The New York Knicks' championship parade had a memorable moment when rookie guard Tyler Kolek was briefly stopped by police officers. The incident occurred during Thursday's celebrations in Manhattan, where thousands of Knicks fans lined the streets to celebrate the franchise's title victory.
Kolek was seen engaging with fans in videos that went viral online before being confronted by officers who seemed to think he was a spectator and not a player.
The interaction seemed to be caused by the fact that the 25-year-old rookie guard was not instantly recognized by several individuals on the street. While he has become a popular figure among dedicated Knicks supporters, he remains relatively unknown to casual basketball fans.
Kolek played a limited role during New York's championship run, logging only 53 total postseason minutes. He did not appear in the NBA Finals and most of his playing time came during games that had already been decided by large margins.
Many fans were quick to come to Kolek's rescue as footage of the police incident went viral online. Kolek himself took to social media to hilariously reply to one of the comments, saying, 'I swear I'm on the team bro'.
