The New York Knicks are up 3-1 in the NBA Finals after hosting the San Antonio Spurs for Games 3 and 4 and splitting the homestand. Unfortunately, much of the discourse surrounding the game was dominated by matters unrelated to basketball, namely United States President Donald Trump, New York Knicks owner James Dolan, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Trump, somewhat controversially, attended Game 3 in Madison Square Garden, taking the game in from a suite and making history as the first sitting president to attend the WNBA Finals. The President’s attendance led to increased security around the venue, as well as the cancellation of watch parties outside of the arena, as has been the norm during New York’s impressive playoff run.
However, Game 4’s watch party outside of MSG was also cancelled, despite Trump not attending. Dolan said that the onus of the blame for the cancellation was on Knicks mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.
“They don’t want the celebration. I can’t tell you why they don’t want the celebration, right? I’m not sure they know why they don’t want the celebration, but they clearly don’t want it,” Dolan said ahead of Game 4.
Knicks owner James Dolan is at odds with Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch over security measures outside Madison Square Garden. pic.twitter.com/HnnrP0VJAh
— Knicks Fan TV
(@KnicksFanTv) June 10, 2026
Mamdani refuted Dolan’s claims, asserting that Madison Square Garden requested a permit for a watch party of up to 999 people and that the permit was granted, implying saying that the watch party’s cancellation was solely at Dolan’s discretion.
Ultimately, Mamdani got the last laugh, as noted by business analyst Aakash Gupta, when he pulled off broadcasting the game for free on public digital screens across New York City.
“The NBA just did something leagues almost never do: side against one of its own owners, in his own market, during the Finals,” Gupta posted on X.
“Live broadcast rights are the most protected asset in sports. Disney and friends paid $76B in the latest media deal partly for moments exactly like this. Bars need licenses just to show games. Yet within hours of James Dolan pulling the plug on the watch party outside his own arena, the league cleared New York City to stream Game 4 free on public street furniture.
“Dolan’s stated reason for canceling: a 999-person cap was an insult when ‘we’re about millions of people.’ So the city took him literally. LinkNYC runs roughly 2,000 kiosks across the five boroughs, built on the corpse of the old payphone franchise. Dolan controls the Garden. The city controls every sidewalk around it. One detail makes the whole thing sting. MSG requested the 999-person permit itself, then canceled when it was approved. Owners win these standoffs when they own the only screen in town. Dolan just found out the city has two thousand of them.”
Ultimately, if the Knicks can win one of the next three games and win the franchise’s first title in 53 years, the vibes in New York may be so good that Mamdani and Dolan bury that hatchet and celebrate. However, as NBA legend Kobe Bryant famously said, “the job’s not finished.”
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