Tyler Kolek appeared to turn a New York Knicks parade outfit into a pointed joke at Governor Kathy Hochul's expense while also backing Donald Trump in a very specific Knicks argument.
The Knicks guard had already become part of the parade conversation after New York celebrated its first NBA title since 1973.
But one detail from his celebration look drew political attention because it appeared to reference Hochul's failed attempt to question Trump's knowledge of Knicks history. The shirt did most of the talking.
Photo by Andrea Renault/Star Max/GC Images
Kaitlin Bennett's X post pointed out the meaning many viewers took from Kolek's shirt during the Knicks celebration.
"Knicks player Tyler Kolek appears to defend Trump and troll NY Governor Kathy Hochul with a '1993 World Champions' shirt, after she said, 'I'd ask Trump to name the starting lineup of the 1993 championship team' (which they never won)," Bennett wrote.
The joke is that there was no 1993 Knicks championship team. Hochul had used that line while taking a dig at Trump's Knicks fandom, but the mistake quickly became a story because New York's actual NBA titles before 2026 came in 1970 and 1973.
Kolek's shirt appeared to lean directly into that error. By wearing "1993 World Champions," he seemed to turn Hochul's own words into the punchline, while also suggesting Trump was not the one who needed a Knicks history quiz.
The moment landed because the Knicks' championship run had already pulled politics into the celebration, from Trump attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden to public officials trying to attach themselves to the title moment.
Hochul's comment came before the Knicks finished the job, when Trump's expected presence at a Finals game became part of the wider conversation. Her attempt to test his credentials backfired because the reference was wrong, giving critics a clean way to mock the dig.
The 1993 Knicks were a strong team, but they did not win the NBA title. They lost to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals, while the franchise's earlier championship history was built around the 1970 and 1973 teams.
That made the shirt an easy parade-day callback. Kolek did not need to say anything directly about Trump or Hochul; the fake championship year carried the joke by itself.
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