When the Knicks faced the Spurs in the NBA Finals this summer, those courtside seats were the hottest ticket in town.
Whether a New Yorker or not, it seemed like everyone wanted to be a part of the Knicks’ long-awaited path to victory. (In case you missed it, the Knicks eventually won the finals, becoming NBA Champions again for the first time in 53 years.)
It would take up far too much time/space to list every single famous person who showed up during the finals, both in NYC and in San Antonio. But, of course, we obviously had the diehard Knicks fans like Ben Stiller, Spike Lee, Timothée Chalamet, and Tracy Morgan.
We also saw native New Yorkers, like Jay-Z, Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, Cardi B, Pete Davidson, Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, Adrien Brody, Larry David, Fat Joe, Scooter Braun, and, oh yeah, President Donald Trump.
And there were plenty of other celebs who showed up to be part of the fun, too, including Kylie Jenner, Tina Fey, Taylor Swift, the Haim sisters, Sydney Sweeney, Jon Hamm, Greta Gerwig, and Hailey Bieber. It was genuinely like a who’s-who of the celebrity world, except they were sitting on fold-out chairs, and there was a basketball game going on.
So, given the slew of celebs rallying in support of the New York team this year, there was some online conversation about how many of them are true Knicks fans. And during an interview last week, some of the players weighed in.
“At the Knicks games, I would say it’s very performative,” said point guard Tyler Kolek said during a sit-down conversation for NBA 2K League, which was posted on Nov. 5. “Because, like, they just wanna be seen at the game. They’re not necessarily fans.”
Tyler and his teammate, Miles “Deuce” McBride, were then asked who the “fakest” A-list fan was, and Tyler wasted no time before replying, “Maybe Taylor Swift. I don’t know if I’ve seen her at any other games.”
As you may remember, Taylor got loads of attention this summer when she attended Game 4 of the NBA Finals at MSG on June 10, sitting courtside with Alana Haim, Este Haim, and Knicks superfan Mariska Hargitay. As you may remember, the four of them were rocking Knicks-colored T-shirts branded with the following puns: Knickelback, Knickole Kidman, and Stevie Knicks.
Prior to this, in May, Taylor also attended Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Cleveland, watching the Knicks take on the Cavaliers.
In the clip, Deuce warily agreed, saying, “The Swifties not gonna like that answer.” Tyler then added, “I’m gonna get some hate from the Swifties. I guess she’s got a lot going on, so she can’t come all the time, but it’s a little performative.”
As the pair predicted, it didn’t take long for the video to garner some seriously intense backlash, with fans unearthing photographs to prove that Taylor has been attending Knicks games for well over a decade. “she’s been a fan longer than he’s been on the team lmao,” one X user wrote. (For context, Tyler joined the Knicks in 2024.)
On Friday, Nov. 6, the video clip disappeared from the NBA 2K League TikTok page, where it was originally posted on Nov. 5. And that same day, the Knicks issued a statement in Taylor’s defense. “Taylor Swift has been a Knicks fan for many years, has a long history with Madison Square Garden, and we are incredibly appreciative of her support of the organization,” a spokesperson for the Team said on Friday.
The following day, Tyler also walked back his comments about Taylor, saying that he “misspoke.” “[The video] was everywhere. Everybody saw it. But it is what it is,” he said after the Knicks’ 109-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday. “For me, it’s just a question that was asked to me that maybe I answered in the wrong way. I take that on the chin. But I love her music. We were just playing it five minutes ago, and I’m singing every word to every song. Nothing against her at all.”
Tyler added that people had been sending him photographs of the singer sitting courtside at games in the past, to which he said, “I wasn’t up to date on my Taylor Swift Knicks fandom, so that’s on me… I love her music. I probably know more songs than anybody else in the locker room.”
Well, with all that cleared up, it seems Tyler is taking the drama in his stride. On Sunday, he shared an IG post featuring recent pictures with the caption “Tyler’s Version.” His girlfriend also commented on the post, alerting people to the fact that Tyler attended the Eras Tour.
And if Tyler’s love for Taylor was still in doubt, one of his Knicks teammates, Jordan Clarkson, posted a video of Tyler in the locker room singing his heart out to “Blank Space.” “He apologizes….the kid is okay,” the additional text read. “He’s a Swiftie.”
The social media activity has prompted speculation that Tyler is “trolling,” but that’s up to you to decide. Give me your thoughts on all this in the comments.
