After the San Antonio Spurs defeated the New York Knicks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, tons of videos surfaced on social media of Knicks fans attacking Spurs fans outside of Madison Square Garden.
The videos showed Knicks fans doing everything from ripping off Spurs fans’ jerseys to all out beating them up.
It goes without saying that kind of behavior is completely unacceptable. It’s one thing to talk trash, but being physically violent with someone because they root for another team is a different story.
On Tuesday, actor Ben Stiller called out the behavior of his fellow Knicks fans, and his thoughts were echoed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
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“Being a Knick fan doesn’t mean being disrespectful to Spurs fans in any way,” Stiller said. “We get caught up during the games but we gotta show respect to our fellow humans.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” Mamdani said in response to Stiller’s post. “We’ll win this series on the court (even if the refs refuse to call a flagrant on Wemby), not by targeting, harassing, or attacking Spurs fans. Knicks in 5.”
Crazy scenes out of NYC last night following the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Spurs, as fans wearing San Antonio jerseys were reportedly attacked by mobs of angry Knicks supporters. 🏀😳 pic.twitter.com/HE8jCd0GuF
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) June 9, 2026
Knicks fans endeared themselves to the NBA world during these playoffs with their hilarious and passionate antics after wins.
But the recent actions of some Knicks fans in the wake of the Game 3 loss has soured the view on them, to say the least.
Meanwhile, Knicks fans did not face anything in San Antonio like Spurs fans have faced on the streets of New York City.
We can only hope there’s no repeat of what we saw on Monday night if the Knicks lose Game 4 on Wednesday.
Spurs, Knicks players speak out on violent fans
Karl-Anthony Towns — 7.4%
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrates after scoring against the Philadelphia 76ers during game five of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Spurs center Victory Wembanyama and guard Julian Champagnie were both asked for their thoughts on Knicks fans attacking Spurs fans and their responses were what you’d expect.
“I didn’t know that. My thoughts, of course, is that, I mean, we can’t forget it’s a game. We’re just playing a game out there. And I am all for passion, but to the respect of each other. It’s unacceptable,” Wembanyama said.
“I don’t think that it should ever be that serious where you have to jump people, beat people up, follow people home. It’s just a basketball game at the end of the day whether we win or they win doesn’t really matter. Everybody should be able to come and enjoy the game no matter who they’re voting for,” Champagnie, who is from New York, said.
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Knicks players have also spoken out against the behavior of fans.
“The game is built off of respect and passion,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “We want everyone to respect each other. We want everyone to enjoy basketball at its purest state. It’s the NBA Finals. There’s no better place to watch basketball. Leave the physicality to everyone on the court.”
Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs will take place on Wednesday night, with tip-off scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.