Second row. First NBA Finals at MSG since 1999. Timothée Chalamet saved his outfit just for this. Here’s how the night went from Boardroom’s point of view.
It’s 12:20 AM, and I just got home from Game 3 of the NBA Finals. And even though the New York Knicks lost a tough battle to the San Antonio Spurs to kill any hopes of a potential sweep, this was easily one of the best nights of my life. From getting to Madison Square Garden three hours early to (basically) becoming best friends with Timothée Chalamet, here’s how it all went down.
I arrived at MSG around 5:30, and getting in was by far the worst part of the night. With President Trump in attendance, security was tighter than at any Knicks game I’ve ever been to — barricades and police five blocks out, and a metal detector at 29th Street just to get near the arena. I’d arrived early enough to skip the second screening, but I could see thousands of people down 32nd Street who weren’t so lucky. After about an hour, we were finally let in, and the “Let’s Go Knicks” chants rolling out the doors were just a preview of how loud New York was going to get.
Inside, I hit the over-the-top Delta Lounge, where I bought a hat and a jacket while Joe Budden shopped beside me. The spread was unreal: sushi, porterhouse, and lobster roll stations, the usual burgers and hot dogs, two bars, and help-yourself bowls of candy. I wasn’t hungry, so I just grabbed some popcorn and headed down to my seats.
My dad and I were in the second row, seats we never could have swung on our own. They were a gift from a friend of my dad’s, and I still can’t fully wrap my head around it: Comparable seats were going for north of $40,000 each, and a pair of Celebrity Row seats a few feet away had just sold for $1 million at a charity auction. I’ll never forget that kind of generosity.
The last time the Knicks made it this far, these same Spurs sent them home. Now, here we were again, same two franchises, same building, 26 years later. I knew I was sitting in the middle of history; what a blessing to be at the first NBA Finals game at the Garden since 1999.
Right in front of us, pregame was the NBA on ESPN crew — Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Draymond Green. Then, Celebrity Row filled in, and it felt like flipping through a Knicks Fan Hall of Fame: Ben Stiller, Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey, Spike Lee, and Chalamet right in front of me; Rick Pitino, Justin Tuck, and Jadakiss right behind. Hov himself wasn’t far off — for once, I knew what Jay-Z meant when he said he was Spiked-out! I could almost trip the referees! I complimented Timothée on his outfit; he dapped me up and said he’d been saving it for this game. I got selfies with Tina, Ben, and Timothée — the highlights of my night.
After the initial rush settled in, the Knicks and Spurs began to star warming up, and man, these guys do NOT miss in person. But as the game clock inched closer and closer to tip-off, things got intense. Sitting that close, I could hear and see everything: Spike Lee screaming at the refs, every foul they missed, the play calls guys shouted to each other. Every basket, we shot up and cheered; every whistle, we let the refs have it, and after a while, it stopped feeling like I was surrounded by larger-than-life figures and started feeling like I was just watching the game with my friends.
Up close, you could see the strain on the faces of Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson — the effort etched into their faces, how badly they wanted this. I could even watch the sweat drip off Victor Wembanyama‘s face. Then the first half ended, the lights dropped, and when I looked to my left — not five feet away — there was Cardi B, surrounded by the Knicks City Dancers, about to launch into her halftime show.
Look, I’m not here to give you a play-by-play as to how the second half played out. We all know what happened. The Knicks lost a close one that came down to the final few possessions, the kind of game that leaves you staring at the floor of the arena for a few extra minutes just trying to process it.
That’s basketball. That’s New York.
Eventually, my high came crashing down as I walked out. But then I reached the main entrance, heard the crowd chanting “Knicks in 5,” and just like that, I was right back to as happy as I’ve ever been.
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