New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek celebrated an NBA title on Thursday. Then he spent a few awkward minutes convincing a police officer he wasn’t just some random fan trying to crash the bus.
The Knicks held their championship parade and rally after beating the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals. During the parade portion, Kolek was mixing it up with fans in the crowd. When he tried to get back on the team buses, an officer stopped him. Apparently the cop thought Kolek was a fan looking to party with the team instead of an actual NBA player who’d just won a ring.
Officers eventually let him through. But the moment was already captured and shared all over social media. Kolek later responded with a short, laughing post: “I swear I’m on the team bro.” He added three crying-laughing emojis.
Why Nobody Recognized Him
It’s not hard to figure out why a police officer might not have known Kolek on sight. The guy barely played during the championship run. During the regular season he averaged 11.7 minutes a game. That number dropped to 6.6 minutes in the playoffs.
Kolek is a second-round pick from the 2024 NBA Draft. He’s been with the Knicks for two seasons now. In the 2025-26 campaign he made 62 appearances with one start. His averages were modest: 4.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He shot 43.5% from the field and 38.6% from three.
In the playoffs he appeared in only eight of the team’s 19 games. Those numbers dipped further: 3.5 points, 0.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He shot 44% from the free throw line but hit 44.4% of his threes.
The former Marquette star is still young at 25. He’s got time to carve out a bigger role. But for one afternoon at least, he was just another guy in a Knicks jersey trying to get on the bus.
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