The Issue: Destruction in New York City following the Knicks’ first NBA championship win in 53 years.

To anyone who believes in sheer hard work, focus, all-round discipline and teamwork, the 2026 NBA Champion Knicks are a living example of what is possible (“Dancing in the streets,” June 14)

What stood out most was the emergence of Jalen Brunson. His crowning glory isn’t just the historic win or being named MVP after his mesmerizing 45-point performance in Game 5. It is his consistent, cool demeanor. He always believed they could get the job done.

Take a bow, Team Knicks, and everyone who made this happen.

Atul Karnik

Woodside

Welcome, Jalen Brunson, to the pantheon of New York sports champions. That list includes Joe Namath, Tom Seaver, Walt Frazier, Reggie Jackson, Ray Knight, Mark Messier, Derek Jeter and Eli Manning.

New York needed a champion. The Knicks are just that.

Richard Melnick

Astoria

I know many neighborhoods had crowds, but shout out to Second Avenue on the Upper East Side. We had fire trucks, bar crowds five people deep watching the outside TV monitors and an impromptu stroll down the middle of the avenue as the crowd walked home en masse.

Adam Silbert

Manhattan

Americans and New Yorkers embrace and appreciate a team. This is a group of players that is unheard of in today’s NBA. These guys are a real team! They represent what this country can be and has been. Go Knicks!

Michael Charles

St. Lucie, Fla.

Congratulations to the world champion Knicks. Coach Mike Brown did a masterful job guiding the team, stressing tough defense. Jalen Brunson has emerged as an NBA superstar.

Sadly, deranged fans destroyed five school buses in the post-game celebration (“Anarchy in the Big Apple,” June 15).

Hopefully, Thursday’s victory parade will be a joyous event. The future looms bright for the Knicks.

Matt Engel

Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

A lifelong New York Knicks fan, I have been to the previous two Knicks championships in 1970 and 1973. What happened on Saturday night in New York City was appalling. School buses were ripped apart and burned during what was supposed to be a joyous occasion.

The Knicks truly deserve a parade, but not at the expense of more destructive and lethal behavior from so-called fans. Unless the mayor, the NYPD and the Knicks can come up with an appropriate plan for a safe parade, it should not occur. The safety of people and property should come first.

Marc Lamport

Whitestone

Mayor Mamdani missed a perfect opportunity to showcase progressive public-safety theory in real time after the Knicks’ win.

Instead of deploying officers, he could have sent out teams of social workers to explain to the rioters that arson is not generally regarded as constructive civic participation.

I don’t think this would have stopped the destructive behavior. But at least New Yorkers would finally have received a live demonstration of the theory.

André Montero

Brooklyn

Watching and reading the reports of the so-called “celebrations” by Knicks fans, I thought of John Carpenter’s “Escape From New York.” It took 46 years for fiction to become a reality, starting when our current mayor took office.

T. King

Manhattan

The sickening scene in New York City after the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs was far from the first time that so-called “fans” behaved more like Jan. 6 goons than fans of a sport.

What is it about a team’s championship victory that triggers such violence from otherwise civil segments of the population?

Vin Morabito

Scranton, Pa.

The photos of the city after the Knicks won bring back memories of the George Floyd riots. Those times made rioting, looting, vandalism and violence acceptable and normal behavior. Protesting or celebrating are just excuses for this disgusting behavior.

Judy Riccuiti

Farmingdale

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