NBA Finals: Long Island Knicks superfans hit the road, bound for San Antonio
Dix Hills’ Joe Nestola Jr. and his father Joe Nestola Sr. at a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Joe Nestola Jr.
Joe Nestola Jr. was only 1 the last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals.
The now-28-year-old Nestola Jr. from Dix Hills, was introduced to the Knicks by his father, Joe Nestola Sr., and they went to their first game together over 20 years ago.
“It’s part of our bond,” the younger Nestola said. “This is something that means a lot to the both of us.”
That “something” is a trip to the NBA Finals. Literally.
The Nestola father-son duo will be part of the contingent of Knicks fans traveling to San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center for the NBA Finals this week, and they will be attending Friday night’s Game 2.
“It gets me emotional because I've seen a lot of Knick teams,” Nestola Jr. said. “Always ending in heartbreak. [There were] just years where I barely followed them because they had put out a bad product, years where we had hope of these offseason signings and they turned out to be busts.
“Just to see this team come together and pull off this wonderful run, it's so much fun to follow. I've always wanted to go to a Finals game. It's really exciting that we are one of the last two teams in the dance.
“Just the magnitude of 53 years without a championship, that I could possibly see the Knicks win a game and work towards breaking that curse is really special.”
Nestola Jr. has been to his “fair share” of playoff games at the Garden, as his dad and uncle have split a season-ticket package since 2022. He and his dad unfortunately didn’t end up with tickets for one of the Finals home games, which led to the idea of going to San Antonio. The trip, which will include a stop at an Astros game Saturday, was booked Sunday night.
Al Palagonia, 59, of Old Brookville, has been traveling to Knicks road playoff games since 1991, including NBA Finals games in Houston in 1994 and in San Antonio in 1999. Palagonia, who founded Apollo Jets, is flying out of Farmingdale with 50 people on Wednesday to go to Game 1.
“I am looking forward to this game more so than any sporting event I've ever been to in my entire life," Palagonia said. "Because I feel we have the greatest team fielded that we've ever had in my Knick fanhood.”
Palagonia has been to every Knicks road game this postseason but one, and he expects to be at every home and away game in the NBA Finals except Game 2. He said it would be an “incredible feeling” to be in the building to see the Knicks win their first NBA Finals game this century on Wednesday.
“But one game is only one game, so we need four more wins,” he said. “My focus is on us winning four times, hopefully four in a row, but that might not happen. I just look forward to the Knicks winning their first championship in 53 years, and celebrating with all my fellow Knicks fans and having a great time.
“And if we win it at home or if we win it on the road, it's going to be the same great feeling.”
Bellmore’s Hugh McQuillan, 48, also will be at Game 1. He flew down to Dallas on Tuesday morning, meeting up with his friend and fellow Knicks fan Bill Selby, a Farmingdale native who has lived in Dallas for nearly three decades, before driving down to San Antonio.
They had been in communication “a lot more” during these playoffs, with back-and-forth conversation over whether Selby would come to New York or McQuillan would go to Texas if the Spurs and Knicks met in the Finals.
“It's going to be insane,” McQuillan said. “It's nothing I would ever have dreamed of growing up, being able to participate in something like this. That's what we work for.”
McQuillan’s trip to San Antonio is going to be much more affordable compared to one game at the Garden. McQuillan said he spent about $1,200 for his Game 1 ticket, $400 for his round-trip airfare and $50 for his two-night hotel stay, discounted thanks to Selby, who has worked at Hilton Hotels for 29 years.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the cheapest ticket for next Monday’s Game 3 at the Garden was $4,191, according to TickPick. The cheapest ticket for Game 1 was $760.
Knicks fans certainly made their presence felt in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Atlanta during their team’s previous playoff series. While Palagonia thinks it’ll be harder for fans to travel because the logistics are more complicated, he noted that Knicks fans travel “greater than any other fan base” in the NBA.
“I think that distance doesn't put a stop on the Knicks fans,” Nestola Jr. said. “We've really proven, really shown that we're a great road team. I have hope that we're going to show up. There's going to be some blue in the crowd.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
