‘The Devil Wears Prada 2' Credited With Sparking Knicks' NBA Finals Run
On April 30, the New York Knicks hit basketball nirvana and defeated the Atlanta Hawks by 51 points - 140-89 - to close out their first-round series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The following morning, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” was officially in theatres, and Anne Hathaway had just appeared on “The Tonight Show” to voice her undying Knicks fandom, including an admission that she nearly wore an OG Anunoby jersey to “The Tonight Show.”
Hathaway was jokingly credited with sparking the Knicks’ historic performance. 20th Century Studios even got in on it, posting a clip from Knicks All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns’ cameo in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
The Knicks have not lost a basketball game since then.
“Since the release of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ featuring this cameo from Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks are 9-0 with a combined margin of victory of 217 points, the largest combined margin of victory by any team in any 9-game span in NBA playoff or regular season history,” sportswriter Rodger Sherman posted on X.
The Knicks swept the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers by 37 points in Monday’s Game 4 to sweep them in the Eastern Conference Finals. Statistically, it’s the most dominant 11-game stretch in NBA history, in the regular season or the playoffs, according to the NBA.
As a result, the Knicks are in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. They’ll fight against either the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs for their first championship since 1973.
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This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 9:49 PM.