Basketball Never Stops in the City that Never Sleeps

Something I’ve long felt in my bones is the power of sports to build community. 

This isn’t some revelation or profound statement. I’ve even made a bunch of art for this exact purpose - to connect people with something we all love. But after working well over a decade in the sports industry + now getting to watch this Knicks playoff run up close on the daily, it couldn’t feel more apt.

Sports bring us together inside + outside the organizations. The watch parties that overflow bars so Dive75 puts a TV in the window for the crowd outside, the NBA working with the city of New York + Mayor Mamdani to put Game 4 on NYC Links so it’s broadcast around town, New Yorkers actively engaging with people they walk past with a “LET’S GO KNICKS!”, the woman at KT Collection telling everyone UWS watch party locations, even the gentlemen we often pass sitting on our corner - always in Knicks gear - who had to watch the streak end on his birthday Monday, but knew they would get a win in Game 4. 

They can hear us from New Jersey. It spans all 5 boroughs + beyond. Your eyes scan for the blue + orange on the streets. It is palpable when you walk outside your apartment. The city vibrates. All of this outside the walls of the Garden. 

Inside the arena, it’s a totally different community. 

My team + I got to be part of building so much there, but what I remember most were late nights staring at pages on a wall figuring out projects, the account management team coming through with notes or gifts to say thank you, the farewell happy hours where people long gone show up to see everyone, sitting at someone’s desk just to stop + talk for awhile, the overwhelming support + then warm welcome to the dead dads club… the connections along the way.

While I wish I could see the run from the inside… I also know the long, chaotic, stressful days where everything can change in 2 seconds (or less, OG!) experience of working for the team in the playoffs. Taking the good with the really hard. The incredible excitement + adrenaline that get you through each day (especially when it’s not just your job, but YOUR team!). But also it’s really the community you’ve built around this sports team. The bond formed by those really IN IT is something different. You hold each other together when it’s shitty, you yell (or cry, some of us are angry cryers, get used to it) when you need to get it out, + you know you’re in it together.

And that’s just something different.

I feel so proud of my friends still in it. I know they will need to sleep probably 3 days straight at the end of this + will deserve it. But until then, they will keep running on whatever it takes to get to a Knicks win. 

I’m just lucky to have been a part. Let’s go Knicks!

New York Goes.

I wanted to capture the energy + pulse of New York City by bringing together iconic elements. The famous Knicks anthem, “Go New York, Go New York, Go,” the daily rhythm of the subway that connects millions of New Yorkers, + the idea that New York is always in motion, day or night. The piece reflects the City That Never Sleeps’ relentless drive—its people always on the move, passionately supporting their teams, + loving our city.