The New York Knicks clinched their first championship in 53 years. Honestly, that did look improbable at times along the way. But their grit was continuously on display with three comebacks of 20+ points, including Game 4 of the Finals, when they erased a daunting 29-point deficit. Even in Game 5, Jalen Brunson and Co. faced a 14-point deficit. The truth is, an angel had been looking out for them. A Knicks supporter turned her grief into an inspiring message.

Beatrice Reilly-Jordon, a Staten Island widow and devoted Knicks fan, left a bit of her late husband’s ashes on an empty seat at Madison Square Garden. She and her family firmly believed this would help the Knicks on their way to the championship.

“At the game, I brought my husband’s ashes with me,” she told SILive. “I was in section 224, and I sprinkled my husband, and I said, ‘Dave, you’re here with me.’ He’s right on top of them, an angel on their shoulders, and they’re going to do it this year.”

Dave Jordon, a US Army veteran, unfortunately passed away in 2022 after a battle with cancer. It was three months before the family could celebrate his 69th birthday. For quite a while, Beatrice couldn’t watch the games as the grief was too overpowering. But she attended a recent NBA Finals game at MSG.

“She sprinkled a little on an empty seat next to her… so he could enjoy the game with her, watching from heaven,” the couple’s daughter, Domonique, told The New York Post. “He loved the Knicks so much and so does she. Like my mom says, he’s the angel on their shoulders.”

Even when watching the games at home, Reilly-Jordon would leave a special chair open for Dave.

“There’s my chair, because you always need a chair when a person’s not here,” she told the Post. “I’m sorry my husband won’t be here, but he’s still here. He’s in the Garden right now. And he’s going to watch it with us.”

They were together for more than 34 years before Dave passed away on Dec. 18, 2022. They loved the Knicks for decades, but since her husband’s death, she never went to MSG.

Family members encouraged their love for the Knicks

The couple has three daughters and, more importantly, has had the support of an extended family of siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. They all came in clutch as they refused to let her give up something that had meant so much to both her and Dave.

“My godbrothers said, ‘No, you have to. You know Dave wants you to go see the Knicks. You can’t stop doing what you normally do,” she said.

They bought her a ticket, and she attended the 2026 Finals at MSG. The Garden held countless memories for the couple, beginning nearly 40 years ago, when Jordon asked Beatrice to accompany him to a Knicks game. The Knicks’ championship lore will now have a chapter of the love story of Beatrice and Dave.