Taylor Swift was in attendance for the Knicks during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night (June 10), drawing plenty of attention as New York produced a dramatic turnaround. But one commentator appeared unconvinced by her presence, leading to an awkward on-air moment.
The Knicks were coming off a difficult defeat in Game 3 against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday, but responded in remarkable fashion in Game 4. New York rallied from 29 points down to beat San Antonio 107-106 on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left, a result reported by the Associated Press as the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history. The win gave the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and left them one victory away from their first NBA title since 1973.
Swift was one of several high-profile names spotted courtside at Madison Square Garden, and her appearance quickly became a talking point among both broadcasters and fans.
The radio commentary team were surprised to see her courtside and reacted by asking:
“Is that Taylor Swift down there?”
“Is that Taylor Swift down there?”
“She’s not a Knicks fan, get out of here girl”
The Knicks radio team didn’t know they were on air pic.twitter.com/9O5PPD7H4s
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 11, 2026
Monica McNutt also weighed in, and in a clip that has since circulated on Twitter, she could be heard identifying Swift in the crowd.
“That’s her down there! With the long ponytail in the blue.”
After the commentators tried to get a closer look by zooming in on their phone, they confirmed that the person in question was indeed the Bad Blood singer.
McNutt then added:
“She’s not even a Knicks fan, get out of here girl!”
That claim quickly prompted disagreement online, with many social media users insisting Swift has long supported the Knicks.
One fan responded:
“I’m not even a Swiftie and I know that,”
Dave Portnoy also shared his reaction, writing:
“Damn. Hate to see @McNuttMonica hating on Taylor Swift. Lots of new faces in the crowd. Don’t see her singling them out. Knicks are falling apart at the seams.”
Fans pushing back on the remark pointed to Swift’s long-running ties to both New York and the Knicks. Shortly after moving to New York in 2014, she attended the Knicks’ season opener at Madison Square Garden with Karlie Kloss and even took part in a light-hearted on-court layup segment with Amar’e Stoudemire, helping fuel the view that her support for the team goes back years rather than being a recent celebrity appearance.
Swift had already sparked conversation recently when she attended a Cleveland Cavaliers game against the Knicks alongside her fiance, Travis Kelce. Some Knicks supporters took that as a sign she may have changed allegiances after beginning her relationship with him.
Still, while Kelce wore full Cavaliers gear that night, Swift did not match his outfit choice.
Kelce later addressed the situation on his New Heights podcast, explaining:
“This was me just having a fun date night knowing that I love going to basketball games. We actually tried to go to a game in New York, but I was stuck in Kansas City. I love bringing her into the sports world that I appreciate.”
Swift has been closely associated with New York for more than a decade, having publicly embraced the city during her 1989 era and made it her primary base from 2014 onward. That longstanding connection is part of the reason many fans were quick to dismiss suggestions that she had only shown up for the Finals bandwagon.
With the Knicks now leading the 2026 NBA Finals 3-1, celebrity attendance has become part of the wider story around a series that has put Madison Square Garden back at the center of the sport. New York had not appeared in the NBA Finals since 1999, and the franchise is now within one win of ending a 53-year championship drought.