The New York Knicks brought joy to the five boroughs after a 53-year championship drought, and none felt that joy more profoundly than brothers Kevin and Kayvon Hill from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. Their unbridled excitement and unwavering loyalty made them the perfect symbols of the city’s collective euphoria, immortalized in a Vanity Fair cover shot by photographer Jack Califano.
Their journey to becoming the faces of this historic moment began at Madison Square Gardenwhere they arrived at noon on Saturdaynearly nine hours before the tip-off of Game 5 of the NBA finals. The brothers knew they had to be part of the official team watch party at Plaza33the area outside the arena, to witness the moment New York might finally exhale and rejoice.
The Best Time of Their Lives
On Sunday morningjust hours after leaving the mecca of basketball, the Hill brothers found an additional reason to celebrate. They appeared on the cover of Vanity Faircommemorating the Knicks’ historic run. Shot by photographer Jack Califanothe image captured the brothers’ pure joy and became a symbol of the city’s collective celebration.
“That was the best time I ever had in my life,” Kayvon said. “Literally, I don’t think anything could top it, unless my son ends up going to the Knicks and winning the championship.”
Like many New Yorkers, Kevin and Kayvon, aged 38 and 29, had been deeply invested in the playoffs. Kevin ensured his home sounded like Madison Square Garden with speakers dialed up, while Kayvon brought his own television and Amazon Fire TV Stick to his night job at a group home for adults with intellectual disabilities. “Sometimes my clients watch the game with me,” he said. “Sometimes they know, once it’s game time, okay, we’re gonna leave the staff alone for right now. I get them little snacks or something.”
A City United in Celebration
The victory lifted a weight off the shoulders of New Yorkers who had endured decades of disappointment. “It was a lot of jokes,” Kayvon said. “A lot of being quiet in certain moments when they talked about championships. It was a lot of bad moments, but you know how New York fans are. We’re loyal no matter what.”
After the watch party, the brothers spent several hours roaming Midtown Manhattancelebrating with strangers at a nearby bar and waving a Knicks towel at a honking mass of cars. “The next thing you know,” Kevin said, “it’s six o’clock in the morning.”
The image of Kevin and Kayvon on the Vanity Fair cover resonated with revelers across the city. Califano described them as “possessed by the same forces affecting almost everyone he photographed that night.” “They, like a lot of longtime Knicks fans in the city, felt that their belief in the Knicks was a kind of spiritual obligation,” he said. “They were screaming and cheering like it mattered on a metaphysical level. It was easy to capture.”
Celebrity Fans and Future Hopes
Despite their joy, the brothers still nursed some grievances. They mentioned Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama shoving Knicks supernova Jalen Brunsonand former President Donald Trump arriving for Game 3which they believed ruined the atmosphere that had propelled the team to this stage. “San Antonio better send Trump a Christmas card because it would’ve been a sweep,” Kevin said.
They also praised true celebrity fans like Spike LeeTracy MorganFat JoeBen StillerAdam Sandlerand Timothée Chalametsuggesting they deserved rings of their own. However, they hoped the Garden would make ticket prices reasonable so that real fans could attend.
Looking ahead, the brothers were all smiles, gearing up for a potential dynasty. “Let’s bring winning culture to the basketball side of New York,” Kayvon said. They were also planning to show up early for the Knicks’ ticker tape parade on Thursday.
