During Thursday’s celebration event for the New York Knicks’ recent NBA Championship, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered a passionate speech in which he recounted the history of the Knicks since their last championship 53 years ago while connecting the team’s historic NBA title run to the spirit of the city itself. However, not everyone seems to have enjoyed the speech.
As Mamdani began to receive some high praise for his speech on Thursday, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy took to social media to call out the New York City mayor for “hogging the spotlight,” calling him “inauthentic” and those praising the speech “dumb.”
Mamdani’s Speech Receives Praise
During Thursday’s celebration, Mamdani addressed the thousands of fans in attendance at the event, giving a speech that was widely praised for its passion for both the team and the city.
Mamdani praised dozens of players throughout Knicks history as he connected the team’s historic 29-point comeback in Game 4, where the odds gave them just a 0.4% chance of winning the game at that point, to the overall spirit and culture of New York City as a whole.
“There is one thing that the pundits just don’t get about this team, what they don’t get about this city: it is in that 0.4% that we go to work,” Mamdani said.
“The Knicks did not just win for New York City, they won like New York City,” Mamdani said later in his speech. “What is New York without your back against the wall? A dream that feels just out of reach? A rent payment you don’t know how you’ll ever make? What is New York if not 99.6% of the world stacked against you? And who are New Yorkers who hear those odds, and smile?
“This is our city. This is our team. For 53 years we’ve watched. For 53 years we’ve waited. Now, we’ve won.”
The speech was highly praised, but not everyone was a fan. Knicks owner James Dolan took an apparent swipe at Mamdani’s speech in his own address to the crowd, and Pornoy took to social media to criticize Mamdani as well as anyone praising the speech.
‘Hogging the spotlight’
In a post on X, Portnoy took Mamdani to task, calling him “inauthentic” and “a professional actor.”
“I don’t get why people are impressed by a guy who is good at reading other people’s speeches,” Portnoy wrote in a post on X. “He’s a professional actor.”
“People slobbering all over Mandami,” Portnoy continued, spelling Mamdani’s name wrong. “I get that politicians always try to make sports about them and use it to their advantage so I guess you can’t blame Mandami for hogging the spotlight. But dude couldn’t name 1 player besides Brunson when asked during a debate last year. Now he’s a super fan?”
Portnoy shared a link to an article recounting a New York City Mayorial debate last year when Mamdani and the other candidates were asked to name a current Knick besides Jalen Brunson. Mamdani said “Thibs,” referring to then-head coach Tom Thibodeau.
“I think it speaks to how inauthentic he is and how dumb people are who slurp it up. That’s just me though,” Portnoy said.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.