{"id":1849,"date":"2026-06-16T14:04:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1849"},"modified":"2026-06-16T14:04:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T14:04:48","slug":"knicks-celebrate-finals-win-on-tonight-show-raise-fallons-lucky-game-shoe-to-the-rafters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1849","title":{"rendered":"Knicks celebrate Finals win on \u2018Tonight Show,’ raise Fallon’s lucky game shoe to the rafters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It will forever be known as \u201cThe Tonight Shoe<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 Jimmy Fallon’s studio.<\/p>\n

Read more Live updates: Judge to rule on defense\u2019s motion to acquit George Pino<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou walked by and I thought you were fixing your sock or something, and you untied my shoe,\u201d Fallon recalled to Hart. \u201cAnd 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hart told Fallon the untying ritual became “our thing.”<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m on the court I\u2019m locked in, but once I step off the court I like just having fun,\u201d Hart said. \u201cSo, I saw you and I was like, \u2018You know what? Let me mess with Jimmy a little bit.’ So, I untied the shoe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fallon had the entire team autograph the sneaker, saving a spot for Hart to sign it during the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be honored if you\u2019re the last Knick to sign my shoe and then maybe we can retire it to the rafters here at 30 Rock,\u201d Fallon said.<\/p>\n

After Hart signed the sneaker, a wire dropped from the ceiling and Hart helped Fallon attach the sneaker and raise it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will live in the rafters forever,\u201d Fallon said.<\/p>\n

The team was introduced to an audience of Knicks superfans by the most recognizable Knicks fan of all, Spike Lee. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast time you were on the show I said, \u2018When the Knicks win the championship will you bring the trophy here?\u2019\u201d Fallon said. \u201cAnd you\u2019re a man of your word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunson said winning the championship, with the Knicks completing multiple comeback victories to do so, has not yet sunk in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it will for a while,\u201d he said. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 girlfriend Jordyn Woods’ mini orange clutch purse.<\/p>\n

Read more Family reunion: Serena and Venus Williams to play doubles together at Wimbledon<\/a><\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

Towns recalled appearing on the show for the first time in 2015 after being drafted into the NBA, with his late mother in attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d Towns said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Mike Brown\u00a0finally explained the backstory behind his\u00a0\u201cWho let the dogs out\u201d\u00a0chant, which became one of the postseason\u2019s most-shared memes. Brown said it was a pregame ritual from his time coaching a youth flag football team called the \u201cDogs,\u201d before breaking out in the chant with the entire studio audience. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gotta put that to bed,\u201d Brunson joked.<\/p>\n

OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges broke down Anunoby’s game-winning tip-in that completed the Knicks\u2019 29-point comeback in Game 4.<\/p>\n

“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.” <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“They go, \u2018How did you feel?\u2019 And you go, \u2018It felt cool,\u2019\u201d Fallon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was cool,\u201d Anunoby responded. \u201cBut it was cool. Was it not cool? It was cool, yeah.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

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. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want the truth? Josh was a bully,\u201d Bridges said. \u201cBut after the bullying stage, that\u2019s when we got real close.\u201d<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

\u201cThursday\u2019s victory parade starts around 10 a.m. at Battery Park and should end sometime around Thanksgiving,\u201d Fallon quipped.<\/p>\n

Read more FBI foiled alleged plot to attack White House UFC event, Kash Patel says<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBefore the ticker-tape parade on Thursday, the Knicks made a stop at the ‘TODAY’ show to share about their experience winning the title and what it’s been like for them to see what the win meant for NYC. NBC New York’s John Chandler reports.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jalen Brunson and the NBA champion New York Knicks made an appearance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york-knicks"],"yoast_head":"\nKnicks celebrate Finals win on \u2018Tonight Show,' raise Fallon's lucky game shoe to the rafters - Jacksonville Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jacksonvillemovingnews.com\/?p=1849\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Knicks celebrate Finals win on \u2018Tonight Show,' raise Fallon's lucky game shoe to the rafters - 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