With March Madness in full effect and everyone’s brackets are busted, New York fans always have the constant conversation about which athlete is the king of the Big Apple.
This bracket starting in the Sweet 16 gives the opportunity to vote for who you believe is the King of New York.
The bracket is split into four regions, just like the NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball brackets; Baseball (top left), basketball (bottom right), hockey (top right), and football (bottom left).
The interns at amNY Sports decided on two players from each of the New York Yankees, New York Mets, New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Giants, New York Islanders, New York Rangers and one from each the New York Liberty and Brooklyn Nets.
New York Yankees
Aaron Judge, the captain and two-time MVP of the Yankees represents the No. 1 one seed of all one seeds. He’s won back-to-back MVP awards in the American League and took New York to their first World Series appearance since 2009.
Max Fried comes in as the No. 4 seed in the baseball region, as well as atop of the rotation for the Pinstripes. He headlines the rotation as the ace, with Gerrit Cole missing the entire season due to season-ending Tommy John surgery.
New York Mets
Former Yankees right fielder Juan Soto comes in as the No. 2 seed in the baseball region, with a matchup against his new teammate and No. 3 seeded, Francisco Lindor. You could argue either one of these players for the second or third seed, but whoever is crowned as the King of the Mets will likely face Judge in the Elite Eight, unless there’s an upset from Fried.
New York Knicks
For the past two seasons, many Knicks fans have been ready to crown Jalen Brunson as the King of New York. He’s never made it to the NBA Finals, nor has he won an MVP, so you might have to slow your roll if you think he deserves to be the best athlete in New York. He’s been the MVP of the Knicks this season, but with the state of the team in the second half of the season, they’re lucky to be treading water.
The second seed in this tournament is offseason addition Karl-Anthony Towns. KAT has been a huge reason as to why the Knicks are third in the Eastern Conference this season, averaging 24.5 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.
New York Liberty
The No. 4 seed in the basketball region is none other than Sabrina Ionescu. She’s coming off an incredible season with the Liberty, as she helped her team win the WNBA Championship a season ago. Ionescu averaged 17.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and six assists per game. She comes in as the heavy underdog against Brunson.
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, as they’re eight games behind the Miami Heat for the fourth and final play-in spot. For a season that was thought to be a total failure and a complete rebuild, Cam Thomas has helped Brooklyn stay afloat and somewhat competitive by averaging 24 points per game. He’ll face off against Towns in the first round as the No. 3 seed.
New York Rangers
The Rangers and Islanders are both in an intense race for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race. Coming in as the No. 1 seed in the hockey region, is Blue Shirt’s goaltender Igor Sheterkin. He’ll face off against No. 4 seeded Bo Horvat from the New York Islanders in the Sweet 16.
Artemi Panarin earned himself the No. 3 seed in the hockey region, but will go up against a player in Ilya Sorokin that arguably could’ve been the top seed in this conference. Panarin has put together a 75-point season thus far, on 31 goals and 44 assists.
New York Islanders
The Islanders have had an interesting season filled with tons of injuries and blown third period leads, yet head coach Patrick Roy and his team find themselves one point out of the second and final wild card spot, currently occupied by the Montreal Canadiens. Sorokin might feel slighted as the No. 2 seed behind good buddy Shesterkin, but he’ll have to take care of Panarin before he potentially gets a crack at the Rangers goaltender.
Bo Horvat owns the No. 4 seed in the hockey region, with a chance to upset the N0. 1-seeded Shersterkin. Horvat isn’t having his best season, but he’s been the best player for the Isles in 2025. He’s recorded 49 points on 24 goals and 25 assists.
New York Giants
The Giants and the Jets get to participate in some sort of a bracket in 2025! Neither of these teams will likely end up in the NFL Playoffs next season, but you never know. The No. 1 seed has had to battle the opinions from both fanbases of who’s better between him and Quinnen Williams, but the consensus rankings believe Dexter Lawrence is the best player between both New York football teams.
The No. 4 seed in the football region is second-year wide receiver Malik Nabers. Nabers put together an exceptional rookie campaign a season ago, but with the other talent in this bracket, he finds himself in an uphill battle against his teammate.
New York Jets
Former All-Pro defensive lineman Quinnen Williams earned himself the No. 2 seed in the football region. With Garrett Wilson being the third seed, the two members of Gang Green will face off against one another. Williams received the nod as the higher seed due to more hardware in terms of Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections, though Wilson has his AFC Rookie of the Year award.
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