Knicks parade up Canyon of Heroes set to celebrate 2026 NBA championship. Here's what to know.
The New York Knicks are the 2026 NBA champions and will be honored with a ticker-tape parade through the famed Canyon of Heroes on Thursday.
CBS News New York will have complete live team coverage of the historic Knicks championship parade starting at 9:00 a.m. Thursday.
Knicks parade details
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the Knicks parade will begin at 10 a.m. and follow the traditional route up Broadway from Battery Park to City Hall, where the team will be presented a Key to the City during a special ceremony.
"It will be the first ticker-tape parade in Knicks history, where New Yorkers will be able to celebrate a moment that has feels like we've waited an entire lifetime for because when it comes to people my age and a little bit older, we have," Mamdani said on Sunday. "There have been so many heartbreaks, so many near misses, so many years, every year where we've told ourselves it's the year and for it to actually happen now, there's nothing more we can ask for as New Yorkers."
It's the first time a Knicks championship will be celebrated with a ticker-tape parade through the Canyon of Heroes. Their prior championship wins in 1970 and 1973 did not have an accompanying ticker-tape parade.
Attending the parade is free, and requires no ticket.
The NYPD said Wednesday admission to the event will be on a first-come, first-serve basis, and not everybody is going to be allowed into the pens along parade route. When they are full, police will close down the access points.
A ticket is required for the City Hall ceremony. New York City is giving away 600 to the event through a public lottery that closed on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The city said 347,000 people applied.
For more information about the parade from the mayor's office, click here.
Map of Knicks parade route 2026
The parade will take place in Lower Manhattan.
The iconic Canyon of Heroes runs along Broadway from Battery Park up to City Hall.
Officials on Wednesday were putting the finishing touches on the city's historic lead car, a Chrysler Imperial Phaeton, which has been used in every parade since 1952.
Along the parade route on Broadway, sidewalks were being washed and potholes were being filled.
Parade access points
- Washington St. & Morris St. / Battery Place
- Trinity Place & Morris St.
- Trinity Place & Exchange Aly
- Trinity Place & Rector St.
- Trinity Place & Thames St.
- Trinity Place & Cedar St.
- Church St. & Liberty St.
- Church St. & Cortlandt St.
- Church St. & Dey St.
- Church St. & Fulton St.
- Church St. & Barclay St.
- Church St. & Park Pl.
- Church St. & Murray St.
- Church St. & Warren St.
- Church St. & Thomas St.
- New St. & Exchange pl.
- New St. & Wall St.
- Nassau St. & Pine St.
- Nassau St. & Cedar St.
- Nassau St. & Liberty St.
- Nassau St. & Maiden Lane
- Nassau St. & John St.
- Nassau St. & Ann St.
Getting to the parade
There's sure to be plenty of security and barricades along the parade route in Lower Manhattan, so fans are encouraged to arrive at least two hours early. Several roads in the area will be closed.
Mass transit will be the best way to get to the parade. Here are some options:
- Take the 4 and 5 lines to the Bowling Green station, which drops you at the southern start of the parade route
- Take the 1 line to Rector Street or Cortlandt Street for mid-route access along Broadway
- Take the 2 and 3 lines to the Park Place station, which puts you near the City Hall ceremony
- Take the R and W lines to Whitehall Street or Cortlandt Street as alternate entry points
- Take the A, C, E line to Fulton Street for central access to the route
- The Staten Island Ferry service will run every 15 minutes
Subway closures
The MTA said the Wall Street 4 and 5 train stop and the City Hall R and W station will be closed starting at 4:30 a.m. Thursday. They will reopen after the parade and City Hall ceremony.
The following stations will be open:
- Bowling Green (4, 5)
- Fulton (4,5,J,Z,2,3)
- Brooklyn Bridge (4,5,6)
- Chambers St (J,Z)
- Park Place (2,3)
Transportation officials said buses are subject to diversions.
Extra train service is being added to Metro-North and the Long Island Railroad.
Street closures
South of Canal Street will be shut down to traffic from the Hudson River to the East River starting at 7 a.m.
Traffic coming off the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan will only be able to go northbound on the FDR.
The FDR and West Side Highway will remain open.
Starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, parking will not be allowed south of Canal Street, according to the mayor's office. Cars will be towed if they are not removed.
