NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson held the golden NBA championship trophy up for a forest of outstretched hands to touch as fans celebrated the New York Knicks' first title in 53 years with a booming parade through Manhattan's skyscraper-flanked “Canyon of Heroes.”

“It makes everything worth it,” Brunson, the team captain and finals MVP, said. “I can’t put it into words.”

Confetti in the Knicks’ blue and orange swirled through the air. Massive cheers of “Let’s go, Knicks!” erupted as the trophy float got close to City Hall, the ticker-tape parade’s finish line, where players are expected to get keys to the city.

OG Anunoby, who scored the go-ahead basket in Game 4 of the finals on a tip-in with 1.2 seconds left, left his parade float to interact with fans, holding the NBA Cup in-season championship trophy in one hand and a bottle of Patron tequila in the other.

Film director Spike Lee, perhaps the team’s most iconic fan, was on a float with Brunson, savoring the moment. “I’ve never been to a parade — ever — and I’m glad it’s this one,” Lee said.

The MVP’s mom, Sandra Brunson, wore a shirt with photos of Jalen and husband Rick, who played for the Knicks. She echoed her son’s words, saying: “It was all worth it.”

Karl-Anthony Towns hoisted the Eastern Conference championship trophy and a cigar on top of a parade bus, alongside a dancing Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a huge Knicks fan. On a nearby float with other alumni, Carmelo Anthony had a victory cigar of his own.

“The whole city won,” Anthony said. “New Yorkers are, as they say, ‘lit’ right now.”

Knicks fans turn out in force

People streamed into the area on crammed subways, looking to get as close as they could or find any elevated spot to catch a glimpse.

Several blocks from the parade route, fans stood shoulder to shoulder — sometimes on each other’s shoulders — or climbed traffic lights, sanitation trucks or Knicks-colored buckets they’d brought from home. Far away on the Brooklyn Bridge, people gathered just to hear the loudspeakers.

“I had to be here today,” said Shareefa Wallace, 34, who got up at 3 a.m. to make her way from suburban Long Island. She grew up in the city going to Knicks games, and she sported the souvenir jersey of one of the legends from that era, Patrick Ewing.

‘The New York vibe’

Nearby bars and delis filled with fans, some wishing they’d arrived at dawn. But many seemed at peace with the fact that they would only experience the parade from a distance.

“We’re fine with the fray, we just want to be with the New York energy and the New York vibe,” said Jean Strong, who came to the parade from Harlem with his nephew and sister.

Terrell Emerson, a chef who grew up in Queens before leaving New York, said he drove from Maryland with his daughter Madison – named in honor of the Knicks' home arena, Madison Square Garden.

Madison, beaming, held a handwritten sign announcing she’d skipped her fifth-grade graduation to be there.

Stars and Knicks legends

Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier — a member of the ’70s champion teams — led off the parade, riding along in style in a convertible and wearing his NBA title rings. Frazier had late teammates and coaches on his mind.

“They would be amazed at what has happened to the Knicks and how they’ve really captivated the city this year,” Frazier said. “This has exceeded any expectations I ever thought that we’d have.”

Knicks play-by-play announcer Mike Breen was set to emcee the City Hall ceremony. Ben Stiller captured photos and videos from a parade vehicle.

Alicia Keys, the singer who collaborated with Jay-Z on the New York-loving 2009 hit “Empire State of Mind,” has been tapped to perform.

“How could I not?” Keys said Wednesday in a social media video that featured her on the phone with Knicks forward OG Anunoby.

A parade decades in the making

The mere fact that the parade is happening is historic in itself. Although the Knicks won the championship twice in the 1970s, the city didn’t host a parade for them either time. Then-Mayor John Lindsay had cut down on ticker-tape extravaganzas for financial and other reasons, and he instead honored the Knicks at a 1970 reception at the mayoral mansion and a jam-packed 1973 ceremony outside City Hall.

This time, the city is going all out. A police officer could be seen holding a sign reading, “This is really happening.”

And a massive security operation

Police plan to deploy 10,000 officers to secure the event, which follows ebullient but sometimes chaotic street celebrations and some violence during the Knicks' run to victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

At one point before the parade, a small group of people were crushed against a barrier near Fulton Street, a key subway hub, pinned between a swelling crowd and a group of police officers shoving the barrier to keep fans penned in.

Some 650 sanitation workers were assigned to clean up what could be tens of thousands of pounds (kilograms) of debris, if recent history is any guide.

Why does New York throw ticker-tape parades?

Ticker-tape parades derive their name from the narrow strips of paper used by telegraph-era “stock ticker” machines. New York brokerage firm workers took to tossing the paper out their office windows during parades in the late 19th century, adding a swirling aerial spectacle to the festivities.

Over the years, especially up to the mid-1960s, the city rolled out ticker-tape parades to honor visiting foreign leaders, mark historic anniversaries and hail feats in aviation, war, sports, music, space travel and more.

The Knicks' parade is the 210th, coming after a ticker-tape bash for the WNBA's New York Liberty in 2024.

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Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz, Julie Walker and Stephen Whyno in New York and AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney in Southampton, New York, contributed.