Even if you’re not on the sports side of TikTok, you’ve probably encountered at least one video of New Yorkers — including Taylor Swift — losing their minds over the Knicks. As someone currently living in NYC while the New York Knicks chase their first NBA Finals win in decades, I can confirm that the energy is absolutely unreal. I’ve witnessed the lamppost-climbing, the delightfully unhinged street interviews, and the kind of city-wide camaraderie that makes you want to high-five complete strangers in a bodega. For a city notorious for minding its own business, it turns out Knicks basketball is the universal exception.
The latest celebrity to join the Knicks cinematic universe? Taylor Swift. The singer attended Game 4 of the finals wearing a custom, blue-and-orange “Stevie Knicks” shirt — a clever mashup of legendary musician Stevie Nicks and the New York Knicks — that immediately sent Swifties and fashion girlies alike into detective mode. Naturally, the internet now wants to know where to score Swift’s clever tee. And if you can’t snag the exact piece yourself, don’t worry. I’m sharing plenty of equally punny alternatives that you can DIY just in time for Game 5 this Saturday, June 13.
According to The Cut, Alana Haim — who was in attendance for the game with her sister Este Haim alongside Swift — was actually the creative mastermind behind Swift’s epic fashion moment. So while you might not be able to wear the exact shirt of the soon-to-be bride, sellers on Etsy are already whipping up replicas faster than you can spell the word “Knicks.”
If you’re feeling a little more crafty, there’s still plenty of time before Saturday’s matchup to put your own creative spin on some Knicks merch. After all, the beauty of the “Stevie Knicks” shirt isn’t the shirt itself, it’s the pun. Even the Haim sisters had their own punny take on the tee, with Alana wearing “Knickelback” and Este in “Knickole Kidman.” Here’s a list you can pull from to show that basketball girls just want to have PUN.
- Knick Me Baby One More Time (perfect, since the Knicks need just one more win!)
- Fleetwood Knicks
- Knickolas Cage
- Knicki Hilton
- Knick Direction
- Knicki Reed
- Knick Jonas
- Orange You Glad It’s Knicks Season?
- It’s Giving Knicks
- And if you want to put a pun on Swift herself, “Taylor Swish” is hard to beat!
So if you take anything from Taylor Swift’s “Stevie Knicks” moment, let it be this: You don’t need a courtside seat to get the reference — just a good pun and an even better sense of humor.