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Taylor Swift’s appearance at the 2026 NBA Finals sparked backlash from some basketball fans — but New York Knicks player Jose Alvarado is all about Swiftie mania.
Alvarado, 28, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, June 18, that it was “amazing” having Swift, 36, sitting courtside during Game 4 of the Knicks’ championship series on June 10 against the San Antonio Spurs.
“That’s a surreal superstar, and I was happy she was cheering us on,” the point guard said while promoting his partnership with Bacardi Rum during the post-parade celebration at Tonita’s Caribbean Social Club in Brooklyn. “And [she] seemed like she was having a good time, and we won, so even better.”
Alvarado teased, “She got to come more often,” since Swift, a longtime New York resident, seemingly brought the team good luck after the Knicks overcame a 29-point deficit and defeated the Spurs 107-106.
While Alvarado is cool with Swift coming to games, he joked that her tying the knot with Travis Kelce, a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, could cause tension.
“The house [is] gonna be divided, one side gonna be a loser, and then one side gonna be a winner,” he teased.
Kelce, 36, proposed to Swift in August 2025, and while the couple are preparing to get married this summer, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was not by Swift’s side when she attended the Knicks game earlier this month.
Swift, however, wasn’t alone at the game. She was spotted in floor seats with longtime friends Alana Haim, Este Haim and Mariska Hargitay.
The foursome turned heads throughout the game in part because they were wearing custom T-shirts showing team support while honoring different celebrities.
Swift, for example, was wearing a “Stevie Knicks” shirt, paying homage to Fleetwood Mac icon Stevie Nicks. (Harigitay, 62, wore the same tee.)
The Haim sisters, meanwhile, donned Knickelback and Knickole Kidman shirts, which were in honor of the band Nickelback and actress Nicole Kidman.
Following the Knicks epic Game 4 win, Swift found herself at the center of controversy when some fans, celebrities and sports analysts threw shade at her by claiming she pulled focus from the team.
“I’ll tell you the one that bothered me was Taylor Swift. Come on,” actor Hank Azaria confessed on the June 11 broadcast of The Dan Le Batard Show. “I know she’s the hugest thing in the world, but we had to sit with her all through the NFL and now she’s at the Garden. Come on.”
Shannon Hart, who is married to Knicks player Josh Hart, exclusively told Us that Swift was clearly a fan, noting how invested she was in the team all night long.
“Just seeing how into the game she was, that was really cool,” Shannon, 31, said on June 12. “Jumping up and down, hugging each other.”
While the Haim sisters are from Los Angeles, Alana, 34, told Vogue on June 11 that she is also a fan of the Knicks. However, it was Swift who came up with the idea of making shirts to support the NYC team.
“I got a text from Taylor that was really the text that you want to get as an amateur screen printer. She said, ‘I want to wear this shirt to the game, can you make it for me?’” Alana recalled. “And I was like, ‘I thought you would never ask, this is my dream.’ Whenever I start out a session with a friend, I go, ‘Let’s talk about fonts, let’s talk about sizing,’ and [Swift] came up with Stevie Knicks.”
The Knicks later won the NBA championship in Game 5, marking their first title since 1973.
“[It’s] something that you can’t really put into words,” Alvarado told Us after the historic win. “I’m a kid from the city, and I got to able to witness something that we haven’t done in 53 years, and it just brings so much joy, and everybody together.”
The athlete added, “Me experiencing [the victory] is the best feeling in the world, just to be a part of something that I can see people getting together and showing so much love and appreciation.”
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