New York City’s leading mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, chose a more understated approach compared to his rival Andrew Cuomo when he attended a Knicks game on Sunday night.

While former Governor Cuomo, running as an independent, was spotted courtside in a formal suit alongside Mayor Eric Adams just weeks earlier, Mamdani opted for a contrasting experience.

The 34-year-old Democrat settled in the upper tiers of Madison Square Garden, blending in with the crowd as he watched the Knicks secure a 128-116 win over the Chicago Bulls, just days before the city heads to the polls.

Mamdani showed his support by donning a Knicks jersey with Josh Hart’s No. 3 over a crisp white shirt, topped off with a black special edition cap reading ‘New York or Nowhere.’

In a playful moment captured on social media, Bronx native The Kid Mero, also known as Joel Armogasto Martinez, turned the camera to Mamdani, who responded with a humorous shushing gesture and a laugh.

Zohran Mamdani made a low-key appearance at the Knicks game with The Kid Mero (right)

President Donald Trump branded the NYC mayoral frontrunner a ‘communist’ on 60 Minutes

In another short video, Martinez asked a baffled female spectator if she would mind taking a photo of him and his ‘cousin,’ referring to Mamdani. 

The woman was likely one of the few to notice Mamdani’s attendance at The Garden as most fans in the building appeared to be oblivious to the mayoral candidate’s presence, even when he sung and swayed along to the Backstreet Boys’ hit ‘I Want It That Way,’ according to the New York Times. 

While Mamdani was continuing to underscore his regular-Joe image among the New York voters at MSG, Trump was once again threatening to withhold federal funds from the city should the Democrat win Tuesday’s election. 

The president’s declaration came during an appearance on CBS’ 60 Minutes after host Norah O’Donnell said Mamdani had been described as a left-wing version of Trump.

‘Well, I think I’m a much better looking person than him, right?’ Trump said about Mamdani.

O’Donnell pointed out that Mamdani, like Trump, has been described as ‘charismatic’ and breaking the old rules.

The president was asked what would happen to his native NYC if Mamdani defeats Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

‘It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York,’ Trump said.’ Because if you have a Communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there.’

Zohran is locked in bitter fight with independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa

The president has threatened to withhold federal funds from the city should the Democrat win 

Trump admitted that he doesn’t like Cuomo but that he would prefer the disgraced former governor win the election.

‘If it’s gonna be between a bad Democrat and a Communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you,’ Trump said.

The president compared Mamdani to predecessor Bill de Blasio, who Trump termed ‘the worst mayor in history.’ 

While Mamdani appeared to be enjoying his time at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks may not have such great fans of his attendance. 

Last month, the NBA franchise issued a ‘cease-and-desist’ letter to Mamdani over his use of the team’s logo in a campaign ad.

The basketball giants also made clear that they do not endorse the Democratic front-runner and threatened to ‘pursue all legal remedies to enforce our rights.’ 

During New York’s season opener, the Democratic candidate aired an advertisement that featured the team’s orange and blue logo with ‘Knicks’ replaced by ‘Zohran’.

The advert also appeared on his campaign’s social media accounts alongside the caption: ‘This is our year. This is our time’.

Mamdani’s rival, Andrew Cuomo, sat courtside with Eric Adams at a Knicks game last month

The NBA giants took issue with Mamdani over his use of the team’s logo in a campaign advert

But, according to the New York Post, Mamdani pulled the advert on Friday after receiving a letter from the team which said it was ‘likely to mislead the public into believing that the Campaign is affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by, or in some way connected with the Knicks.’

In the letter, as reported by the Post, the NBA giants also reportedly demanded that Mamdani’s team remove any of the Knicks’ intellectual property from its campaign.

‘The NY Knicks have sent NYC Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani a cease-and-desist letter for using the NY Knicks logo to promote his candidacy,’ a team spokesperson told The Post.

‘The Knicks want to make it clear that we do not endorse Mr. Mamdani for Mayor, and we object to his use of our copyrighted logo. We will pursue all legal remedies to enforce our rights.’

The owner of the Knicks, billionaire James Dolan, has not publicly endorsed any of the candidates for mayor, despite Cuomo also making an appearance at MSG – albeit a slightly more high-profile one.