The Dallas Cowboys’ playoff chances were Knicked in more ways than one on Sunday night.

America’s Team needed a win to keep its relatively-dim NFL playoff hopes alive but but fell to the Minnesota Vikings by a 34-26 final at home. In an unexpected crossover event, Minnesota sealed the deal with a tribute to a New York Knicks legend.

After giving his team an insurmountable two-possession lead in the final minute with a 53-yard field goal, Vikings kicker Will Reichard pressed three fingers to his purple helmet. Many viewed the gesture as an apparent tribute to former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, who routinely engaged in such a celebration after sinking his own triples.

Anthony’s “three to the dome” presentation has drawn many imitators both domestically and internationally. While Anthony isn’t fully responsible for its rise on the sporting scene, its origins are indeed metropolitan in nature.

In 2020, former Anthony teammate Iman Shumpert told Shams Charania that Anthony essentially lifted the gesture from another Knick in Rasheed Wallace, who was said to have engaged in such a move after hitting threes in practice. Fortunately Wallace, who spent the final 21 games of an accomplished NBA career with the Knicks in 2012-13, didn’t take the relative robbery personally.

“People don’t realize, Melo doing the three-to-the-head, how that started was Rasheed Wallace,” Shumpert said. “He always had a three-point celebration. He started the three-to-the-head and then Sheed got hurt.”

“Sheed started this. And it was funny as hell because Melo, of course, is like, ‘Come on man, it’s Melo man,'” Shumpert told Charania. “Once the God do it, everybody go rogue with it. So, everybody’s like, ‘yo the Melo three-to-the-head!’ We all thought it was funny … Sheed comes in one day…and he says, ‘Melo I’m not even gonna charge you for that.’”

More recently, the “three to the dome,” caused some international tempers to flair during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris: during the men’s semifinal portions against the United States, Serbian star Bogdan Bogdanovic appeared to engage in the gesture in the direction of a courtside Anthony. American star Devin Booker later appeared to claim the gesture back as Team USA rallied to stall to the Serbians en route to the red, white, and blue’s fifth consecutive gold medal.

Bogdanovic, currently of the Los Angeles Clippers, claimed he only meant respect to Anthony, who later offered his praise on one of Bogdanovic’s Instagram posts. Of note,

“I like to compete, and I will always compete. It’s fire. I’ve been doing (the gesture) that for a long time,” Bogdanovic said, per Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press. “I know somebody’s thinking it’s provocation or something. But that’s media. For me, it’s just enjoyment and competitiveness for the sport and respect for him. I look at him over there as a legend. Nothing more than respect and competitiveness.”

A couple of headliners on the current Knicks squad no doubt appreciated Reichard’s efforts in more ways than one: Dallas’ loss allowed Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns’ beloved Philadelphia Eagles to inch closer toward the NFC East divisional crown. With Dallas’ defeat, the Eagles can outright secure it with a win over the Washington Commanders on Saturday evening (5 p.m. ET, Fox).