Mikal Bridges brought his eight-year-old Labrador, Sonny, onto the float at the New York Knicks championship parade – and the internet promptly lost its mind.
The moment was too perfectly scripted: coach Mike Brown had screamed “Who let the dogs out? Who, who, who?!” in the locker room minutes after the Knicks closed out the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5. Then Bridges went ahead and literally let the dog out.
Permission Granted For Mikal Bridges
The Knicks defeated the Spurs in five games to claim their first NBA championship since 1973. Jalen Brunson was named Finals MVP, punctuated by a 45-point, 13-straight-point fourth-quarter run in the clinching game. The title is confirmed, the parade happened, and Sonny was on the float – all of it verified and already viral.
Bridges publicly requested the spot for Sonny before the parade and later confirmed the Knicks approved it. “It’s official: Sonny’s got a spot on the float. See y’all tomorrow!” Bridges said on social media. One ask, one answer, one eight-year-old yellow Lab riding the Canyon of Heroes.
Sonny Steals The Show At The Parade
Appearing on Good Morning America alongside Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby, Bridges was asked by host Michael Strahan what he was most looking forward to at the parade. “I just want to bring my dog on the float. That’s it,” Bridges said.
Sonny is a regular fixture on Bridges‘ social media accounts, so the crowd already knew the dog. Seeing him standing on the float as the Knicks rolled through Manhattan completed a story arc that had been building since Brown‘s ‘Who let the dogs out?‘ locker room chant.
Brown later led the full crowd in the chant on stage at the rally, flanked by Towns and Brunson. Bridges backing Brown with an actual dog was the punchline no one could have planned.
Thousands Descend On New York Knicks Parade
The parade was a full championship spectacle, drawing massive star power and citywide energy beyond just the players. New York had been waiting since Willis Reed and Walt Frazier – and the city made clear it was not going to underreact to the moment.
The stakes of the celebration match the stakes of the title itself. This was the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998, confirming the Knicks‘ return to relevance as a national story, not just a New York story.
Brunson‘s viral bodega order moment during the celebrations added another layer to a team that has been relentlessly, authentically entertaining throughout.
Bridges also went viral separately on Instagram Live two days after the title, clowning around and joking about owner James Dolan‘s reported pre-playoff message to the team. This is a group that runs on personality – and Sonny on the float was its purest expression.
