The New York Knicks‘ championship parade had plenty of memorable moments. But one of the most talked-about incidents involved rookie guard Tyler Kolek being briefly stopped by police officers.
The incident unfolded during Thursday’s championship celebrations in Manhattan, where thousands of Knicks fans lined the streets to celebrate the franchise’s title victory.
Kolek was seen engaging with fans in videos that went viral online before being confronted by officers who seemed to think he was a spectator and not a player.
Read more: Mamdani mentions forgotten Knicks hero from 2011 in parade speech; brother gives ‘shout out’
What happened during the Knicks parade?
Kolek was celebrating alongside supporters during the parade route when officers briefly stopped him.
The interaction seemed to be caused by the fact that the 25-year-old rookie guard was not instantly recognized by several individuals on the street.
While he has become a popular figure among dedicated Knicks supporters, he remains relatively unknown to casual basketball fans. That is partly because Kolek played a limited role during New York’s championship run.
The guard did not appear in the NBA Finals and logged only 53 total postseason minutes. Most of his playing time came during games that had already been decided by large margins.
Many fans were quick to come to Kolek’s rescue as footage of the police incident went viral online. A user on X wrote, “I have a feeling in the not so distant future, Kolek will be easily recognizable. I think he’s going to start playing a bigger role each year as they try to re-build the roster.”
Another user wrote, “The cop thought Tyler Kolek was an unruly fan. Understandable mistake, especially if the policeman doesn’t follow the Knicks. Kolek looks like he just got off the surf.”
Kolek himself took to X to hilariously reply to one of the comments, saying, “I swear I’m on the team bro 😂😂😂.”
Tyler Kolek’s journey with the Knicks
Kolek joined the Knicks after being selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the No. 34 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and then acquired by New York in a draft-night trade.
Kolek delivered several notable moments. One of the most unusual came in January when he reportedly played in both a G League game and an NBA game on the same day.
His championship season included appearances against the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers during the playoffs. However, his opportunities largely came late in games that had already been decided.
Kolek played 13 minutes against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 and 12 minutes against the Atlanta Hawks in the closeout game.
