Knicks Win NBA Title for First Time in 53 Years as Brunson Named Finals MVP

The New York Knicks defeated an opponent 94-90 in Game 5 in San Antonio to win their first NBA championship in 53 years. Jalen Brunson scored 45 points in that game and was named Finals MVP. Brunson received the Bill Russell Trophy as a unanimous choice among 11 voters.

He is one of only three players to score 45 or more points in a closeout Finals game and is a three-time All-Star. The Knicks held a ticker-tape parade through the Canyon of Heroes on Thursday morning. Brunson lifted the Larry O’Brien championship trophy on the float alongside his wife Ali and daughter Jordyn, who turns 2 in July.

Mariska Hargitay and Spike Lee joined the Brunson float during the parade. At the Knicks’ championship celebration at City Hall on June 18, 2026, Brunson addressed the crowd after receiving “MVP” chants. “There’s a lot of people that have a lot of negative stuff to say.

But when you prove them wrong, you really don’t have to say s–t to them,” he said. Brunson added, “Nah, they don’t deserve it. Appreciate y’all. com reported the parade route, the City Hall remarks, the Game 5 score, and the Finals MVP announcement.