Staff Reports
Ben Shapiro said something surprising on his show: he doesn’t want the New York Knicks to win the NBA Finals. Why? Because a political ad featuring Mayor Zohran Mamdani and three progressive congressional candidates ran during Knicks Game 1 coverage — and that, Shapiro argued, turned a sports moment into a political one. The clip from The Daily Wire sparked the predictable national fuss: sports fans are mad, partisans are gleeful, and everyone now has an opinion about basketball and campaign strategy.
Why Ben Shapiro Says the Knicks Should Lose
On the Daily Wire segment, Ben Shapiro framed the ad as a reason to root against the Knicks. Paraphrased bluntly by media watchers, his line was essentially: “for the sake of America, the Knicks must lose.” The point is political, not athletic. The Daily Wire brought on an editor to debate the idea — the video description names the guest oddly, and press coverage identifies Brent Scher as The Daily Wire’s Editor‑in‑Chief, so there’s a small name mix-up worth noting. Either way, the conversation moved quickly from Xs and Os to culture-war signaling.
Politics Crashing the Finals: Mamdani’s Ad and Its Timing
The spot in question was a 30‑second campaign ad that used Knicks imagery and the tagline “This is our year” to promote three progressive candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani. It aired during post‑game coverage of Game 1 — the biggest live local TV audience New York gets. That’s not a coincidence. Using a marquee sports broadcast to introduce candidates to voters is clever campaign work. It’s also provocative. The Knicks are a city symbol; turning that symbol into a political billboard during the NBA Finals guaranteed attention, outrage, and, yes, national media coverage.
Why This Moment Matters Beyond the Box Score
This isn’t just about whether the Knicks or the Spurs win a title. It’s about how campaigns use culture and how media figures nationalize local moves. The Spurs and Victor Wembanyama vs. the Knicks and Jalen Brunson is a great sports story. But when a local mayor’s ad gets dumped into that story, it becomes a test case: will teams and networks let their brands be used for political gain? Conservatives should dislike weaponized fandom — and so should sensible sports fans of every stripe. If politics is going to ride shotgun to our biggest shared moments, we should at least call out the people who did the parking.
Bottom line
Call it what it is: a political stunt that used a beloved city team for reach. Ben Shapiro’s reaction was loud and intentionally provocative, because that’s the point of culture-war commentary. The better argument is simple: let the teams decide championships on the court, not in ad buys. If the Mamdani campaign wanted attention, they got it — but they also gave everyone else permission to treat the Finals like a political battleground. Fans should demand more from both politicians and media outlets. And if you want my advice? Watch the game, cheer for good basketball, and keep an eye on who’s trying to cash in on our civic moments.
