Timothée Chalamet picks Knicks championship over Oscar win
Spike Lee, Taylor Swift and Donald Trump also watched Knicks' historic finals run
- Chalamet says Knicks title beats winning an Oscar
- Knicks end 53-year title drought with 4-1 series win
- Chalamet joins champagne celebrations in Knicks locker room
Hollywood actor Timothée Chalamet said on Saturday that he would "way rather" have a New York Knicks championship than an Oscar, after the team beat the San Antonio Spurs to claim the NBA title.
Chalamet, a courtside regular at Madison Square Garden throughout the NBA Finals, commented SportsCenter, according to Variety.
'Way rather this than the Oscars'
Speaking courtside at the Frost Bank Center moments after the Knicks sealed a 4-1 series win, Chalamet said: "Way rather this than the Oscars! Come on, baby!"
He added: "Knicks are champions, baby!"
Champagne celebrations in the locker room
The celebrations continued after the final whistle. Chalamet made it inside the locker room to celebrate with his hometown team.
In a video of the A Complete Unknown star partying with the players, an off-camera voice asked Chalamet if he wanted goggles to protect his eyes from the champagne showers.
Chalamet replied: "I don't deserve them. I'm not an athlete. Usually, I have a stunt double do that."
Three Oscar nominations, no win yet
Chalamet has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times. His first nomination came for Call Me by Your Name in 2018, his second for A Complete Unknown in 2025, and his latest for Marty Supreme in 2026.
He has now waited eight years for his first Oscar win. The Knicks, by contrast, waited 53 years for another title. Their last championship came in 1973 against the Los Angeles Lakers, who they also beat 4-1.
Star-studded crowd at the Garden
Chalamet wasn't the only A-lister following the Knicks' run. Other stars who sat courtside at MSG during the finals included Spike Lee, Larry David, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Mariska Hargitay, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan and Taylor Swift.
President Donald Trump also attended Game 3 at the Garden, becoming the first sitting president in history to attend an NBA Finals game. Game 3 was also the only game the Knicks lost in the series.
