New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wasted no time in rubbing the Knicks’ dominant Eastern Conference Finals performance in the face of Ohio native and 2024 presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
Shortly after the Knicks defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday, May 25, Mamdani, 34, re-posted a social media post made by Ramaswamy, 40, right before tip-off.
“Date night in Cleveland. Let’s go Cavs…all the way back!” Ramaswamy posted alongside a photo featuring the former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-leader and his wife, Apoorva Tewari Ramaswamy, on the court at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena. Ramaswamy is currently running for governor of Ohio after abruptly leaving his so-called DOGE post just hours after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.
The Cavaliers were demolished 130-93 in Game 4, earning the Knicks their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999. New York will face either the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder, whose best-of-seven series is currently tied at two games a piece.
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“I’d like to report a sweep,” Mamdani wrote in a follow-up post, tagging the New York City Department of Sanitation.
Mamdani, who won New York’s mayoral election in November 2025, has been a vocal supporter of the Knicks on their run to the Finals, often appearing at home games at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m feeling incredible about the Knicks,” Mamdani said during an interview with TikTok star Moose on Thursday, May 21.
The mayor joked that he was only able to watch the Knicks’ comeback victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to a friend who gave him his YouTube TV login.
“A lot of people ask, ‘What’s Democratic socialism?’ Sharing YouTube TV with your boys,” Mamdani said. “That’s also a little bit of an example of that.”
Mamdani also addressed the raucous celebrations that have taken over New York City amid the Knicks’ playoff run — and his plan to handle them during the NBA Finals.
“You’re torn as a New Yorker and as the mayor,” Mandani told Polymarket Sports on Sunday, May 24. “As a New Yorker you’re like, ‘I cannot wait for this.’ As the mayor, absolute chaos. Absolute chaos.”
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He added, “It’s been a long time. So you know, it could be the year.”
Despite the Cavaliers hosting Game 4 at home in Cleveland, the NYPD made “multiple arrests” outside New York’s Madison Square Garden after the series-clincher on Monday night, a spokesperson said. An exact number of people taken into custody was not provided.
“There have been huge crowds — there were an estimated 6,000 people outside Thursday night,” the NYPD spokesperson said, referencing last week’s Game 2. “This is not about having enough of the unruly fans — this is about keeping people safe.”
The NBA Finals will begin on Wednesday, June 3, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
