It will forever be known as “The Tonight Shoe.”
Before the New York Knicks raise their championship banner at Madison Square Garden to commemorate the franchise’s historical milestone, another memento from the team’s successful season was raised over a different stage — Jimmy Fallon’s studio.
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The team stopped by “The Tonight Show” on Monday to celebrate defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 and giving the Knicks their first NBA championship in 53 years.
During the team’s championship run, Fallon said he wore the same sneaker whenever he attended or watched a game. But that’s not what made them lucky. While sitting courtside during Game 1 of the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers, which the Knicks won 137-98, Josh Hart bent down and untied the laces as he was heading to the bench.
“You walked by and I thought you were fixing your sock or something, and you untied my shoe,” Fallon recalled to Hart. “And then you won by like 20 points or whatever. And then next game I went to, you did it again, and then you also won, and then the comeback game you did it again. So, every time I watched the game, I kept untying my shoe.”
Hart told Fallon the untying ritual became “our thing.”
“When I’m on the court I’m locked in, but once I step off the court I like just having fun,” Hart said. “So, I saw you and I was like, ‘You know what? Let me mess with Jimmy a little bit.’ So, I untied the shoe.”
Fallon had the entire team autograph the sneaker, saving a spot for Hart to sign it during the show.
“I’d be honored if you’re the last Knick to sign my shoe and then maybe we can retire it to the rafters here at 30 Rock,” Fallon said.
After Hart signed the sneaker, a wire dropped from the ceiling and Hart helped Fallon attach the sneaker and raise it.
“This will live in the rafters forever,” Fallon said.
The team was introduced to an audience of Knicks superfans by the most recognizable Knicks fan of all, Spike Lee.
Jalen Brunson brought along their new hardware, the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, delivering on a promise he made to Fallon during his previous appearance on the show in 2024.
“Last time you were on the show I said, ‘When the Knicks win the championship will you bring the trophy here?’” Fallon said. “And you’re a man of your word.”
Brunson said winning the championship, with the Knicks completing multiple comeback victories to do so, has not yet sunk in.
“I don’t know if it will for a while,” he said. “But the opportunity presented itself, we went out there together as a team, we found a way to do it, fighting back all those games. It was worth it. It was well worth it.”
Brunson also revealed that listening to Justin Bieber as part of his pregame ritual helps him get in the zone. Teammate Karl-Anthony Towns has a superstition of his own that he credits for helping them win — girlfriend Jordyn Woods’ mini orange clutch purse.
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“What do you want me to say? We were undefeated in the playoffs,” Towns said. “Obviously she makes the magic when she made that Woods by Jordyn bag.”
Towns recalled appearing on the show for the first time in 2015 after being drafted into the NBA, with his late mother in attendance.
“It’s crazy being in this seat again, knowing her energy was here and you and her had such a great relationship and you made her laugh so much over the years,” Towns said. “It’s awesome that I get to come back to this space with the intention when you get drafted you want to win the NBA title, and to come back here talking to you again with the NBA title, I did what I was supposed to do.”
Coach Mike Brown finally explained the backstory behind his “Who let the dogs out” chant, which became one of the postseason’s most-shared memes. Brown said it was a pregame ritual from his time coaching a youth flag football team called the “Dogs,” before breaking out in the chant with the entire studio audience.
“We gotta put that to bed,” Brunson joked.
OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges broke down Anunoby’s game-winning tip-in that completed the Knicks’ 29-point comeback in Game 4.
“I saw a man flying, I couldn’t believe that he had the athleticism to tip the ball in, in air, have control of the ball,” Bridges said. “A crazy play.”
Fallon told Anunoby that he appeared very stoic during that postgame interview, having finished “one of the best games ever” and being coy in his response to reporters’ questions.
“They go, ‘How did you feel?’ And you go, ‘It felt cool,’” Fallon said.
“It was cool,” Anunoby responded. “But it was cool. Was it not cool? It was cool, yeah.”
Bridges, who teamed up with Brunson and Hart to win a title 10 years after the trio won an NCAA championship with Villanova University, was asked what those college years were like and if the players all got along.
“You want the truth? Josh was a bully,” Bridges said. “But after the bullying stage, that’s when we got real close.”
The team’s “Tonight Show” appearance is the latest stop on a celebratory tour. New York City will host a ticker-tape parade on Thursday, June 18.
“Thursday’s victory parade starts around 10 a.m. at Battery Park and should end sometime around Thanksgiving,” Fallon quipped.
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