While Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and the rest of the New York Knicks continue to bask in the glow of winning a World Series ring, Daniella Phillippe is also basking in the light of her own Big Apple Bling.
“We got involved on top of a police car during a Knicks show,” Philippe, 34, exclusively told The Post. “It was like I was living in a princess fairy tale in New York City.”
With an NYPD car as her makeshift throne, the teary-eyed bride shouted “Yes!” When her Queens fiancé, Clarel Aven, 40, got down on bended knee and popped the question with a multi-carat diamond ring, an estimated 2 million Knicks fanatics paid tribute to their love and applauded.
“I’m from New York, I’ve been a Knicks fan forever, it was their show, it was Daniela’s 34th birthday, we were in a cop car, and the whole city was outside. It was amazing,” said barber Avin, who recently moved with Philip, a cranial prosthetist, to Tampa, Florida.
However, the hometown honeys drove 18 hours to attend the ribbon celebration on Thursday, with Phillip completely unaware of the happy fate that awaited her at the extravaganza.
Love — much like the more than 1.25 tons of blue, white and orange confetti shot out of party cannons — is still in the air as New York City continues to celebrate the Knicks winning the 2026 NBA championship after 53 years of grief.
While a pair of seasoned lovers poured into the city streets, commemorating the victory with a “symbolic” wedding ceremony, young lovers like Gillian and Andrew Solomon embraced the Nicks’ mind by tying the knot at City Hall and participating in the parade festivities dressed in their wedding day best.
“Walking into the courthouse surrounded by thousands of Knicks fans is something we will never forget,” Jillian, 27, told The Washington Post. “We love this city, and the best people in the world are here.”
Philip and Aven agree.
The duo, who met via online dating in 2023, initially bonded over their shared love of New York, entrepreneurship and, of course, the Knicks.
“We love watching them play, their determination,” Avin recalled to The Post. “We’re watching the finals, and I said to Daniela, ‘They’re going to win the championship, and we’re going to go to New York.'” “The timing was perfect, because not only did our team win, but the show was scheduled for her birthday, and I had just gotten a call that the jeweler had just finished making her custom ring.”
The ring, which brought back Aven’s exquisite “Five Shapes”, is a 9.16-carat masterpiece, featuring a baguette-cut diamond center surrounded by sparkling diamond clusters and engraved with a puzzle piece.
“I always say it’s the missing piece of my puzzle,” said Avin, who began planning his engagement five months ago without ever imagining that his proposal for Philippe’s hand in marriage would make history.
It was an overwhelming success, says the object of his affection, and it left her stunned with a strange sense of joyful anxiety.
“We were in the crowd, and it was so intense that we decided to jump on top of a car, not knowing it was a police car,” Phillippe laughed, claiming she just wanted a better view of Bronson and his bandmates as their vehicles floated through lower Manhattan.
“All of a sudden, I saw Clarel whispering to our friends, Ben and Maurice, and then he started shouting into the crowd: ‘Everyone, check this, check it, check it.’ And I’m, like, ‘What’s going on?’” I remembered. “Then he turned around and sat on his knee with the ring.”
Stealing the spotlight away from Nyx and becoming the luckiest lady in town – even for just a few moments – sent Philippe to the next level of nirvana.
Only when an NYPD officer congratulated them on their engagement — and advised them not to damage his patrol car — did the lovebirds realize they were standing on a city-issued cruiser. (It is something that could lead to some legal action.)
“I was shaking,” she said. “I wanted to cry, laugh, and smile. I was speechless.” “I have never felt such intense emotions. I have never felt so loved in my life.”
Now, with nothing to do but plan a wedding to rival the extravagance of their unusual engagement, the couple tells The Post they look forward to incorporating the Nicks into all of their future nuptial milestones.
“We would definitely love to get married in New York. We’ll be doing a lot of planning over the next year,” Avin said, hoping to replace “I do” sometime between 2027 and 2028.
“And when we have our first child, it’ll be Knicks-style with everything blue and orange,” added Philip, who can’t wait to transition into mommy mode.