The NBA offseason never fails to surprise you. Fans once again find themselves at the intersection of basketball and pop culture. While Swifties prepare to witness a star-studded luxury wedding at Madison Square Garden, it is the New York Knicks players who’ve suddenly rolled into the spotlight. However, Josh Hart is here to clear the air… and probably unintentionally confuse everyone even more.

A viral Page Six report claimed that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have invited “the starting lineup for the Knicks,” including Jalen Brunson, to their wedding bash on Friday. It didn’t take long for the rumors to reach Knicks circles, and Jeremy Sochan reposted it, making a small request to Hart.

“What about me? 😞@joshhart can I be your plus 1?” Sochan asked his teammate, who responded in a few hours.

“lol bro this fake news,” the reigning NBA champ wrote on X.

Now, the confusion here is about what defines fake news. Was Hart suggesting that no Knicks star was invited at all, or was he saying that every team player, including the starters, was on the RSVP list?

Sochan can’t be blamed for falling for this rumor. Given that the celebrity wedding is linked to the Knicks’ home, anyone would believe it. But it’s hard to resist describing Sochan as having been centel’ed, even though it wasn’t the actual parody account.

Aside from the MSG-wedding connection, there’s another solid reason to trust the report.

Swift developed a unique connection with NYC throughout the Knicks’ championship run. The Grammy winner’s “Steve Knicks” tee and overall vibe took over the courtside cameras at MSG during Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the one in which the Knicks also produced a historic 29-point comeback against the Spurs. Swift yelled so loudly during that game that she could barely talk during her Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction speech the following night.

“The quality of my speaking voice is the product of two things that I am not sorry for, one is that I was lucky enough to go to a Knicks game last night,” Swift said. “I screamed for 100% of it, and then I got home and was like, ‘I gotta stop screaming’… I just never stopped screaming, and so this is what you get.”

The music artist also attended another Knicks game with Travis Kelce. It was during the Eastern Conference Finals when Kelce supported his hometown team, the Cavaliers, which led analyst Monica McNutt to believe Swift was a Cleveland fan and to ask her to get out of MSG. McNutt later apologized.

Pivoting back to the wedding invite rumor that Hart dismissed, the wedding itself is very much real. The New York Times recently reported that several members of the Kansas City Chiefs have booked hotel rooms for dates around July 3 at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

According to NBC News and USA Today, Swift and Kelce’s wedding celebration is surely this weekend at MSG. A rehearsal dinner with about 100 people reportedly took place on Thursday night at the venue’s Infosys Theater. Meanwhile, the NYC approved temporary street closures around the arena between July 2 and July 4 to accommodate the large-scale event.

Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, acknowledged that there was “an event that we are tracking at Madison Square Garden on Friday night,” but declined to address the matter further.

The only fake part is the alleged NBA guest list… but that made Sochan’s reaction even funnier, given the offseason he’s had.

Sochan became one of the main attractions at the NY team’s championship celebration after arriving from the Spurs mid-season. He was guaranteed a championship ring even before Game 1 tip-off. However, Sochan embraced his role with the Knicks so much that he didn’t hesitate to trash-talk his three-season ex-teammate Victor Wembanyama during the series.

Even after winning the title, Sochan found himself going viral again. From champagne-soaked celebrations to wandering shirtless at the parade, he lived the Knicks’ historic moment to its fullest. So when social media claimed the Knicks starters had landed invitations to one of the biggest weddings of the year, Sochan wanted to be a part of it.

If Page Six’s report is accurate, however, Sochan may be missing out on quite a celebration. Paparazzi outside MSG reportedly spotted crates of lobster, trays of other feasts, and even a Krispy Kreme truck arriving at the venue ahead of the wedding festivities.

Reports have also suggested the celebration could last close to 10 hours, highlighting the scale of the event. With Sochan crashing into the Knicks’ championship unit months before the playoffs, he may have decided to crash the wedding, but turns out that the invite rumor alone was fake.