Knicks Star Tyler Kolek Reacts to Getting Stopped by Police at Parade

New York Knicks point guard Tyler Kolek exclusively told E! News at the 2026 ESPY Awards how he reacted after security mistook him for a member of the crowd at the team’s championship parade.

New York Knicks' Tyler Kolek Reacts to Getting Stopped by Security During NBA Championship Parade

Tyler Kolek is boxing out any negativity from a recent misunderstanding.

The New York Knicks point guard went viral for being stopped by police during the team’s championship parade through New York City June 18, as seen in videos online—but now he’s able to laugh off the mixup.

“It was pretty funny,” Kolek told USA Sports' Renee Montgomery at the 2026 ESPYS in New York July 15. “It was all lighthearted.”

As for why the 25-year-old believes he was reprimanded while he was celebrating his team’s 2026 NBA Playoffs win?

“Technically we weren't supposed to get off of our floats,” he explained. “So, they were probably alerted to that. They see a random white dude running by them and they think, ‘Get back in the crowd.’”

What Kolek found even more funny about the entire situation was that it actually happened “two to three times,” one of which his mom caught on video.

“I saw a couple different angles of [it],” he continued, “and some of the guys were like, ‘What are you doing? That's Tyler Kolek. You don't know who that is?’”

And just like Kolek didn’t let his parade mishap derail his day of celebrating the Knicks, the athlete doesn’t let his focus on basketball hold him back from pursuing other interests.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

That’s why he was excited to lean into his “natural” and “organic” sense of style—with the help of his stylist Olivier Rogers—at the 2026 ESPYS, hosted by Marcello Hernández at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York.

“Obviously I'm focused on basketball—that's number one,” he shared. “But [I like] to get in a different lane, have a little bit of fun with it. You know, have fun on the court [and] you got to have fun off the court, too.”

For more athletes and celebrities who showed up and showed out at the 2026 ESPYS, keep reading…

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