The Nova Knicks have brought New York back to the NBA Finals for the first time this century. For most Knicks fans, a championship would be the first in our lifetime. The culture of this team is more than just something nice for Knicks fans or Villanova alums; it is an example of what can be achieved with hard work, creativity, and collaboration.
The Nova Knicks are sometimes defined as just the Nova guys, the ones who played on the 2016 and 2018 National Championship teams coached by Jay Wright. Right now, that is Team Captain Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges, who joined the team in that order. Ryan Arcidiacono, the field general of the 2016 Villanova Championship team, and Donte DiVincenzo, the hero of the 2018 championship game, have also been Nova Knicks.
Others treat the Nova Knicks as this Knicks team—all of them—built around the same culture of constant learning, creative teamwork, and adaptive strategy. Brunson is known for his motto “The magic is in the work.” Often the team motto has been “Find a way,” emphasizing a spirit of tenacity and creative play-making that has made for astonishing comeback wins since the Nova Knicks got started.
This team is special, because they play with grit and tenacity, they do not quit, they keep creating new threats their opponents are not sure how to handle, and through it all, they play selflessly. The best players are creating opportunities for their teammates, keeping opposing defenders off balance and a few steps out of position.
It’s not just Brunson, Hart, and Bridges. KAT is a Wildcat, too, and OG plays like one, relentlessly. And the Knicks bench has developed into something more than a second string; they play critical roles, score points, open the floor, punish double teams, and unsettle opponents’ game plans.
We have a variety of Nova York designs—some based on the Wildcat, some based on The Oreo, all aiming to combine the culture of Villanova—service, learning, solidarity—with the excitement of Nova Knicks basketball. The 26 series celebrates the historic Nova Knicks Championship run.
Our connection to the Nova Knicks starts with our founder—Joe Robertson—who studied at Villanova, and later taught there, published VIllanova imprint paperbacks for courses and events, and contributed to the emerging culture of sustainability-related strategic planning.
We see in the Nova Knicks, and the style and accomplishments of this team, a representation of the learning and service culture of Villanova. Specifically: Leadership that involves sacrifice for the community; cooperative problem-solving; constant learning, re-learning, and outcome-oriented adjustment; an honest commitment to strive against daunting, complex challenges.
To play that way requires not just one leader or a couple of stars; it requires a team that is able to consistently learn, adapt, improve, and adjust, that changes the court constantly, and creates small advantages, over and over again, from new and unexpected angles, and plays defense that way too.
This is why we feature teamwork, wildcat tenacity, and bold orange and blue colors in our fan-perspective Nova York designs.
- If you know Villanova, you know the sculpture popularly called ‘The Oreo’, which is actually titled ‘Awakenings’, to which we pay homage in our stacked design with the basketball as the ‘o’ in ‘York’.
- And of course, in our alternate Nova York design, we feature a wildcat—not only as a reference to Villanova, but to honor the cunning and grit of this Knicks team, which has brought championship-level basketball back to New York.
- This is a way of referencing the wider team, and the spirit of agility, tenacity, and adaptive pursuit of shared goals.
- Teamwork is the implicit message in both styles, and appears in some of the Nova York products. We will write more in our Salted Stories about why teamwork is so important.
Our third Nova York design emphasizes the bold character of New York and the solid character of the Wildcat team-driven style of play. It features a more detailed but still abstract tribute to The Oreo, like the others has both light and dark versions, to fit a diverse range of goods and images.
The Nova York designs feature hats, shirts, and other custom goods, with the aim of evoking the magic of teamwork and adding flavor to your support of the Nova Knicks and of the quest for a championship after more than five decades.
Get your Nova York gear now, and share the store with friends.
Prep to Outwit, Never Quit
To honor the no-nonsense team-based style of the Nova Knicks, we are introducing a ‘Practice‘ series that emphasizes old-style lettering and practice gym motifs.
The spirit of this look combines the value of persistent, untiring preparation with the team effort in which everyone matters. Everyone plays a role, making it possible for the team to be at its best at the critical moments.
The Knicks defied expectations throughout the 2025-2026 season, and they did this by following the lead of their Captain, Jalen Brunson. Brunson’s brilliance is not about being a standalone star; it comes from organizing the team, anchoring their effort with competitive creativity, and keeping the other side guessing.
Everyone is part of that, and it boils down to one core idea: You keep working together till the very last fraction of a second, to overcome any deficit and to win in new ways.
Sometimes, that preparation and organized collaboration leads to dominant wins; sometimes, it leads to record-breaking comebacks. Sometimes, you still come up short.
But whatever happens, the game feels alive with possibility, and the overall team effort keeps getting better.
Celebrate Freedom & Humanity
In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Salted is introducing a special Nova York design, featuring the Practice lettering and the motto Unalienable, in reference to the first-ever founding of a new republic on the principle of universal and unalienable human rights. Celebrate freedom, fair competition, hard work, and excellence, in the indomitable Nova York spirit.
True Blue
For those who like an all-blue look, light blue on white, or the Villanova Midnight blue look, with light blue against dark navy, we have a new True Blue series, featuring the wildcat, original Nova York lettering and the word Champions, to celebrate the 2026 Nova Knicks’ win.
It’s Go time
To exemplify the engine effect of preparation and teamwork embodied by the Nova Knicks, we have developed a special, limited edition custom plate, which can be used for decoration or on the front of vehicles registered in states that do not require a front plate.
The plate features the wildcat Nova York design, in the colors of an old New York vehicle plate. It has abbreviated references to the current starting 5 and is finished with Jalen Brunson’s much celebrated motto ‘The Magic is in the Work’.
Use our contact form to reserve your plate from this limited edition series.
Salted Designs 