In The City That Never Sleeps, it’s no wonder Knicks fans shunned shuteye to begin lining up overnight for the most anticipated celebration in generations.

The championship parade was set to start at 10 a.m., but Knicks fans hoping for a spot along the historic if cramped Canyon of Heroes began camping out in lower Manhattan after midnight. Viewing pens along the route opened at 6 a.m. and filled up in less than two hours, the NYPD said.

It added up to a melting pot of joy.

“This is just awesome, I mean look at everyone here,” said Jack Appello, who arrived just before 6 a.m. for his spot. “It’s absolutely crazy here. Everyone’s got Knicks fever in New York, and that’s all we can ask for. It’s been 53 years. 53 years no more.”

Until last Saturday night, the Knicks hadn’t won the NBA title since 1973, and even then there was no city-wide parade. So you could forgive New Yorkers for being a bit excited.

“This has united the city so much. This is America’s team,” Knicks fan Eric Bodon said. “We’ve never been this happy.”

So is it America’s team, or just New York’s? Is there even a difference when we’re talking about the country’s cultural, economic, population – and sports! – center?

This Knicks team won the championship on the backs of repeated comebacks, notably in Game 4 of the Finals, when the Knicks went down by 29 and at one point had a 99.6% chance of losing. To win, they took on the character of the city, the ever-on-message Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at the championship ceremony.

“The Knicks did not just win for New York City, they won like New York City. What is New York if not your back up against the wall? A dream that feels just out of reach, a rent payment you don’t know how you’ll ever make?

“What is New York if not 99.6% of the world stacked against you? And who are New Yorkers if not people who hear those odds and smile, who look at a 0.4% chance of success and ask, ‘Why are you giving me a head start?’”

Finally, Alicia Keys closed with her anthem “Empire State of Mind.” Just behind her, Knicks players put their arms around each other, held aloft their keys to the city, and bellowed out to the crowd that iconic chorus: “New Yooooooooork!”

One hand in the air for the big city. And one finger, too, soon to be adorned with a championship ring.

In The City That Never Sleeps, it’s no wonder Knicks fans shunned shuteye to begin lining up overnight for the most anticipated celebration in generations.

The championship parade was set to start at 10 a.m., but Knicks fans hoping for a spot along the historic if cramped Canyon of Heroes began camping out in lower Manhattan after midnight. Viewing pens along the route opened at 6 a.m. and filled up in less than two hours, the NYPD said.

It added up to a melting pot of joy.

“This is just awesome, I mean look at everyone here,” said Jack Appello, who arrived just before 6 a.m. for his spot. “It’s absolutely crazy here. Everyone’s got Knicks fever in New York, and that’s all we can ask for. It’s been 53 years. 53 years no more.”

Until last Saturday night, the Knicks hadn’t won the NBA title since 1973, and even then there was no city-wide parade. So you could forgive New Yorkers for being a bit excited.

“This has united the city so much. This is America’s team,” Knicks fan Eric Bodon said. “We’ve never been this happy.”

So is it America’s team, or just New York’s? Is there even a difference when we’re talking about the country’s cultural, economic, population – and sports! – center?

This Knicks team won the championship on the backs of repeated comebacks, notably in Game 4 of the Finals, when the Knicks went down by 29 and at one point had a 99.6% chance of losing. To win, they took on the character of the city, the ever-on-message Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at the championship ceremony.

“The Knicks did not just win for New York City, they won like New York City. What is New York if not your back up against the wall? A dream that feels just out of reach, a rent payment you don’t know how you’ll ever make?

“What is New York if not 99.6% of the world stacked against you? And who are New Yorkers if not people who hear those odds and smile, who look at a 0.4% chance of success and ask, ‘Why are you giving me a head start?’”

Finally, Alicia Keys closed with her anthem “Empire State of Mind.” Just behind her, Knicks players put their arms around each other, held aloft their keys to the city, and bellowed out to the crowd that iconic chorus: “New Yooooooooork!”

One hand in the air for the big city. And one finger, too, soon to be adorned with a championship ring.