{"id":1988699,"date":"2026-06-13T19:52:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T16:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1988699"},"modified":"2026-06-13T19:52:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T16:52:39","slug":"knicks-fans-ultimate-flex-an-nba-champions-tattoo-before-the-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1988699","title":{"rendered":"Knicks\u2019 fans ultimate flex: An NBA champions tattoo before the championship"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Monday, lifelong New Yorker Adrian Reyes will finally get the tattoo he has been envisioning during this historic Knicks playoff run: a pigeon donning a Jalen Brunson jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no better way to think about New York than, quite honestly, a pigeon,\u201d Reyes says. \u201cThey\u2019re everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

And they are persistent \u2014 like the Knicks. \u201cThey\u2019re resilient. They keep fighting,\u201d Reyes says. \u201cJust like Knicks fans, we\u2019re always here. We flock out of anywhere and everywhere to every single game. Look at the Sixers series. We took over that stadium. Think of all those birds that were there chirping.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way to better describe a New Yorker,\u201d Reyes continues, \u201cthan guys that love to chirp.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The tattoo will be on his thigh. \u201cNot to be TMI,\u201d he says, \u201cbut anytime you use the bathroom, shower, anything like that, you\u2019ll always have this image to look at and remind you and make you smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

He isn\u2019t alone. Knicks fans have been flocking to tattoo parlors all over New York City to commemorate this moment. From the standard Knicks logo to entire player sleeves, the tattoos have been in high demand \u2014 and are deeply meaningful to New Yorkers who have waited their entire lives to see their team in the sun.<\/p>\n

Even before the finals, diehard fans had been getting Knicks tattoos. \u201cBy the time we swept the Cavs,\u201d says Adam Korothy, a tattoo artist at Live By The Sword in Williamsburg, \u201cit started reaching a fever pitch.\u201d And it hasn\u2019t relented. He\u2019s gotten requests in recent days from two Knicks City Dancers. \u201cLast night,\u201d Korothy says, \u201ca family of three all came in to get Knicks tattoos at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Val Klimovich of Live By The Sword says, \u201cOne local gentleman stopped by to get a Knicks tattoo on his chest, right in the middle, during the lunch break and his wife texted him, \u2018You don\u2019t have to come home if you\u2019ll get that ugly tattoo, I\u2019m not looking at that every time I see you shirtless.\u2019 He got it anyway. I hope they\u2019re still together!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Knicks\u2019 run is the biggest topic by far around the shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am still in shock from OG (Anunoby\u2019s) phenomenal tip-in<\/a>. We have definitely seen more and more interest in our Knicks flash after Game 4,\u201d Korothy says. \u201cWe haven\u2019t had one client, visitor or person not mention OG\u2019s dagger of a tip-in since it happened. It\u2019s pretty much all we talk about.\u201d Korothy plans to get a Knicks tattoo as well.<\/p>\n

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\n Adrian Reyes designed this tattoo with Lina Valentina of a pigeon, a symbol of New York resilience in Reyes\u2019 words, wearing a Jalen Brunson jersey. (Courtesy of Adrian Reyes)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Mikhail Andersson, owner of First Class Tattoo, has had his shop open for a decade. \u201cThis is the first time that any clients have been interested in getting Knicks tattoos,\u201d Andersson says. \u201cOne guy in his 60s who got the logo tattooed on his arm was telling us how he is a very proud native New Yorker and comes from two New Yorker parents. He says being a Knicks fan has been a family tradition, and is a way to connect with his son now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nikita Shoshensky, a lifelong New Yorker who focuses on large-scale Japanese tattoos, created a bunch of Knicks-Japanese-infused tattoos. \u201cI thought probably it would be my usual clients,\u201d he says. Until it began to take off. \u201cI\u2019ve seen lot of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Nikita Shoshensky has been making Japanese-inspired Knicks tattoos. (Courtesy of Nikita Shoshensky)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Some of the tattoos have been bold. Last Monday, Justin Chi, from the Upper East Side, got a tattoo on his right hand that said: KNICKS IN 4 25-26 NBA CHAMPIONS. He doesn\u2019t regret being wrong about the first half of the tattoo \u2014 the Knicks lost Game 3 on Monday \u2014 because he is convinced the second part will be true.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we\u2019re gonna win,\u201d Chi says.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why he got the tattoo. \u201cI believe in destiny and I believe in the Knicks. It just felt right,\u201d says Chi, whose voice is raspy from screaming at the top of his lungs with his father at Game 4.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t have any regrets. \u201cI think I\u2019m just gonna cross out the four and put in a five,\u201d Chi says. \u201cIt\u2019s something I will remember for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
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\n What Knicks fans taking over road arenas really says about the modern sports experience\n <\/div>\n
\n These stadium invasions get romanticized as elite fandom. But presence is as much about purchasing power as it is about passion.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The afternoon before Game 3, Rich Creavy got a large tattoo of skyscrapers, the Knicks logo and FINALS 2026 CHAMPIONS in big, bold lettering on his right arm. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to wait till it was over,\u201d Creavy says. He, too, isn\u2019t embarrassed to have it if the Knicks lose the title, because \u201cIf The Knicks Lose The Title\u201d isn\u2019t a sentence to be uttered. Some in his life have already accused him of jinxing the team. But he doesn\u2019t care: \u201cThe Knicks are such a likable team that I\u2019ll never regret the tattoo based on these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

What these fans share is a deep-down desire to capture this once in a lifetime moment; this strange, sweet feeling of hope. More than ink, more than art, these tattoos are love letters on skin; a commemoration that they had the audacity to believe<\/em>, even, that the Knicks who somehow always Knick and break their hearts can finally break through. It is connected to what it means to live in New York. The pain and agony and glory of living in the city that now feels like a small town, the way strangers are starting conversations about the game on the street.<\/p>\n

