Entering Tuesday, the only banner New York Knicks fans were thinking of was the championship banner, which now hangs in the rafters after the pregame ceremony for the season opener against the Sixers. But it's not the only new banner; the team also hung an NBA Cup banner.
The Knicks initially planned not to raise a banner after beating the Spurs in Las Vegas in December, a controversial decision, since the previous winners, the Bucks (2024-25) and Lakers (2023-24), had done so. A few weeks later, James Dolan explained that the goal was to raise a championship banner.
Well, they did just that. After a season when they became the first team in NBA history to win the NBA Cup and the championship, hanging both banners in the rafters was the right choice.
It was a special night when New York outlasted San Antonio in Vegas, and it's okay to be proud of it and immortalize the win with a banner. Knicks players proudly wore their medals, rightfully celebrating their NBA Cup championship. It wasn't the championship they wanted, but their goal was (is) to win every time they step on the floor, and victories like the Cup helped them reach their ultimate goal.
The NBA Cup banner is up in the rafters at The Garden 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Ja5ceSuGu5
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 20, 2026
Knicks have two new banners hanging in the rafters
Not long after New York won it all in June, the conversation about whether the Knicks should raise the NBA Cup banner was reignited. It lingered throughout the offseason until the media started filing into MSG and noticed the banner. It was technically the first the team had hung since 2012-13, when it won the division.
When Mike Brown was asked pregame about the team's decision to hang a banner (subscription required), he said:
“I think it’s a recognition of what our journey was like last year. There were obviously a lot of ups and downs. Our guys rallied, found a way to win the NBA Cup and then (the) end-of-season final.”
Now, whether New York would've hung a Cup banner if it hadn't won the NBA Finals is another question. Maybe the plan still would've been to hang one before the season started regardless. We will never know for sure, and that's a good thing, since the Knicks took care of business in the playoffs.
Two banners is better than one, right?
When fans make their way to the Garden this season (and in the years to come), they'll look up at the rafters and see both banners, a reminder of the 2025-26 season and everything that came with it. And that's the point.
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