The New York Knicks ended the franchise’s 53-year championship drought after defeating the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the NBA Finals. As great as the Knicks played on the hardwood, the franchise still found itself dealing with off-the-court noise pertaining to its Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and owner James Dolan.
The watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden, which had become regular occurrences throughout the playoffs, were cancelled for Game 3 and Game 4, with Dolan placing the blame on 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.
Mamdani refuted the claims, and got the last laugh when he turned the entire city into a watch party by broadcasting the game for free on public digital screens across New York City.
“I can’t fix The City. That’s The Mayor’s job.”
Dolan also issued a strong, sarcasm-laden message to New York’s Democratic Socialist mayor.
“I can’t fix The City. That’s The Mayor’s job. Good luck,” he said.
It appears that Mamdani took the message literally and is reshaping New York City’s Democratic Party in his own DSA image. Mamdani endorsed three candidates for the city’s House Primaries on Tuesday night: Darializa Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander, and Claire Valdez. In a genius campaign move, Mamdani and his allies even aired a basketball-centric campaign video during the NBA Finals.
I am told that this ad, featuring Zohran Mamdani teaming up with Brad Lander, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Claire Valdez, aired during tonight’s NBA Finals game between the Spurs and the Knicks. pic.twitter.com/LMtKY5jYqa
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 4, 2026
Doubling the socialists in Congress
In an election that has sent shockwaves throughout the Democratic Party nationwide, Mamdani’s allies swept, with each winning his or her primary, and now are all but guaranteed to join Congress as New York is cemented blue politically.
With Valdez and Chevalier, the number of socialists in the United States Congress is set to double, growing from two to four. Chevalier’s victory was particularly monumental, as she defeated Representative Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a true establishment Democrat.
It’s clear Mamdani is doing just as Dolan urged him to, and pulling out all the stops to fix New York City, even if that means permanently reshaping the makeup of the Democratic Party that represents it.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.