THE democratic socialist mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, began the first of his morning shows previewing World Cup games taking place at the New York New Jersey Stadium by talking about a different sport entirely.

Though the region’s World Cup games are technically being held across the Hudson River in the state of New Jersey, New York City will feature heavily in this tournament, as already seen from the ITV studio backdrop of Lower Manhattan from their perch over the East River in Brooklyn.

Mamdani will, too, and the mayor has worked on numerous initiatives to make this World Cup more inclusive for residents and visitors alike.

For now, though, most of New York and sports fans across the US are focused on basketball, and one particular team that unites the city like no other.

“The energy in our city right now is incredible,” Mamdani said as he began the first episode of his World Cup previews, The Morning Pitch.

“Against all odds last night, the Knicks made the largest comeback in [NBA] Finals history — 29 points. 

“Time and again, people have doubted the Knicks, and time and again the Knicks have proven the doubters wrong. OG Anunoby with the greatest outstretched hand since Diego Maradona.

“We are one game away from winning it all. I have just three words for my fellow New Yorkers: Knicks in five.”

Mamdani is a genuine football fan, with a deep knowledge of the game as both a player and a supporter, but even he had to start his World Cup content with the Knicks.

While the rest of the world looks at the US from the outside for the start of the World Cup, in the US itself, most of the focus is on this basketball story, as they experience one of those moments that transcend sport itself and make front-page, top-of-the-hour news.

Even the British broadcaster ITV began its opening ceremony coverage with a shot of their presenter, Mark Pougatch, talking about the latest goings-on in the NBA Finals outside Madison Square Garden, where the New York Knickerbockers, to give them their full name, play their home games.

Casual US sports fans are tuning in not for the World Cup, but for this best-of-seven basketball series between the Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. As the London-born forward Anunoby tipped in Jalen Brunson’s narrowly missed three-point attempt to win the game by a point, the scenes were as joyous as you get in any sport, as celebration mixed with disbelief at what had just happened. It was the type of moment US Soccer craves at this World Cup to try to increase the popularity of association football.

In the best examples of a basketball game, the continuous back and forth can set the rhythm of a matchup and build the tension for the finale. Despite the sport’s high-scoring nature and the regularity with which baskets and points are scored throughout the game, matches frequently — more often than you might expect — end in closely fought affairs.

Game four of this series didn’t look like it would be one of those games. The Knicks were 81-52 down at one point, and it seemed the Spurs would tie the series at two games apiece. 

This merely served to make what eventually happened all the more dramatic, as the Knicks ended up winning by one point thanks to that last action of the game by Anunoby, and no doubt made American soccer more envious that they don’t yet have such a moment.

New York is often considered a baseball city, and it’s easy to see why given the popularity of the teams there, the success of one of them, the New York Yankees, and the large number of baseball diamonds dotted around wherever there is space for one in such a heavily built-up city.

That popularity means the city has historically hosted numerous teams, from past franchises, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, to the present Yankees and the Mets. But this can also mean split loyalty in terms of support.

Though there is also some split loyalty in basketball due to the wandering, New Jersey or New York-based franchise that started as the New Jersey Americans but is now known as the Brooklyn Nets, there is no real split as there is in baseball or NFL (Jets/Giants), and a large majority of New York supports the Knicks.

Like many New York teams, though, the Knicks are not as successful as you might imagine for a team bearing the name of the big city, and their last championship win was way back in 1973. 

They remain well-supported despite that lack of success, but their run to the final this year has revealed just how well-supported they really are. A very non-scientific measure of the energy around them in the city, and the hype for them in this championship game, which extends nationwide, suggests they might even be ahead of the Yankees.

They are certainly overshadowing the World Cup in New York City at this moment in time. The vibes around the team and the sport are something Mamdani has also tried to create around the World Cup, increasing the sense of involvement for all in contrast to Fifa and the US government’s attempts to turn it into a prohibitively priced exclusive event for the few, not the many.

This has resulted in an uphill battle for the mayor, but he, along with some other local politicians, has done more than Fifa or the host nation government to try to include people in the 2026 World Cup and attempt to turn Fifa’s blatant money-grabbing exercise into something resembling what this global tournament should actually be about.

“We [in New York City] want this to be a tournament that reflects our commitment to us being part of something larger than ourselves, and to the world’s game, that everyone can be a part of,” Mamdani said recently when discussing US visa restrictions put in place by the government.

His campaigning began even before he was elected as the city’s new mayor at the end of 2025. He pointed out that, unlike at previous World Cups, the 2026 edition had no cheap tickets set aside for locals. In the end, he managed to secure 1,000 tickets for locals priced at $50, which also had the knock-on effect of New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill securing 770 free tickets for locals. These are small numbers of tickets in the grand scheme of things, but better than nothing.

It is outside of the stadium itself that Mamdani has been able to bring New Yorkers together for the World Cup, making sure there are free fan events across the city during the tournament, as local authorities try to make the best of a bad deal from Fifa, who are contributing very little, or in most cases nothing, to these local initiatives.

The NBA Finals themselves price most people out of buying tickets. It’s the US approach to ticketing that so attracted Fifa and its president, Gianni Infantino, to host its World Cup in the country as it looks to exploit fans via ticket sales. 

But unlike the World Cup, there has been a sense of unity around the Knicks, from the celebrity seats at courtside to someone showing a passing interest thousands of miles away, and being rewarded with one of the most dramatic finales to a game you’ll see in any sport.

There is the potential for a head-to-head clash on Tuesday when the Knicks will host game six of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden (if they fail to win game five in San Antonio on Saturday night), and France will play Senegal at the New York New Jersey Stadium. 

In New York at the moment, there is only one winner. Only game in town. So much so that even the biggest sporting event in the world will temporarily take a back seat.

“This is an incredible time to be a sports fan, and frankly, an even greater time to be a New Yorker,” added Mamdani, and so far, the 2026 World Cup belongs to the New York Knicks.