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The Knicks’ championship celebration was cleared for takeoff.
The party began on the ground in San Antonio, but continued high in the sky on the team’s chartered Delta flight to New York just hours after its first championship in 53 years.
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart pose with the Larry O’Brien NBA Finals trophy on board their flight home. Instagram/@jhart
Members of the Knicks deplane after arriving home from San Antonio. Courtesy of Delta Air Lines
Head coach Mike Brown is seen getting off the Delta flight Sunday morning. Instagram/@showcase718
“And if you can, tell those guys congratulations, enjoy the moment,” one air traffic controller who cleared the team for takeoff in Texas is heard saying on newly released audio.
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“Oh, they’re enjoying it back there; you probably can hear them,” one of the pilots replied. “They’re having a good time, we’ll pass it on.
“The plane’s rocking,” he said. “They’re having a party.”
The air traffic controller explained that he wanted to pass along congratulations before the players “fell asleep” — but the newly minted NBA champs chose celebration over slumber.
The flight was later cleared for a scenic detour that took them over the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and up the Hudson River before heading north to Westchester County Airport.
“Please let the guys know, New York TRACON, LaGuardia tower, Kennedy tower, maybe even Newark tower and Westchester tower, we’re all running on about three or four hours of sleep but as happy as we could ever be,” one air traffic controller broadcast before the plane hit the runway. “Congrats.”
“They finally settled down about 30 minutes ago,” the pilot answered,” but before that, it was a pretty excited bunch back here,” the pilot replied.
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“I believe we’re all excited here,” the controller answered. “We’re on our second box of coffee this morning. “Go New York.”
The accolades continued after the Delta flight touched down at the Westchester airport after a four-hour flight Sunday morning, where the team was greeted with a water cannon salute.
Delta had been on…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/air-traffic-controllers-fanboy-over-192527936.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-14 19:25:00
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