{"id":49253,"date":"2025-05-22T06:56:14","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T06:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/49253\/"},"modified":"2025-05-22T06:56:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T06:56:14","slug":"the-knicks-celebrity-attendees-are-better-than-the-met-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/49253\/","title":{"rendered":"The Knicks Celebrity Attendees Are Better than the Met Gala"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re in the middle of a historic moment for New York basketball. At least that\u2019s what I, someone famously uninterested in sports, have gathered from Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet\u2019s passionate<\/a> pro-Knicks Instagram Stories<\/a>. I cannot bring myself to care about basketball. But I do care about my Timmy and other stars like him, be they bandwagon fans or not. Suddenly, I\u2019ve found myself a degree more interested in securing vintage Knicks merch on Depop than I was last week.<\/p>\n

I understand that the New York Knicks\u2019 successful advancement to the 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Finals represents something major for the team\u2019s lifelong fans, who\u2019ve grown used to them coming up short. An analogy that\u2019s allowed me to understand the gravity of this moment was likening it to how Amy Adams stans will feel the day she wins her long overdue Oscar. Only then did I grasp the maniacal joy that the New York Knicks fans displayed on the streets of Manhattan after a team victory last Friday night.<\/p>\n

And while my algorithm knows I have no interest in layups or playoffs or anything of the like, New York City\u2019s team has been unavoidable on my feeds since the Eastern Conference Semifinals began. And not because of any actual game footage. First, it was because of this cinematic picture<\/a> of Kylie Jenner staring longingly at her boyfriend, Timoth\u00e9e, from their courtside seats during Game 4. Then I couldn\u2019t escape the sheer slay that was Cardi B\u2019s relationship hard-launch (the first post-Offset<\/a>). She popped out at a Knicks game Monday night with NFL star Stefon Diggs, sitting just a few seats down from Timoth\u00e9e. And that\u2019s just a fraction of the high-profile action that\u2019s gone down during this particular playoff series.<\/p>\n

It\u2018s not new for the Knicks to have a high concentration of celebrities sitting courtside. (Spike Lee has been a season ticket holder since 1985.) The fact that the team is based in a cultural mecca makes it easy for huge names to stop by and watch a game. But this year\u2019s playoff series has set the stage for a ton of non-sports-related pop culture lore to be built on the sidelines. The 2025 Knicks\u2019 playoff presence is more comparable to cultural events like the Met Gala than to well-attended NBA games of the past.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re pitting the annual gala and the Knicks iconic run against one another (not a totally obvious comparison, but let\u2019s walk together), we can note that couples like Kylie\/Timoth\u00e9e and Cardi\/Stefon chose to make big public outings at Knicks games instead of the Met\u2019s blue carpet this year. <\/p>\n

And sure, we see a handful of awkward celeb ex run-ins at the Met every year (see: Sabrina and Barry, and Rosal\u00eda and Jeremy Allen White this year). But we don\u2019t get to see how those run-ins\u2014or any other action\u2014can go down inside the event (despite Megan Thee Stallion\u2019s best covert recording efforts<\/a>). But under Madison Square Garden\u2019s glaring light, we can see the celebrity ex-reunions in their full glory, like Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny sitting just a few feet away from each other at the Knicks game last Monday night. <\/p>\n

Any pop culture fan who considers themself committed to the game of stargazing should be fully rooting for New York City\u2019s team right now. Because players and stats aside, who else is feeding us like this? You\u2019re not getting lovable fan cams of every star imaginable\u2014from Tina Fey to Mary J. Blige\u2014at an Orlando Magic game (respectfully).
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You won\u2019t see former besties Kylie Jenner and Jordyn Woods (WAG to Knicks player Karl Anthony Towns) sharing post-Knicks win squeals during a rare public reunion anywhere else. Feels just like 2018.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a fan that\u2019s been on the internet for a minute, take a moment to remember the joy that those photos of Ethan Hawke trying to chat up Rihanna evoked.<\/p>\n

Each of these A-list Knicks moments has provided me with similar voyeuristic glee! A basketball game is no gala, but it\u2019s not often we get so many opportunities to watch these celebs operate in (somewhat) laid-back environments. These games bring us very necessary group chat fodder! (For example: \u201cIs it legal for an L.A. native like Kylie to step out as a Knicks diehard?”)<\/p>\n

I am paying close attention to every beat of courtside activity happening while the Knicks do their thing this season, and for that reason alone, I need them to keep winning. Point guard Jalen Brunson is essentially carrying pop culture on his back right now, along with the dutiful Knicks fans in the nosebleeds recording all of this courtside action instead of the game itself (despite how expensive<\/a> those tickets currently are). Anyone who doesn\u2019t want this celeb tea resource to dry up should go ahead and join the Knicks bandwagon. Who knows what other major pop culture moments are yet to come from Madison Square Garden…
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