Timothée Chalamet, who was a courtside staple at Madison Square Garden during the NBA Finals, told SportsCenter that he would “way rather” have a New York Knicks championship than an Oscar.
“Way rather this than the Oscars! Come on, baby!” Chalamet said courtside at the Frost Bank Center on Saturday night, moments after the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs and claimed the NBA title in a 4-1 series. “Knicks are champions, baby!”
The celebration didn’t stop there. Chalamet made it inside the locker room to celebrate the win with his hometown team. In a video of the “Complete Unknown” star partying with the Knicks, an off-camera voice asked Chalamet if he wanted goggles to protect his eyes from the champagne showers. Chalamet replied, “I don’t deserve them. I’m not an athlete. Usually, I have a stunt double do that.”
Chalamet has been nominated three times at the Oscars, and all three times were for best actor. He landed his first nomination for “Call Me by Your Name” in 2018, his second for “A Complete Unknown” in 2025 and his latest for “Marty Supreme” in 2026. While Chalamet has waited eight years so far to land his first Oscar win, the Knicks had to wait 53 years to win another title. Their last championship run was in 1973 against the Los Angeles Lakers, who, coincidentally, they beat 4-1.
Chalamet wasn’t the only A-lister who watched the Knicks live during the finals. Other stars who sat courtside at MSG include Spike Lee, Larry David, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Mariska Hargitay, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan and Taylor Swift. President Donald Trump also stopped by for Game 3 at the Garden, becoming the first sitting president in history to attend the NBA Finals. Game 3 also happened to be the only one the Knicks lost.
