There is perhaps no person more celebrated in Knicks lore than Patrick Ewing, the big man who embodied the 1990s Knicks’ bruising style of basketball and helped bring the team within one win of an N.B.A. title.
Since the Knicks retired Mr. Ewing’s jersey in 2003, no player has worn a jersey with his old number, 33. But during Thursday’s parade, as banners were hung outside City Hall to honor the current team, Mr. Ewing’s No. 33 was featured on the jersey of a current player, Dillon Jones, who played sparingly this year.
The error came about because Mr. Jones’s number was listed as No. 33 on the team’s online roster, according to a spokesman for Mr. Mamdani, even though Mr. Jones wore the No. 1 jersey in all seven games he played this season.
Some Knicks fans viewed the error as a slight by Mr. Mamdani’s administration toward Mr. Ewing, who now works as a “basketball ambassador” for the team.
“33 IS RETIRED,” read one post from a popular Knicks fan account on X. “IT’S PATRICK EWING’S.”
In recent weeks, Mr. Mamdani has used the Knicks fever that has gripped the city to bolster his own political messaging. During Thursday’s parade, he palled around with a number of Knicks players, whom he handed keys to the city and feted during a ceremony at City Hall.
Though Mr. Mamdani has relished the energy of this Knicks team’s championship run, he is far from a fanatical follower of the team. In a 2025 interview with The New York Times at Madison Square Garden, he said he knew more about soccer and cricket than he did about basketball. James Dolan, the Knicks owner, has accused Mr. Mamdani of being a fake Knicks fan, and appeared to refer to that during his speech at the ceremony.
“I don’t need to quote to you about what happened here, because if you’re real Knick fans, you know it already,” said Mr. Dolan, who was booed by onlookers.
It was unclear whether Mr. Ewing knew about the mix-up. Standing on the second floor of City Hall on Thursday, he said watching this team’s championship victory was “special.”
“It was a great joy,” he said.
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