthearted moment with reporters that included him singing, “Who Let The Dogs Out?” by Baha Men. The clip quickly went viral. On Saturday night, when Brown was called up to the microphone to celebrate New York’s championship win, his team broke out into chorus—and Brown enthusiastically joined them. — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 14, 2026Jalen Brunson, Rick Brunson embrace Jalen Brunson was the hero of Game 5 and his dad had the best seat in the house to watch his son reach the pinnacle of NBA success. Rick Brunson, an assistant with the Knicks, saw Jalen shine from the sideline as he helped Brown coach New York to a title. It didn’t take long after the final buzzer sounded for him to find his son and the two embraced. The joy on Rick’s face was visible and it made for a heartwarming sight. — NBA (@NBA) June 14, 2026Ariel Hukporti doesn’t care about those picksHukporti is one of the lesser-known Knicks, a depth piece at center who plays very limited minutes when everyone is healthy. But when foul trouble loomed in the NBA Finals for Karl-Anthony Towns, Hukporti was forced into service as the team tried to use Mitchell Robinson in short spurts. He held down the fort in those short stints and did so again in Game 5, helping the Knicks outscore the Spurs by four points in the two minutes he was on the court during the championship-clinching contest. Afterwards Hukporti took the podium for postgame interviews along with Mikal Bridges, who was brought to New York in a trade that cost the Knicks five draft picks. It was obviously a worthwhile trade, but the talk around it at the time was that it was an awfully high price to pay. Bridges was asked about that after winning the title and Hukporti muttered, “Man, f--- them picks,” off to the side before leaning into the microphone and repeating, quite clearly, “Man, f--- them picks.” To his great delight, Bridges echoed that thought. — SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 14, 2026Josh Hart’s young kids say ‘Go Knicks!’ Hart, the beloved role player of this star-studded New York roster, was absolutely beaming after winning his first NBA championship. He brought his young children up to the podium with him for postgame interviews and, in the most adorable moment of Saturday night, tried to get them both to say, “Go Knicks!” It was a mostly successful endeavor. "GO KNICKS!" pic.twitter.com/iCMITLsmgk— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 14, 2026Mitchell Robinson credits snakes for wins Brunson was the engine that drove the Knicks to this title, but in Game 5 even his 45 points may not have been enough without Robinson. The veteran center was called upon to play early and often with KAT in foul trouble, recording 20 minutes as he defended Victor Wembanyama and pulled down huge rebound after huge rebound. He’s also something of an interesting character, a giant of a man who loves country music and trucks more built for the open plains of Texas than the urban jungle of NYC. So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that some wildlife got brought up during his postgame news conference after helping the Knicks win the title. But anybody who expected it would be snakes is probably a liar. “You know what’s crazy? Yesterday, at the hotel, I caught a snake,” Robinson shared, unprompted. “Again. When I caught a snake in the beginning of the playoffs, when we played Atlanta, we won. I caught one last night and we won today. I think it’s something about snakes.” "You know what's crazy? Yesterday at the hotel I caught a snake"Mitchell Robinson says that he's caught a snake twice during the playoffs, and both times the Knicks have won the series🤔"I think it's something about snakes" pic.twitter.com/dAdgJo1edB— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 14, 2026A wild night of celebration awaits, with many more great moments to come. But these were among the very best from the scenes at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Saturday night. More NBA Finals From Sports IllustratedListen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow