NYC couple gets engaged atop NYPD car during…
As Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and the remaining of the New York Knicks continue basking in the glow of profitable the world championship ring, Daniella Philip, too, is reveling in the sunshine of her own Big Apple bling.
“We got engaged on top of a police car during the Knicks parade,” Philip, 34, solely told The Post. “It was like I was living in a New York City princess fairytale.”
With an NYPD vehicle as her short-term throne, the teary-eyed bride-to-be yelped “Yes!” as her Queens fiancé, Klarel Avin, 40, dropped on bended knee and popped the query with a multi-carat diamond ring as an estimated 2 million Knicks fanatics lauded and applauded their love.
Daniella Philip was surprised when her boyfriend of three years, Klarel Avin, popped the query while on top of an NYC police vehicle during the Knicks parade on Thursday. @kountupben10_/TikTok
“I’m from New York, I’ve been a Knicks fan forever, it was their parade, it was Daniella’s 34th birthday, we were on a cop car, the whole city was outside. It was amazing,” raved Avin, a barber, who, along with Philip, a cranial prosthesis specialist, not too long ago relocated to Tampa, Florida.
The hometown honeys, however, drove 18 hours to attend the ticker-tape celebration Thursday, with Philip utterly unaware of the lucky destiny that awaited her at the fab fête.
Love — very similar to the more than 1.25 tons of blue, white and orange confetti that shot out of occasion cannons — is still in the air as NYC continues celebrating the Knicks’ 2026 NBA Championship win after 53 years of grief.
Brunson and his teammates had been afforded a hero’s welcome as they paraded down NYC streets to City Hall, where they had been each introduced with a key to the town for their historic feat. T.JACKSON / BACKGRID
While a pair of seasoned sweethearts spilled into metropolis streets, commemorating the victory with a “symbolic” bridal ceremony, younger lovers, such as Jillian and Andrew Solomon, embraced the Knicks-sanity by tying the knot at City Hall and partaking in the parade festivities still dressed in their marriage ceremony day best.
“Walking to the courthouse through thousands of Knicks fans is something we’ll never forget,” Jillian, 27, beforehand told The Post. “We love this city, and the best people in the world are here.”
Philip and Avin agree.
Philip and Avin share an abiding love for one another, New York City and the Knicks. Puneet Bagga
The twosome, who met via online courting in 2023, initially bonded over their shared love of New York, entrepreneurship and, of course, the Knicks.
“We love watching them play, their tenacity. We’re watching the finals, and I said to Daniella, ‘They’re going to win the championship, and we’re going to New York,’” Avin recalled to The Post. “The timing was perfect because, not only did our team win, but the parade was scheduled on her birthday, and I’d just received a call that the jeweler had just finished making her custom ring.”
The ring, which set Avin back a cool “five figures,” is a 9.16 carat masterwork, that includes a baguette diamond centerpiece surrounded by glistening diamond clusters and engraved with a puzzle piece.
“I always say she’s the missing piece to my puzzle,” said Avin, who started planning his proposal 5 months in the past without any inkling that his request for Philip’s hand in marriage would make historical past.
Philip told The Post she had no clue that they had been on top of a police vehicle during their engagement IMAGN IMAGES via GWN Connect
The newly engaged couple drove 18 hours, from Florida to NYC, to have a good time the Knicks’ big win. Puneet Bagga
Millions flocked to decrease Manhattan Thursday, standing on vehicles, avenue indicators and police autos in celebration of the New York Knicks taking the 2026 NBA Championship. Brian Prahl / SplashNews.com
It was a slam-dunk success that the item of his affection says left her awestruck with an otherworldly sense of elated anxiety.
“We were in the crowd, and it was so intense that we just decided to hop on top of a car, not knowing it was a police car,” Philip laughed, claiming she just needed a better view of Brunson and his teammates as their floats floated through decrease Manhattan.
“Suddenly, I see Klarel whispering to our friends, Ben and Maurice, then he starts yelling into the crowd, ‘Everybody, check this out, check it out, check it out.’ And I’m, like, ‘What the f- -k is going on?’” she remembered. “Then he turned around and got on his knee with the ring.”
Philip and Avin are excited to plan Knicks-inspired celebrations together for the remaining of their lives. Maurice Sharp
Stealing the highlight away from the Knicks, and changing into the town’s luckiest woman — even for only a few fleeting moments — despatched Philip into next-level nirvana.
It was only when an NYPD officer congratulated them on their engagement — and suggested them against damaging his patrol car — that the lovebird realized they had been standing atop a city-issued cruiser. (It’s a no-no that might have resulted in some legal motion.)
“I was shaking. I wanted to cry, laugh, smile. I was speechless,” she said. “I’ve never felt such intense emotions. I’ve never felt so loved in my life.”
Now, with nothing left to do but plan a marriage ceremony to rival the extravagance of their extraordinary engagement, the couple tells The Post they’re wanting ahead to incorporating the Knicks into all their future marital milestones.
“We’d definitely would love to get married in New York. We’ll be doing a lot of planning over the next year,” said Avin, hopeful to swap “I Do’s” someday between 2027 and 2028.
“And when we have our first baby,” added Philip, keen to soar into mommy-mode, “It’s going to be Knicks-themed with blue and orange everything.”
Stay in the loop with the latest trending topics! Visit our web site daily for the freshest lifestyle news and content, thoughtfully curated to inspire and inform you.
