New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sparked well-deserved ridicule from sports fans and political critics after challenging President Donald Trump to name players from the New York Knicks’ “1993 Championship team” — a team that never existed because the Knicks did not win the NBA title that year.
Trump is a die-hard New York sports fan and knows very well the Knicks did not win, because every New Yorker knows that the team has not won a title since 1973.
“I’d ask him to name the starting lineup of the 1993 Championship team,” Hochul said while questioning Trump’s Knicks fandom as speculation grew over whether he would attend the NBA Finals as a guest of Knicks owner James Dolan.
The problem for Hochul: the Knicks were not NBA champions in 1993. The franchise has not won a title since 1973.
Knicks Never Won the 1993 NBA Title
The Knicks did not even reach the NBA Finals in 1993. New York lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, who went on to defeat the Phoenix Suns in six games to secure the franchise’s first three-peat championship run.
The governor’s mistake quickly spread online, where sports fans and commentators mocked the apparent mix-up involving one of New York’s most recognizable sports franchises.
Rather than acknowledge the error directly, Hochul’s press office attempted to frame the remark as an intentional political trap aimed at Trump.
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Key Points
• Kathy Hochul referenced a nonexistent “1993 Knicks championship team” while criticizing Trump
• The Knicks lost to the Chicago Bulls in the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals
• Hochul’s office later claimed the remark was a “4D chess move” meant to bait Trump
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Hochul Office Claims Gaffe Was Intentional
The governor’s press office posted on X that Hochul was deliberately trying to bait Trump into falsely agreeing the Knicks won the championship that season.
“She was baiting Trump into pretending that team won the finals,” the official account posted. “A classic 4D chess move.”
The explanation generated even more backlash online, with critics arguing the statement looked more like damage control than strategy.
Donald Trump Jr. responded by defending his father’s sports knowledge while attacking Hochul’s leadership record.
“Anyone who knows my father knows he probably knows more about Sports than just about any human being not in the business,” Trump Jr. wrote on X. “Kathy’s failed soundbite ain’t gonna land well… just like her policies.”
Knicks’ Real Finals Run Adds to Embarrassment
The timing amplified attention on Hochul’s mistake because the Knicks are currently in the NBA Finals for the first time in nearly 30 years after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
That historic run reignited massive interest in the franchise across New York, making the governor’s confusion over one of the team’s most famous eras stand out even more sharply among basketball fans.
Trump has publicly embraced his Knicks fandom for years and recently said he planned to attend a Finals game at Dolan’s invitation. Hochul’s attempted jab at Trump instead shifted into a debate over her own basketball knowledge.
