There are fans, and then there's Anthony Donahue, known around New York as "Anthony MSG."
"I came out of the womb bleeding orange and blue," Donahue said.
For him, the Knicks are more than a favorite team. They were an escape from a difficult childhood and a family that rallied around him when he needed it most. He has been called the team's biggest fan, and it's hard to argue.
"What is up? My name is Anthony Donahue," he said. "I'm known as one of the New York Knicks' biggest fans, and welcome to my house."
For Donahue, the Knicks are a way of life, and it's clear the moment you walk through his door.
"It's my wall of fame," he said, pointing to a display of heroes that includes John Starks, Allen Houston, Larry Johnson, Latrell Sprewell, Patrick Ewing and Spike Lee, along with himself.
"No team brings New York City together and New York State together like the New York Knicks," Donahue said. "Basketball is the city's game."
Talking with him is like opening a Knicks encyclopedia. He recalls every player, every season and every moment.
"We went to the finals in 1990. I was 10 years old," he said, holding up memorabilia.
"There's no place in the world I'd rather be than Madison Square Garden, the smell, the atmosphere, how it looks. Everything about the Knicks I love and adore."
He attends every home game.
"My story with the Knicks began when I was 8 years old, the 1992-93 season," Donahue said. "This little fourth grader became obsessed."
More than three decades later, he says the Knicks have given back everything he's put into them.
"I lost my little sister to brain cancer six years ago," he said. "The Knicks organization was very great to me. The fans were great. I get so many messages, even to this day."
He keeps a special memento from that time, a piece of the Madison Square Garden court the organization sent while his sister, Gianna, was sick.
"They wrote, 'Each day we hope you feel a little bit better. We think of you as part of the Garden family and want to share a piece of our home with you,'" he said. "And she did go back to the court one more time after that."
With each win, Donahue still believes Gianna is part of the moment.
"She'd probably be happy, but she'd be laughing at me," he said. "She'd be like, 'This guy's going crazy.'"
His story gained wider attention after it was shared on Humans of New York, reaching millions, including his now-fiancée, Alicia Velez.
"I followed his story for about two years," Velez said.
The Knicks helped bring them together.
"He used to take me on what we call a lap around the Garden," she said. "But I don't go on them anymore because he gets stopped constantly."
Their family has since grown. They now have a daughter, Autumn Gianna, a new generation of Knicks fandom.
"It's just to share these moments with her," Donahue said. "For the game, I give her a little speech sometimes."
With the Knicks back in the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years, Donahue sees something bigger in the moment.
"Are you going to tell me that in the same year I'm going to have a daughter, get engaged and the Knicks win the championship?" he said. "That just seems too good to be true, but I think it might actually happen."
Velez says his passion defines him.
"I love how he loves," she said. "He loves so loud and so great. If he loves, you're going to know it."
And as the Knicks chase a title, Donahue has a message for the team:
"Do it for the city and the state. Do it for yourselves. Do it for the legends that came before you. Do it for the fans that never gave up," he said. "Do it for the fans who aren't here anymore. Do it for all of us, because we want this and need this so bad."
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