New York singer Alicia Keys brought the celebrations for the New York Knicks’ NBA championship to a close on Thursday with a performance at City Hall of “Empire State of Mind,” the team’s unofficial fan anthem.
The song, which has become a symbol of the city’s identity and its basketball team in the Finals, was sung in unison by the thousands of attendees during a festive closing ceremony that extended the euphoria over the franchise’s first championship since 1973, in the presence of players, team executives, and the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
The song, by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys, has been playing on the streets of New York in recent weeks to celebrate each of the team’s victories, becoming one of the most-played songs amid the euphoria surrounding the championship, which was clinched last Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs.
Mamdani welcomed the Knicks players today to celebrate the championship and said the team won thanks to the New York spirit: finding a way to win when people say “it’s impossible.”
“The Knicks did what New Yorkers have always done: when people tell us something is impossible, we find a way. We won,” he said at an event held at City Hall.
Dressed in a suit but wearing a Knicks T-shirt and accompanied by his wife, Rama Duwaji—who was also wearing the team’s colors—the councilman welcomed the players and coaching staff after a parade through Lower Manhattan attended by thousands of people.
Mamdani also presented the keys to the city to James L. Dolan, owner of the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, and to franchise executives, including president of basketball operations Leon Rose, executive vice president William Wesley, head coach Mike Brown, as well as assistant coaches Chris Jent, Rick Brunson, and Brendan O’Connor, and the entire team roster, according to Agencia EFE.