Fat Joe went on \u201cThe Beat with Ari Melber<\/a>\u201c <\/a>to talk about his experience during Knicks fever. <\/p>\n While Fat Joe is happy that the team he supported for most of his life is now on top of the basketball world, what stuck with him most was how the title brought New York together.<\/p>\n He pointed to a moment when he heard the city sing Jay-Z and Alecia Keys\u2019 famous song \u201cEmpire State of Mind\u201d after the Knicks finally brought home the crown with a 94-90 win in San Antonio. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019ve seen thousands, maybe a million fans at one time singing that, man, it\u2019s like a dream come true,\u201d Fat Joe said on MS Now.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Knicks fans across all five boroughs took to the streets to celebrate the victory<\/a>. The lesson Fat Joe took from the long wait was that it takes a lot to become a champion.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe lesson is, you can\u2019t buy a championship,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t waltz, you can\u2019t get lucky.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to earn your way to a championship. And it\u2019s just like when we won, Mr. [James] Dolan gave that speech<\/a> where he was like, \u2018I\u2019m sorry, New York, I was trying,\u2019 you know, \u2018I\u2019m sorry it took so long to win this chip.\u2019 That\u2019s how hard it is to be a champion.\u00a0You\u2019ve got to beat the very, very best.\u201d<\/p>\n The rapper also credited more than just the players for bringing home the trophy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cBut I want to thank everybody, man, for fighting hard \u2014 and the fans, man, we went out there.\u00a0We went to Cleveland.\u00a0We went to Atlanta.\u00a0We went to San Antonio.\u00a0I mean, by the thousands. There was so many New York fans all over,\u201d Fat Joe said. \u201cI like to think we willed them some way or another. We willed them. Like, whenever they had doubts, or whenever it was down, we was like, yeah, let\u2019s go. <\/p>\n \u201cThese scenes in New York City will never get replaced.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Fat Joe was a prominent member of Madison Square Garden\u2019s celebrity row. The rapper traveled to most of the away games<\/a> as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n He ran into trouble in Cleveland when the Cavaliers revoked his courtside tickets<\/a> for Games 3 and 4. Fat Joe was told that \u201cNew York Knick fans can\u2019t sit courtside.\u201d<\/p>\n Luckily for Fat Joe, he saw his team clinch the title in San Antonio without any issues.<\/p>\n![\"Fat](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/user-expressly-acknowledges-agrees-downloading-131101430.jpg\")
Fat Joe and Miles McBride of the Knicks celebrate after the game against the San Antonio Spurs on June 13, 2026 at Frost Bank Center NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n