New York Knicks stars from the past and present are phoning it in for March Madness.
Telecommunications giant AT&T is once again enlisting metropolitan stars to showcase its line of smartphones and service, as Knicks reps star in the corporation’s latest advertising spot. The ad, entitled “Ranger Ted,” will debut during coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament’s “Selection Show” on CBS and will likely serve as a mainstay during the collegiate hardwood action over this early spring.
Jalen Brunson is once again involved, and he’s joined by teammates Jose Alvarado and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as Manhattan predecessors Patrick Ewing and John Starks.
In the spot, Brunson, Starks, and Towns engage in a legal form of travelling, hiking to a March Madness viewing party hosted by Ewing.
Towns laments that they won’t make it in time for tip-off before checking on “OG,” who is revealed to be not their fellow active Knick OG Anunoby, but rather the lasting Knicks presence Starks, who quips back, “I’d like to see you guys hike a mountain at my age!”
Fortunately for the trio, they’ve found the titular Ted just as Brunson starts streaming the game on his AT&T phone. Ted wonders where the “rest of the team” is, prompting Starks to start a video call with Ewing, who is accompanied by Alvarado.
With one of the newest Knicks snacking on homemade dip, Towns tries to provide natural snacks, but Ted tells him the berries he found are “very poisonous.”
Brunson is a veteran of AT&T’s March Madness offerings: during the 2024 campaign, he showcased the corporation’s streaming abilities in an ad that also featured his wife, Ali, and fellow metropolitan backcourt star Sabrina Ionescu.
Last year, he was joined by the Villanova contingent of Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart in a humorously emotional spot that highlighted the reliability of AT&T’s network by lamenting that such guarantees don’t extend beyond cell service.
To that end, Bridges, Brunson, and Hart encountered their fellow former Wildcat Donte DiVincenzo, who was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the deal that acquired Towns just before last season.
Brunson and Towns no doubt enjoyed the reveal of the men’s bracket on Sunday: Villanova will partake in its first men’s tournament since 2022 when it faces Utah State on Friday late afternoon. Towns’ Wildcats, they of Kentucky, will also play on Friday, as they’ll be part of the early window against Santa Clara.
