Knicks Claim Iron Throne Ahead of TV Season Premiere
As HBO prepared to roll out the third season of the hit series “House of the Dragon,” NYC fans were able to enjoy a pop-up Iron Throne which commemorated the Knicks NBA Championship win.
| 23 Jun 2026 | 01:38
Karl-Anthony Towns, part of the NBA Championship-winning Knicks team, sat atop the Iron Throne prior the premiere House of the Dragon season 3 June 21. (
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The Knicks edition of the Iron Throne featured House Targaryen’s banner in Knicks’ signature blue and orange, celebrating their NBA Championship win. (
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An Iron Throne installation graced the steps of Penn Station on the night before the season 3 premiere of HBO’s “House of the Dragon” (HOTD), with a special nod to the Knicks’ victory.
Located in the Penn Station plaza on West 33rd Street and 7th Avenue, the one-day installation featured the show-accurate collection of swords leading to the throne, which is made out of swords itself.
In the show, the Iron Throne is the seat of the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms in the fictional fantasy universe, and is the sought-after prize for monarchy contenders. Instead of hoisting the banners of either of the show’s warring factions—Black vs. Green—the throne instead showed NYC pride for the Knicks, sporting the team’s colors of orange and blue.
Following the Knicks NBA Championship win June 13, the show called the team’s players to take to the throne in an ‘X’ post: “Time for @jalenbrunson1, @joshhart, @KarlTowns, @mikal_bridges, and the entire @NYKnicks team to claim their rightful place on the throne.”
“The Iron Throne is waiting for you to claim your seat,” the show added.
The four called out in the post are part of the team’s typical starting lineup: with Jalen Brunson as point guard, Josh Hart as shooting guard, Karl-Anthony Towns as center, and Mikal Bridges as small forward.
In response to the installation near the team’s Madison Square Garden home, Hart laid claim to the throne, saying in an ‘X’ post “I am the one true heir to the Throne.”
Hart later followed up, showing his affinity for the show, saying “I’ll be on the plane when HOD premieres. If you tweet about it I will block you.”
Hart was not the only player who showed appreciation for the throne’s installation. Towns responded to Hart on ‘X’ with a photo of him sitting atop the pop-up Iron Throne, stoically repping Knicks orange.
The third season of HOTD, which premiered June 21 on streaming platform HBO Max, continues House Targaryen’s inner-family conquest for the Iron Throne. The series is a spin-off prequel show of the TV favorite ‘Game of Thrones,’ created by George R.R. Martin from 2011-2019. After its premiere, Rotten Tomatoes gave HOTD season 3 a score of 95%, while IMDb listed a rating of 9.4/10 for its first episode: “Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood.”
As part of the installation event, hours before the June 21 premiere, HOTD fans also had the chance to get a hat saying “Win or Die” in Knicks colors and sit in the Iron Throne for a photo.
HOTD season 3 will include 8 episodes, released weekly on Sundays at 9 p.m. from June 21 to August 9 on HBO Max.