What's restricted/security measures at the parade
City officials released a list of prohibited items:
- Large bags and backpacks
- Outside alcohol
- Umbrellas
- Folding chairs and other large items
- Glass or metal water bottles
- Bats/batons
- Bicycle or scooters
- Coolers
- Drones
- Pets
- Strollers
- Weapons
People who work in office buildings along the route or live in the area will be able to go into their buildings with proper identification, according to city officials.
More than 10,000 officers have been assigned, making it the largest security deployment ever for a planned event in the city, according to the NYPD.
The plan includes heavy weapons teams, explosive detection K-9s, helicopters, drones, counter-terrorism teams, transit officers and officers in regular clothing working inside the crowd.
Weather for the Knicks ticker-tape parade Thursday
As of Wednesday afternoon, the forecast for the parade has improved. There is now about a 40% chance of showers, with a possible thunderstorm, but it is no longer a First Alert Weather Day.
Temperatures are expected to hover in the low to mid 70s during the parade.
Later Thursday afternoon, temperatures are expected to climb into the 80s, with increased humidity, creating the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm.
Click here for the latest weather watches, warnings and alerts.
Ticker-tape parades a historic NYC tradition
The term "ticker-tape" refers to one-inch wide paper ribbon that's typically used to receive stock quotes via telegraph. During parades, the ribbons are flung out of windows along the route, creating a winding, dramatic effect. Combined with confetti and other scraps of paper, it all adds up to a magical spectacle.
The very first ticker-tape parade took place in 1886 to mark the Statue of Liberty's dedication. Since then, there have been 210 official ticker-tape parades. The most recent took place in 2025 to celebrate Gotham FC's NWSL championship.
"There have been well over 200. I think some of the ones that stand out to me - the parade for Nelson Mandela, right after he was released from prison. Of course, when the Apollo 11 astronauts came home, that was a big one," Jessica Lappin of The Downtown Alliance said. "In most recent history, it's been for sports teams."
Other notable ticker-tape parades include:
- June 13, 1927 for Charles Lindbergh for his first nonstop transatlantic solo flight
- July 6, 1928 for Amelia Earhart, the first woman to complete a transatlantic flight. Earhart would be honored with another ticker-tape parade in 1932 to mark her first solo transatlantic flight
- Sept. 3, 1936 for Jesse Owens and other members of the U.S. Olympic team
- March 15, 1946 for Winston Churchill
- April 20, 1951 for Gen. Douglas MacArthur
- Oct. 21, 1957 for Queen Elizabeth II
- Aug. 13, 1969 for the Apollo 11 crew after returning from the moon
- Oct. 21, 1969 for the World Series champion New York Mets
- Oct. 19, 1977 for the World Series champion New York Yankees
- Oct. 18, 1978 for the World Series champion New York Yankees
- Oct. 3, 1979 for Pope John Paul II
- Oct. 28, 1986 for the World Series champion New York Mets
- June 20, 1990 for Nelson Mandela
- June 17, 1994 for the Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers
- Oct. 29, 1996 for the World Series champion New York Yankees
- Oct. 23, 1998 for the World Series champion New York Yankees
- Oct. 29, 1999 for the World Series champion New York Yankees
- Oct. 30, 2000 for the World Series champion New York Yankees
- Feb. 5, 2008 for the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants
- Nov. 6, 2009 for the World Series champion New York Yankees
- Feb. 7, 2012 for Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants
- July 10, 2015 for the World Cup champion U.S. Women's National Team
- July 10, 2019 for the World Cup champion U.S. Women's National Team
- July 7, 2021 for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Oct. 24, 2024 for the WNBA champion New York Liberty
- Nov. 3, 2025 for Gotham FC NWSL championship
For a complete list of prior ticker-tape parades, click here.
Recap of the Knicks' historic win
The Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals in five games to capture the third NBA title in franchise history and first since 1973.
Jalen Brunson was named series MVP after scoring 45 of the Knicks' 94 points in the series-clinching Game 5 in San Antonio.
The Knicks entered the Finals on an 11-game winning streak, which grew to 13 when New York took the first two games on the road, 105-95 and 105-104.
The Spurs' lone win came in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, 115-111, the first time the World's Most Famous Arena hosted a Finals game since 1999.
Game 4 featured the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history, as the Knicks erased a 29-point deficit and beat the Spurs 107-106 at the Garden. OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds left in the game completed the second-half rally after Brunson's 3-point attempt hit the front of the rim.
