<p>Chants of "Let's go Knocks" rippled through the dense crowd, made up of some who paid hundreds of dollars for line sitters to wait overnight and save them a space to watch the procession.</p><p>"The Knicks unite the city unlike any other team. We were starved for so long," said Anthony Martorelli, a 29-year-old retail worker.</p><p>New York erupted in jubilant scenes Saturday when the Knicks broke a 53-year drought to defeat the San Antonio Spurs away in Texas.</p><p>Thursday's parade, organised by Mayor Zohran Mamdani's team, has drawn a huge security detail of 10,000 New York police officers -- the force's largest ever deployment for a planned event.</p><p>Public viewing pens to see the parade were already full three hours before the start, the NYPD said, prompting some late arrivals to scramble for alternatives.</p><p>In one case, dozens of fans scaled a city dump truck, deployed as a security measure, to catch a glimpse of the passing players and trophy.</p><p>"I think there's been so much bad around America in the last couple of years, and it's really nice to see this," said Martorelli.</p><p>He spoke as cheers echoed off the skyscrapers dotted around the World Trade Center, where Knicks gathered alongside National Guard troops surveilling the area.</p>

'Means so much'

<p>The parade, which started at 10:00 am (1400 GMT), was planned for the Knicks to travel from Bowling Green at the bottom of Manhattan to City Hall, a 10-block route known as the "Canyon of Heroes."</p><p>They were to be showered with 2,500 pounds (1.1 tonnes) of recycled confetti, according to the city, part of a so-called ticker-tape parade that traces its origins to the late 1800s.</p><p>Later, Mayor Mamdani was to award the Knicks the symbolic key to the city at City Hall, where team owner James Dolan said an all-star show was planned.</p><p>"We have everybody from Walt Clyde Frazier from the old team to the new team, the Knicks City Dancers, there's like five marching bands," he told local media.</p><p>Dolan added that Grammy winner Alicia Keys would sing "Empire State of Mind" -- the smash hit she recorded with Jay-Z in 2009.</p><p>New York, already swarming with football supporters for the World Cup, faced traffic chaos with a number of street closures enforced across Manhattan.</p><p>But for many lifelong Knicks fans the disruption was justified, as Thursday's parade marked an emotional culmination of years of following the team.</p><p>James Smallwood, a 62-year-old retiree, recalled his memories of when the Knicks last won the Finals all the way back in 1973.</p><p>"I was nine, doing New York stuff, riding bikes and playing tag and I remember my sisters drinking Miller High Life when the Knicks won.</p><p>"That's when I became a fan. I'm a five-time cancer survivor, so this means so much to see."</p>