Skip to main content

The stage for the NBA Finals is set. The New York Knicks will take on the San Antonio Spurs. This is the first trip to the Finals for the Spurs since 2014, and the first trip for the Knicks since 1999, when they lost to none other than the Spurs.

So, who do fans want to see win it all this time? Well, many say they’re rooting for the largest market in the entire league since the last time the Knicks won a title was 1973. But a deeper analysis shows that there is a major turn-off with the Knicks, which makes cheering for the franchise difficult now.

In a poll conducted by Casino.org US, which surveyed over 3000 U.S. adults ahead of the Finals, the Knicks are America’s preferred team, with 46% of respondents pulling for New York. But there’s a catch. Fans like the Knicks team a lot more than Knicks fans. And Kylie Jenner‘s presence at the games has a lot to do with that.

The poll found that over half of Americans say New York sports fans have become “unbearable” when their teams are winning. Even 42.9% of Knicks supporters admit that New York sports fans have become completely unbearable when they win. Almost half say the worst part of a Knicks’ potential title would be the fans, media, celebrity bandwagoning, or the inevitable “New York is back” circus.

For respondents who want to see the Knicks lose the series, 8.2% percent said they would like to see the team lose in a “respectable way,” 4.3% would like the team to lose in “heartbreaking fashion,” 3.9% hope the team “gets swept,” and 29% say they “just want entertaining games.”

Among Knicks haters, 63% say the fans are annoying, while 36% admit they simply “do not want New York fans to be happy.” Ohio is the state most fed up with Knicks fans’ behavior, with 7 in 10 Ohioans saying New York fans are intolerable when winning.

And Kylie Jenner tops the Knicks Celebrity Row backlash list, with 45.3% of respondents saying “her presence at games makes the team hard to like.”

Related

Timothée Chalamet ‘Disconnected’ From Kylie Jenner During Knicks Celebration and Was ‘Desperate’ to Interact With ‘True Fans’ Instead

But while some may not love having a Jenner at games, it should be noted that the team does well when she’s there. When Jenner has been in attendance, she has an 83.3% courtside win rate and an average winning margin of 13.5 points.

According to data compiled by Casino.org US, the Knicks do not just win when Jenner shows up, they score more too, averaging 8.2 more points per game when she has been there in person. Moreover, the team averages “117.4 points when [Timothée] Chalamet has been in attendance, 13.6 points more than in other Knicks games analyzed.” And when Jenner, Chamalet, and superfan Spike Lee have all been in attendance, the Knicks win by nearly 20 points per game.

And for anyone wondering if Jenner’s presence could also mean the “Kardashian Kurse” is in effect, well, just a reminder that Lamar Odom did win an NBA championship while he was with Khloé, and Kim was Reggie Bush’s girlfriend when he won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints. And while Kendall’s ex, Devin Booker, hasn’t hoisted the Larry O’Brien Trophy, he has won a couple of Olympic gold medals for the U.S.

Best in News