Five Sneakers To Wear To The New York Knicks NBA Championship Parade

Will New York City become the home of Skechers? We’re about to find out just how much the city rides for their beloved Knicks after they won Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday Night, securing their first championship in 53 years. A big part of that victory was OG Anunoby’s legendary tip-in to give the Knicks the comeback win from 29 points down in Game 4, setting the stage for a clincher in Game 5. On OG’s feet? A player-exclusive colorway of the Skechers SKX Nexus in Knicks colors. Apparently, it’s such a big deal that Skechers has already taken down the Statue of Liberty and replaced it with their guy OG.

Ok, maybe that’s taking things a little too far. But judging from the celebration over the weekend, which also happened on the weekend of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, would it really be a stretch to see a huge crowd gathered around the Skechers stores in Manhattan if those sneakers were to drop in the next few months? From Clydes to Superstars to Uptowns to Timbs to Skechers might sound like a wild leap, but if that’s the price Knicks fans have to pay for a championship, we think it’ll be worth it to them.

Sadly, barring a production miracle, the only person who will have those sneakers in the immediate future is OG Anunoby*. But for those attending the parade on Thursday, June 18th, there are plenty of options for what to wear for the biggest party the city has ever seen. With apologies to the Yankees, Giants, Rangers, and all the other New York teams, this one will be the most cathartic of them all. And you better believe the city’s sneaker game will be on point for that day.

*Jose Alvarado, honorary guest at the Puerto Rican Day Parade along with the Philippines’ own Jordan Clarkson, has a similar situation with AND1 and his Mad Game Pro PEs in Knicks colors.

Honorable Mention: Nike Dunk High Wu-Tang

During the final 16 games of the Knicks’ run, they won 15 games. Their one loss came in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. What could have possibly caused that loss? Who knows, but there was certainly a lot of attention being paid to people who were not on the court that night, and possibly ruined the good vibes that had been flowing through the team and the city for the past month. What makes it worse is that they probably didn’t even notice it because they were asleep blinking really fast.

Anyways, we’re gonna Mark Jackson shimmy right past that and talk about Game 4 when the Knicks went back to their winning ways. The stink from Game 3 was still strong as the Spurs went into halftime with a 27-point lead. Little did anybody know that reinforcements were on the way in the form of the Wu-Tang Clan. Performing a medley of their greatest hits, Method Man capped off the performance with the bold declaration, “Knicks in five.” The fans probably didn’t want to believe it at the time, but never doubt Staten Island’s greatest export.

Sparking the comeback alone gets the Wu-Tang Dunks on this list.

Jordan Spizikes

The NBA’s most famous fan finally got to experience a championship again, 53 years after the last time the Knicks won it all. Academy Award-winning director Spike Lee has told the story of sitting at every section in Madison Square Garden before finally making his way to courtside to witness the best and worst of times, so there’s no denying his bona fides. He’s so beloved by the Knicks faithful that they overlook his relationship with notorious tormentor Michael Jordan and the fact that he has had multiple Jordan signature shoes, the first of which was the Jordan Spizike in 2006.

The Spizikes are part of a group of rare non-Air Jordan sneakers from the brand that has broken through and escaped the dreaded (but also very silly) “Team Jordan” title. In 2011, Spike received two Knicks-colored Spizikes that were initially believed to be exclusive to the director. A few months later, both colorways dropped and will probably see an increase in resale value over the next few days. If you have a pair or have been waiting for a special moment to un-deadstock them, there probably won’t be a better time than on Thursday. Lord knows Mars has been waiting his whole life to make this phone call to Money…

Puma Clyde

In the 53 years since the Knicks last won a championship, Walt “Clyde” Frazier has held a special place in the hearts and minds of every fan as their GOAT before the arrival of Patrick Ewing and the championship ascension of Jalen Brunson. What Ewing and Brunson will never be able to say is that they are trailblazers in the same way that Clyde was. Frazier was styling and profiling years before Ric Flair even thought about adopting the Nature Boy gimmick. He was also the first ever athlete to get a signature shoe, the Puma Clyde*. The Clyde would go on to become one of the brand’s most enduring sneakers with continuous retros and updates to this day. If only Tyler Kolek got on the court during the series, maybe this moment with Clyde would mean a little bit more…

*Yes, technically the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star is the first signature shoe as Chuck Taylor is a real person. However, the All-Star was already available in 1917 prior to the brand including Taylor’s name in 1921. The Puma Clyde is an all-new shoe based on Puma Suede but with significant changes to fit Frazier’s needs.

Ewing Athletics Ewing 33 Hi

While a majority of Knicks jerseys that fans will be wearing during the parade will be a collection of current players, there will be plenty of representation from the last time the Knicks were championship contenders in the 1990s. No disrespect to the dozens of fans who will be rocking their old and raggedy John Starks replica Champion jerseys or Latrell Sprewell Nike Swingmans, but Patrick Ewing’s #33 is going to be the one that gets the most love. Even though Ewing never delivered a trophy for New York and the relationship was rocky towards the end, all of that bitterness on both sides seemed to fade away the moment Ewing returned for the first time in a Sonics uniform. No, seriously, Patrick Ewing played for the Sonics (and the Orlando Magic).

Signed to adidas early in his career, Ewing wore the shoes that are now known as the adidas Rivalry Hi before creating his own Ewing Athletics brand in 1989. The Ewing 33 Hi was the brand’s flagship shoe and was surprisingly successful before it folded in the mid-90s. Thanks to a heightened interest in retro basketball sneakers in the early 2010s, Ewing Athletics successfully returned in 2012 and has been an ongoing concern ever since.

Jalen Brunson’s Nike Kobe PEs

If you can find them on time, of course. To no one’s surprise, resale prices for the two Jalen Brunson Nike Kobe player exclusives - the Nike Kobe 6 Protro Statue of Liberty and the Nike Kobe 5 Protro NY vs NY - that have been released to the public have shot up in value ever since the Knicks won on Saturday night. At the rate the shoe’s prices have increased, it might actually be cheaper to fly to a reseller shop in San Antonio and buy a pair.

Timberland “D.P.O.G.” Boots

Throughout the season, the Knicks have been rewarding the Defensive Player of the Game with a custom pair of Timberland boots with “D.P.O.G.” stenciled on the lateral side. While these variants have not been released to the public, people have been getting in on the fun by wearing their boots around their neck as a sign of solidarity with the Knicks. Sensing the growing trend, Timberland even handed out mini boots a few days ago to get the locals pumped up for the series. Now that the Knicks have wrapped up the series, sales of Timbs (no, Steph Curry, your boneless pair doesn’t count) in the five boroughs are headed up and to the right in the immediate future.

Juan Martinez

From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com