Jersey fiasco gives the NY Mets something in common with the 2026 Knicks

The New York Knicks rode down The Canyon of Heroes on Thursday and one of the biggest stories to come out of it was something you’d totally expect from the New York Mets instead. Back in May, fans were up in arms over Nick Morabito taking the field with a number 8 jersey. The rookie didn’t ask for it and after one game, it was changed. Mistakes happen and we move on.

Morabito wearing Gary Carter’s number 8 felt criminal to some even though others have worn it since The Kid left, just not since he went into Cooperstown.

Perhaps worse was the sighting of a Dillon Jones 33 jersey hanging at City Hall. The number 33 to Knicks fans is similar to how Mets fans would feel about number 8 or maybe even more comparatively, 31 for Mike Piazza. 33 has been retired by the Knicks since 2003. And yet there it was, a Jones 33 jersey on full display in front of the entire world to be mocked.

The Knicks jersey mistake is worse than what the Mets did

Morabito’s promotion was quick and the thought process around his jersey number was probably limited to only a few people. With the Jones banner, it probably took more than one person to get involved in its creation and display. At no point did anyone stop for a moment to think “wait a minute, where have I seen this number before?”

Carter and Ewing are on a similar level in terms of importance to their respective sports. Both Hall of Famers and one as a champion in New York City, the Piazza comparison is another to really grind into everyone’s heads how fallible this was. Number 33 has been hanging at Madison Square Garden for 23 years. Number 8 is held in high regard by Mets fans yet not even retired. It was a mistake any intern who wasn’t alive in the 1980s could make.

For a good long time, the Knicks had been the laughing stock of the NBA much like the Mets often are in MLB and the Jets are over in the NFL. These kinds of mistakes, which never fall on any individual but more so a fault in the process, are inexcusably embarrassing on so many levels. Championship celebrations should go off without a hitch. This one included a glaring mistake only a tall ladder and an equally as big pencil and eraser could solve.

With the Mets just trying to get back to .500 right now, we’ll take any comparison to a championship club we could get even if it’s mishaps like this.

What happened with the Mets was a lack of knowledge. With the Knicks, it's asking people who aren't into the team to get a job done. There were apparently no checks or balances along the way to ensure everything would go right. The fact that it's "Jones" just makes it funnier because of how common the name is and the link to the song Basketball Jones. It almost comes off as a parody or plot of an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm with Ewing as the victim.

Knicks haters have taken this error and grinded it into dust in an attempt to cope. The good news: you're still a champion even if your owner finds a way to be unlikable after.

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