Roman Reigns, Danhausen, Damian Priest, and Matt Cardona all took to social media to celebrate the New York Knicks’ 2026 NBA championship – and Jalen Brunson’s 45-point Finals MVP performance gave them plenty to work with.
Roman Reigns and WWE Stars React to the Knicks’ Title
Roman Reigns posted his congratulations following the Knicks’ 94-90 Game 5 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night. The reaction landed differently than a standard celebrity shoutout – Brunson has publicly credited Reigns as part of his pregame ritual all season.
He simply wrote “Acknowledge The Champs!” and tagged both the Knicks and Brunson alongside the comment.
Danhausen also celebrated the win on social media, and his involvement goes beyond a single post. Reports indicate Danhausen is expected to participate in the Knicks’ championship parade, giving WWE a physical presence in New York’s celebration.
Damian Priest and Matt Cardona brought the sharpest energy of the group – both are New York natives. For Priest and Cardona, this was not a crossover novelty post. This was a hometown championship, 53 years in the making.
Acknowledge The Champs! ☝🏽@nyknicks @jalenbrunson1 pic.twitter.com/7q3Mzuzte7
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) June 14, 2026
Why This Crossover Has Real Weight Behind It
Brunson’s WWE fandom was a documented subplot throughout the entire 2026 playoff run. After the Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, cameras caught Brunson doing a Roman Reigns-inspired “acknowledge” gesture with a team trainer – a direct nod to Reigns’ Tribal Chief persona.
In postgame pressers, Brunson said he “acknowledges Roman Reigns before every game” and called getting WWE questions at NBA media sessions “pretty cool.”
The NBA-WWE overlap had already gone mainstream before Game 5. Following a viral SmackDown moment involving Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton, both guards were added as playable characters in WWE 2K25.
Brunson’s 45-point closeout set a franchise record for points in an NBA Finals game – and ended a championship drought dating to 1973. That combination of historical weight and pop-culture reach is exactly why the WWE reaction spread so fast.
Brunson averaged 32.6 points per game across the Finals, putting him alongside Steph Curry, Tony Parker, and Isiah Thomas as guards 6’2″ and under to win the Bill Russell Finals MVP award. For NBA fans tracking star player narratives this offseason, Brunson’s ascent is the defining story of the summer.
With the 2026 NBA Draft on the horizon, the league’s star landscape is shifting fast. Brunson just planted his flag at the top of it – with WWE Twitter cheering from the front row.
For the latest on Jalen Brunson, the New York Knicks, and everything at the intersection of sports and culture, keep it locked to Sportscasting.com.
