The Business of the New York Knicks
Headed to their first championship final in more than 25 years, the New York Knicks have a deep celebrity following and lots of brand love to cash in on.
Reported by Vogue.
New York City doesn't do anything quietly, and Knicks fever — the team swept the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 25th to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 — has confirmed that. The Empire State Building went orange and blue. Thousands blocked traffic outside Madison Square Garden. The MTA put celebrity guest conductors on trains. And the fashion world, never one to miss a cultural moment with this much heat, showed up immediately.
The merch ecosystem alone tells the story. Coveted vintage '90s Knicks gear is everywhere, alongside if-you-know-you-know unsanctioned tees from the Cookies Hoops podcast and Barney Greengrass deli. New York or Nowhere — which started as a New York City Instagram account before becoming a full DTC brand — is projecting seven-figure sales for its Knicks Finals capsule; during the playoffs, one in two purchases at their Lafayette Street store was an NYON x Knicks product, with total store sales up 50%, according to Vogue. Then there's Siegelman Stable, a horse racing-inspired streetwear label selling licensed Knicks caps exclusively in person before every playoff round. They sell out every time. "Anything that touches the Knicks right now is doing great," says Adam Figman, editor-in-chief of basketball magazine Slam. "I've never seen anything like this."
Courtside Is the New Front Row
Timothée Chalamet sitting courtside in a custom Chrome Hearts velour tracksuit next to Kylie Jenner in vintage Miu Miu orange basketball mules and a navy crocodile Hermès Birkin wasn't just a fashion moment — it was a business case. Chalamet's courtside appearances this season generated approximately $52.9 million in media impact value; Jenner has driven $33 million since late April. Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce generated $12.8 million and $12.6 million respectively from attending one game. For context, Nike — the team's official kit supplier — earned $7.8 million in MIV across the entire season. "With Timothée and Kylie courtside generating their own industry coverage every game, the cultural relevance of this run is hard to overstate," says Launchmetrics CMO Alison Bringé. The Knicks franchise itself was valued at $9.75 billion in October 2025, up 30% year-on-year, and the current Finals run could push gross revenue to $180 million, per Sportico.
The brands paying attention earliest are reaping the rewards. Kith founder Ronnie Fieg, now the Knicks' first-ever creative director, has been building toward this since a 2020 Kith x Nike x Knicks collection dropped before the team was even winning. He designed this year's playoff collection before the season started. Saie Beauty founder Laney Crowell signed on as an official partner after attending a December 2024 game and noticing something obvious in retrospect: not a single brand was speaking to the women in the arena. She moved fast — courtside seats for the Nader sisters, influencer gifting in vintage Knicks jackets, makeup classes for the Knicks City Dancers, a setting spray named City Set after the squad. With the team on a ten-game winning streak, every celebration TikTok has Saie's billboard in the background. Millions of views, driven directly to Sephora.
Pinterest searches for "courtside outfits" are up 67% year-on-year; "Knicks game outfit women" is up 58%. Fans aren't just watching — they're dressing for it, and the brands smart enough to plant their flag early are winning a game that has nothing to do with basketball.
Read the original at Vogue.
