This page requires JavaScript to display.

Knicks' NBA Cup banner

Sports · Heat 1.5 / 10 · 3 shows · 22m airtime

The New York Knicks raised a 2025 NBA Cup champions banner at Madison Square Garden on October 20, becoming the first NBA team to hang a single-season banner for the in-season tournament. Walt Frazier presented the players with their championship rings at the ceremony, and the banner was taken around New York City so fans could touch it before it went up. The discussion is whether a cup banner belongs in the rafters next to a championship one, and how much of the $500,000 per-player prize survives taxes in New York.

How 3 podcasts covered it

  1. First Take, 2026-10-20 (34:48 to 36:07)
    Previews the banner ceremony and picks New York
    Pre-game segment on the Knicks' banner ceremony before the opener against Philadelphia. Stephen A. Smith picks New York to win and calls the Sixers the top threat in the East; it stays inside the ceremony and the prediction, adding no new development.
  2. The Rich Eisen Show, 2026-10-20 (44:16 to 47:03)
    Previews banner night and argues against a repeat write-off
    Previews banner night and argues against writing off a Knicks repeat, leaning on the league's run of eight straight different champions and imagining the fatigue a repeat would create. Reaction and framing, not new reporting.
  3. Nightcap, 2026-10-21 (42:09 to 45:36)
    Debates whether the Cup banner belongs in the rafters
    Picks up the banner the Knicks hung the night before opening night and argues about whether an NBA Cup deserves rafters space, with the Lakers' backlash as the precedent. Closes on the $500,000 prize and how much of it goes to taxes.
    New angle: The Knicks are the first NBA team to hang a single-season banner for the NBA Cup.
  4. First Take, 2026-10-21 (11:25 to 12:42)
    Recalls the rings and a 53-year wait
    Quick take on the Garden ceremony: the banner, the rings from Walt Frazier, the white-and-gold jerseys, and a Knicks fan's 53-year wait. It treats the night as a championship celebration and notes the loss in the first game after it.
    New angle: The Knicks received their championship rings from Walt Frazier at the banner ceremony.
  5. The Rich Eisen Show, 2026-10-21 (26:59 to 32:41)
    Describes the banner tour and ring design
    Rich, a lifelong Knicks fan, walks through the ring ceremony in detail: the 1970s Knicks handing rings to the coaching staff, the Jason of Beverly Hills rings with the Garden floor under a removable top, and the banner's tour of New York City before it was raised. Personal and emotional, but it puts the banner tour and the ring design…
    New angle: The Knicks took the championship banner around New York City and let fans touch it before raising it.
  6. Nightcap, 2026-10-24 (2:29 to 5:56)
    Argues the Cup matters for the prize money
    Recaps the October 20 banner raising and argues the Cup matters to players because of the $500,000 prize. Stays inside what the card already has, adding only the Lakers criticism and a tax aside.
  7. Nightcap, 2026-10-24 (11:05 to 12:35)
    Runs through the ring details
    Runs through the ring details - Jason of Beverly Hills, 22 carats, the twisting miniature Garden - and repeats that the Knicks are the first team to hang a single-season banner, unlike the Lakers and Bucks. Stays inside the ceremony coverage.
  8. Nightcap, 2026-10-24 (16:26 to 18:29)
    Reflects on what a banner ceremony feels like
    Reflects on what a banner ceremony feels like, contrasting the NBA's opening-night ring ceremony with the NFL's June one. It stays inside the Knicks' championship story without adding anything to the record.
Unpacking...