Mamdani harnesses New York Knicks run, seeking to power progressive politics

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) is riding a wave of Knicks mania as the city’s storied basketball team makes its strongest run at an NBA championship in a generation.

Much of the time, Mamdani’s expressions of enthusiasm for the Knicks have been playful, showcasing his ease with social media. 

His fluency on social media platforms was a central asset during the outsider campaign last year that saw him rise from virtual obscurity to lead the nation’s most populous city.

But Mamdani is now seeking to share some of the Knicks’ momentum, and harness it for a measure of political change.

The most obvious example came moments after New York defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the first game of the NBA Finals on Wednesday evening.

Even as revelers were still celebrating the win back on the Knicks’ home turf around Madison Square Garden, New York TV viewers saw a basketball-themed political ad featuring Mamdani and three progressive congressional candidates to whom he has given his support. 

The ad begins with Mamdani holding a basketball which is passed to former city comptroller Brad Lander, then to community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier and finally to state assemblymember Claire Valdez.

In the ad, Lander promises to “block billionaires from buying our elections,” Chevalier says she wants to defend New York by “abolishing ICE” and Valdez pledges to stand up against “bad landlords and greedy corporations.”

The New York Times reported that the ad cost approximately $110,000, a figure it said was spread between the campaigns of the various........

© The Hill