He’s about to play in the biggest game of his life, but one USA soccer star can’t take his eyes off the Knicks

The sofa cushions didn’t stand a chance.

The last line of defense between native New Yorker Tyler Adams and a celebration that’s been waiting a lifetime to be born, the off-white pillows in the fancy team hotel turned into a trampoline as Adams and the US Men’s National Team celebrated the Knicks’ improbable win against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

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After OG Anunoby tipped in Jalen Brunson’s short three-pointer, Adams – wearing nothing on his feet but a casual pair of red slides – jumped onto the sofa and over the pillows. Then, for good measure, the midfielder reversed course, hurdling over the back of the couch and back onto the cushions, a look of perfectly earned joyous shock plastered on his face.

No doubt the sofa gymnastics gave plenty of soccer fans in the US heart palpitations. On Friday night, Adams will play in inarguably the most important game of his career. The US faces Paraguay in Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium in a World Cup match that has been billed as no less than the most pivotal moment in the evolution of US soccer.

But fandom is fandom and Adams, born in Poughkeepsie and raised in Wappinger Falls, was born in February 1999. A few months later, the Knicks made the Finals; they hadn’t been back since. He, like generations that date back 50-plus years, has never witnessed an NBA championship.

“I mean, listen, I have group chats with me and my boys from back home growing up, and we’ve always been Knicks fans,’’ Adams told CNN Sports. “We’ve never been this close, so it’s exciting. I blacked out.’’

The video of his and his teammates’ celebration, along with going viral, was endearingly real, a snapshot of how – no matter the level of personal fame or athletic success – at the core everyone is a little kid rooting for his team.

The USMNT … they’re just like us. Equally just like us, Adams was more than happy to out the teammates who weren’t Knick fans.

“Brenden Aaronson, hater,’’ Adams said. “He’s a Sixers fan.’’ (In Aaronson’s defense, he grew up in Medford, New Jersey, just across the river from Philly).

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<time datetime=”2026-06-12T10:30:08.447Z”>Updated Jun 12, 2026, 6:30 AM ET</time>
<time datetime=”2026-06-12T10:30:08.447Z”>Published Jun 12, 2026, 6:30 AM ET</time>
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<div class=”timestamp__published vossi-timestamp_elevate__published”>PUBLISHED <time datetime=”2026-06-12T10:30:08.447Z”>Jun 12, 2026, 6:30 AM ET</time></div>
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New Yorkers celebrate Knicks’ historic comeback

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