Photo by Lauren Caulk/The Guardian in New York City
Hi r/pics, this is Jake from The Guardian US. We wanted to share this photo from a story that we published about how inside New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex, nearly 2,000 incarcerated people watched Game 1 of the NBA finals, arguing calls, roasting celebrity fans and sharing in a rare citywide moment.
From our story by Bryan Armen Graham:
It’s nearly half past eight on Wednesday evening and approximately 30 men in tan uniforms drift into the common area of a housing unit deep inside the George R Vierno Center, an 850-bed jail and one of eight active facilities on New York’s Rikers Island. Some hover around a folding table piled to the edges with snacks. Others make their way into the smaller rooms on the perimeter of the two-floor communal space and drag plastic chairs closer to the flat-screen televisions mounted inside. The excited chatter and nervous energy bubbles as a familiar refrain cuts through the din.
Knicks in four.
The New York Knicks are moments away from playing in the NBA finals for the first time in 27 years, the last remaining hurdle in their bid to end a title drought that reaches back to 1973. On this balmy June evening, separated by less than 10 miles of water, concrete and razor wire from a Manhattan skyline bathed in orange and blue, the men gathered here are watching the same game that is commanding the attention of millions more in bars, restaurants, living rooms and outdoor gatherings across the five boroughs.
For a few hours, one of America’s most notorious jail complexes and least visible institutions is tapping into a civic ritual that has brought New Yorkers together like few public events in decades. The underdog Knicks’ long-awaited return to basketball’s biggest stage has given people in custody at Rikers a rare opportunity to participate in a shared New York moment that will see them arguing over the same calls, second-guessing the same decisions and dreaming the same dream that is consuming the city outside.
“You don’t have a team full of superstar players in the Knicks,” says Luis Guzman, a 43-year-old from the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx who has been held at Rikers since September on a burglary case that remains pending. “It’s the chemistry and the teamwork that makes them great. This is the year they finally might get it done. If we take one in San Antonio, it’s over for San Antonio. We will not lose at home. All we got to do is take one down here.”
![image showing [OC] Inmates on Rikers Island in New York City watch the first game of the NBA finals](be9c450f-974b-50e5-9cc6-9371de2fafa1.jpg)
guardian on June 5th, 2026 at 20:12 UTC »
Photo by Lauren Caulk/The Guardian in New York City
Hi r/pics, this is Jake from The Guardian US. We wanted to share this photo from a story that we published about how inside New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex, nearly 2,000 incarcerated people watched Game 1 of the NBA finals, arguing calls, roasting celebrity fans and sharing in a rare citywide moment.
From our story by Bryan Armen Graham:
It’s nearly half past eight on Wednesday evening and approximately 30 men in tan uniforms drift into the common area of a housing unit deep inside the George R Vierno Center, an 850-bed jail and one of eight active facilities on New York’s Rikers Island. Some hover around a folding table piled to the edges with snacks. Others make their way into the smaller rooms on the perimeter of the two-floor communal space and drag plastic chairs closer to the flat-screen televisions mounted inside. The excited chatter and nervous energy bubbles as a familiar refrain cuts through the din.
Knicks in four.
The New York Knicks are moments away from playing in the NBA finals for the first time in 27 years, the last remaining hurdle in their bid to end a title drought that reaches back to 1973. On this balmy June evening, separated by less than 10 miles of water, concrete and razor wire from a Manhattan skyline bathed in orange and blue, the men gathered here are watching the same game that is commanding the attention of millions more in bars, restaurants, living rooms and outdoor gatherings across the five boroughs.
For a few hours, one of America’s most notorious jail complexes and least visible institutions is tapping into a civic ritual that has brought New Yorkers together like few public events in decades. The underdog Knicks’ long-awaited return to basketball’s biggest stage has given people in custody at Rikers a rare opportunity to participate in a shared New York moment that will see them arguing over the same calls, second-guessing the same decisions and dreaming the same dream that is consuming the city outside.
“You don’t have a team full of superstar players in the Knicks,” says Luis Guzman, a 43-year-old from the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx who has been held at Rikers since September on a burglary case that remains pending. “It’s the chemistry and the teamwork that makes them great. This is the year they finally might get it done. If we take one in San Antonio, it’s over for San Antonio. We will not lose at home. All we got to do is take one down here.”
You can read the full story for free at this link.
davucci89 on June 5th, 2026 at 20:23 UTC »
Idk if this is common or not - but it would seem things like this could be good for rehabilitation. Cool to see
TyrannyOfBobBarker_ on June 5th, 2026 at 23:18 UTC »
Prison is full of moments like this. Playing cards with your buddies. Watching the game. Seeing a man be violently murdered with a mop wringer.