Iman Shumpert has some thoughts about everyone who decided to rush the court after the New York Knicks won the NBA Finals.
The Knicks bested the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 at Frost Bank Center on Saturday (June 13), winning 94-90 and bringing an end to their five-decade-long championship drought. The on-court celebrations at the end of the game drew a wave of celebrities, including lifelong Knicks fans Spike Lee, Timothée Chalamet, and Ben Stiller. In an appearance on Run It Back on Wednesday (June 17), Shumpert shared his thoughts on the crowd rushing to celebrate the win.
“Well, Timothée, he’s a little younger, so I didn’t see him when I was in the jersey or nothing, I wouldn’t know how long his orange and blue veins run and all that,” he said. “But Ben Stiller, Tracy Morgan, Fat Joe, Spike… All these guys being at the game, even back then, we was always appreciative of it. But the way I got to see all them crying, like, real emotions, seeing them in that tunnel afterwards.”
Shumpert, who hasn’t played in the league since 2021, did not join the celebrations on court, however. “I didn’t rush the court with everybody, ‘cause I got to do it… In my mind, when I see random people on the court… I’m like, ‘What you doing?” he said. “You didn’t win for the Knicks, so sit down.” He maintained, however, that many fans were respectful and didn’t make the moment about themselves.
Teyana Taylor, to whom Shumpert was married from 2016 to 2024, was also among those who tried to join the court celebrations, with a viral clip showing that she was seemingly denied access from the floor. "A few things here," Taylor commented on the post. "I was minding my business on FaceTime then I start walking towards the proper entrance and was actually stopped by the first young lady you see talking to me."
She said the situation was cleared up when Karl-Anthony Towns’ father stepped in. "I think she was just a little overwhelmed, lol. It was a lot happening," Taylor wrote. "She was def over doing her job but at least she was doing it!"
Shumpert, who played for the Knicks from 2011 to 2015 and won a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, did not name Taylor or reference the incident. Taylor, a Harlem native, has been a lifelong Knicks fan.
