It’s love and basketball — but only if it’s the Knicks.
A pair of high school sweethearts are bitter rivals in their loyalties to their favorite sports teams, but their unwavering support for the newest NBA champions is a true love story.
The Knicks have been a throughline for Queens couple Danielle Kuchinskas and Alex Frawley’s romance, capped with seeing the dramatic, history-making Game 5 in San Antonio a full-circle moment.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling. We’re over the moon. This is what we’ve been waiting for for so long and it’s crazy how they’re the champions!” Kuchinskas, 35, told The Post.
The husband-and-wife duo’s love for basketball and the Knicks was one of the first things that they bonded over when their romance sparked in 2007.
The couple, both from Middle Village, were raised as Knicks fans and played the sport for their respective high schools. Frawley played for Regis in Manhattan, while Kuchinskas played for Christ the King — the same alma mater as Knicks star Jose Alvarado.
They also both boasted hoop-themed AIM screen names: Kuckinskas was DKlovesbball, and Frawley was littlebballdude20, a reference to retired Knicks star Allan Houston, who wore the number.
The love for the Knicks was enough to carry them when they separated for their college years and pledged loyalties to their warring schools’ basketball teams, which they both maintain today.
Frawley is a dedicated Georgetown follower, while Kuckinskas stands behind Villanova University, but they put their differences aside to watch the college games together — which fatefully allowed the couple to witness Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges in action before their Knicks stardom.
The fan fissure was the second for the couple, who were raised with contending baseball loyalties.
Kuckinskas is a dedicated Mets fan, while Frawley inherited his love for the Yankees from his Bronx-born grandfather.
When asked if the opposing support ever got heated, Frawley, 36, a lawyer, admitted: “A little bit!”
“Going back two years ago, we were a little worried — I put that lightly — about what [the League Championship Series] would look like if it were a subway series and we would handle that because we weren’t sure we’d be able to go to those kinds of games together,” he continued.
“We agreed that we would have to watch separately!” added Kuckinskas, a paralegal.
The Knicks, however, have done nothing but unite the pair.
The Queens lovebirds secured partial-season tickets in 2023, but realized in April that they were willing to start trailing the team across the country to be part of their historic, and ultimately championship-winning, run.
Kuckinskas and Frawley witnessed the team destroy the Hawks in Atlanta and the 76ers in Philadelphia.
They missed the Knicks crushing the Cavaliers in Cleveland, but flew out for each of the Finals games in San Antonio, including one where Kuchinskas waved a “MSG Texas” sign in reference to the wave of Knicks fans that overtook Spurs territory.
Most importantly, the couple was in the Texas stands when the final buzzer went off and secured the Knicks’ victory in the history books.
“I got so emotional. I cried when they won! Alex and I shared a really nice hug. It’s just unbelievable — and we’re still processing it. It’s an incredible feeling,” said Kuckinskas.
Frawley added: “It’s special to unite for the Knicks and be able to cheer together. It’s a lot of fun.“
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