It’s basketball blasphemy.
City Hall goofed during the Knicks victory parade Thursday when it displayed a massive banner for little-known forward Dillon Jones with legendary center Patrick Ewing’s retired No. 33 jersey number.
Fans were shocked and outraged by the Mamdani administration mishap as critics said you’d have to be from Mars – or a phony fan – not to know 33 is a sacred number for the Knicks that belongs forever to the Hall of Fame center.
“They must be trying to rile us up,” said Knicks faithful Allister. “You’re supposed to double-check your work and then double-check the double check. How do you mess that up?”
Construction worker Marquis Diaz was floored over the gaffe.
“You can’t be a New Yorker and you don’t know who owns No. 33,” Diaz said. “That’s why his number is retired – number of a legend.”
The banner was part of a series naming the Knicks roster that decorated City Hall for a ceremony that saw Mayor Zohran Mamdani present the hometown champions with keys to the city.
“I think that’s ridiculous,” Seagate resident Denise Cosenza said. “They should have done their homework especially since Ewing is so involved with the team.”
Another fan who identified himself as Curtis simply called it “blasphemy.
“Pat made this city what it is,” he told The Post.
Patrick Ewing during a Knicks-Lakers game in 2000. New York Post
Patrick Ewing’s No. 33 is retired in 2003. New York PostEwing was a Knicks icon, considered one of the greatest players in franchise history over 15 seasons in New York. His No. 33 was retired in 2003 and now hangs from the rafters of Madison Square Garden.
Jones, 24, was active for just seven regular-season games this year for the Knicks, his third NBA team since he was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2024.
He played for the Washington Wizards before joining the Knicks last year — wearing No. 1 at MSG and No. 2 with the development league Westchester Knicks.
Patrick Ewing poses with the Larry O’Brien trophy alongside Rick and Jalen Brunson after New York’s Game 5 win. NBAE via Getty ImagesBut Jones did wear 33 during preseason games while ballin’ for the Wizards before he was cut and picked up by the Knicks.
Still a mystery is why that was the number — of all numbers — chosen for his City Hall banner, as captured by The Post’s Jared Schwartz.
“Epitome of Knicks parade fail,” one fan wrote on X.
Dillon Jones wore No. 1 for the Knicks this year — not No. 33. Getty Images
Dillon Jones was listed as No. 33 on the Knicks roster page. NBA.com“They need to take that s—t down now,” lifelong Knicks fan Ronel B. said. “Pat is the one who set the tone, who laid the bricks to get to where we are today, so to do him like that is just crazy and disrespectful.”
And a third chimed in, “someone’s getting fired.”
While Ewing last suited up for the Knicks in 2000, he was ever-present during the team’s championship run this year, and was in San Antonio as the team clinched the Finals over the Spurs on Saturday in Game 5.
A view of the Knicks jerseys hanging at City Hall for the championship parade on June 18, 2026. Stephen Yang for the NY PostThe legendary big man celebrated the team’s first title in 53 years as he held the Larry O’Brien trophy alongside Jalen and Rick Brunson.
Jones, meanwhile, did not suit up during the playoff run, and last saw the court for the Knicks back on April 12 in the regular season.
The 2024 first-round pick also earned a ring with the Oklahoma City Thunder last year, for whom he made 10 appearances in the postseason.
Additional reporting by Craig McCarthyand Georgett Roberts