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And to showcase that community, that belief<\/em>, in a permanent tattoo, before the championship even happens? That is evidence of unashamed, unbridled joy \u2014 joy that had been dormant for so long.<\/p>\n

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\n \u201cI didn\u2019t want to wait till it was over,\u201d Creavy says of his Knicks championship tattoo. (Courtesy of Rich Creavy)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThis tattoo is a lifetime in the making,\u201d says Yves Voltaire from Harlem, who got a Knicks logo on his left deltoid, above the bicep, seven hours before Wednesday\u2019s Game 4. The appointment, however, was booked months in advance. \u201cThis is an exhalation for the city and for us fans,\u201d Voltaire says. \u201cWe\u2019re reveling. We\u2019re spinning. We\u2019re cheering, we\u2019re cheesing. Because we\u2019ve been through some stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watching Anunoby\u2019s play, arm in arm with his nearly 70-year-old neighbor, the two jumped up and down and screamed like kids on a hotel bed. \u201cWhen you see us in the streets cheesing following another playoff win, what you\u2019re really seeing is us punching the air with our smiles. Punching the air with joy, with bewilderment, with affirmation. Like, yo, this is really happening?!\u201d Voltaire says.<\/p>\n

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\n Julia S. Dalton-Brush\u2019s tattoo behind her ear. (Courtesy of Julia S. Dalton-Brush)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Julia S. Dalton-Brush, raised in Manhattan and the Bronx, got a Knicks logo tattoo right behind her left ear. \u201cIt\u2019s close to where I hear this city every day, and I felt like the right place for something that\u2019s been such a constant in my life,\u201d she says. The Knicks have been her team since she started hooping at age 5: \u201cThey\u2019re part of my city\u2019s identity. \u2026 To me, the Knicks represent resilience, loyalty and hope.\u201d Unity, too. \u201cThe city can be so divided,\u201d Dalton-Brush says. \u201cThe Knicks bring people together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Queens resident Nolan Parr got a sleeve of Brunson with his iconic pose on his left leg. He went to the Knicks watch party, where his tattoo was featured on the Jumbotron. But the coolest part happened on the subway there. \u201cI had a guy stop [and look at my tattoo] and he was like, \u2018You\u2019re the biggest diehard I\u2019ve ever seen. That takes commitment.\u201d There was no better compliment from a fellow New Yorker. He wants to add a portrait of possibly OG. \u201cWe\u2019re going to keep probably adding players and basketball imagery,\u201d says artist Josh Glasser, who did his tattoo.<\/p>\n

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\n Nolan Parr got Brunson\u2019s iconic pose tattooed on his leg. (Courtesy of Nolan Parr)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Jimi Noel from Brooklyn got the Knicks logo tattoo on his right bicep the morning after Game 2, so inspired by Brunson\u2019s clutch fadeaway shot. \u201cThat\u2019s when I said, yeahhhh, this is different!\u201d Noel says. \u201cI\u2019ve wanted to get this tattoo for a few years now so it was long overdue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ricardo \u201cChico\u201d Jimenez, a tattoo artist out of Hard Knox Tattoo in Yonkers, created a sleeve of Brunson praying. \u201cIf Jalen ran for mayor, he\u2019d win,\u201d Jimenez says. \u201cThat\u2019s how much love New York has for him and the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It is meaningful to the artists, too. \u201cPersonally, I have never felt more like a New Yorker, which means a lot to me as an immigrant and a recent citizen,\u201d says Royal Jafarov of Royal Tattoo Art, an appointment-only studio based in the Lower East Side.<\/p>\n

These artists know there are many more tattoos to come. \u201cIf they win, the city is gonna burn,\u201d says Ivan Valladares Ramos, a tattoo artist at Magic Cobra Tattoo Society in Brooklyn. \u201cIf they lose, the city is definitely<\/em> gonna burn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manhattan-based tattoo artist Esteban Caasi of Caasi Tattoo Studio posted a photo of the Knicks tattoos<\/a> he has done during this run. Someone commented: \u201cWhat happens if they don\u2019t win?\u201d Without hesitation, Avalos wrote back: \u201cYou remain a fan.\u201d People liking his comment warmed his heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing the joy these tattoos bring to people reminds me that tattooing is about more than ink, it\u2019s about capturing a moment,\u201d says Lina Valentina, the tattoo artist from Noble Art Tattoo Studio who created Reyes\u2019 pigeon. \u201cBeing trusted to create something that commemorates a historic championship run is an honor, and it\u2019s exciting to know that artists get to play a small part in preserving these memories for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

World\u2019s Fair Tattoo in Astoria, Queens, has long been doing Mets tattoos. Now, Knicks ones are in demand, with people calling to book now \u201cfor when they win the championship,\u201d says Sara Antoinette Martin, tattoo artist from World\u2019s Fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe energy is bigger than just the Knicks winning a championship,\u201d Martin says. \u201cIt\u2019s the underdog story that makes it so much more relatable. David vs Goliath. The Brunsons that have been grinding for years up against a literal giant golden boy from France who has so much support behind him. It\u2019s the underdog story that unites New Yorkers and gives us so much pride to be here and be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Monday, lifelong New Yorker Adrian Reyes will finally get the tattoo he has been envisioning during this historic Knicks playoff run: a pigeon donning a Jalen Brunson jersey. \u201cThere\u2019s no better way to think about New York than, quite honestly, a pigeon,\u201d Reyes says. \u201cThey\u2019re everywhere.\u201d And they are persistent \u2014 like the Knicks. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1988699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1988699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988699\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1988699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1988699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1988699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}