Exclusive | Meet the talented artists creating jaw-dropping Knicks merch and artwork in celebration of the teams historic win: Not like any other merch out there
They did it, folks!After 53 long years, the New York Knicks have finally been crowned the 2026 NBA champions.Although the beloved team wasn’t on their home turf for their championship-winning 94-90 game Saturday night, artist Juan Orellana and his sister, Andrea, were drawing crowds outside Madison Square Garden hours before opening tip-off with hand-illustrated designs that looked more like collectible prints than generic game-day merch.And judging by the fans scrambling to get one before they disappeared, they may have been harder to score than a ticket inside the Garden during the nail-biting Finals run.“I’m an artist, but I’m a Knicks fan first and foremost,” Orellana told The Post.
“All of the merch you see is all hand-drawn by me.It’s not like any other merch out there.”The Lower East Side native, who recently moved back to New York after spending roughly 14 years in Southern California, has been posting his drawings, paintings and digital artwork on Instagram since 2018. His portfolio extends beyond basketball, featuring portraits of Nipsey Hussle, Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, along with pop culture icons such as characters from “The Simpsons,” “Garfield” and “Super Mario Bros.”For the Knicks’ historic playoff run, though, his attention was fixed on the city’s basketball heroes.One cream-colored shirt features his illustrations of Knicks MVP Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges framed by subway cars and the Statue of Liberty — a love letter to both the team and New York itself. Another soft blue-purple design shows Brunson striking his signature three-finger celebration after draining a deep shot.Every item also comes with a custom tag bearing Orellana’s own hand-drawn logo and Instagram handle — a detail he says separates his work from the sea of unofficial merch outside the arena.“No disrespect to anyone else who’s selling merch out here, but nobody else has custom tags f...