Former artistic gymnast Olivia Dunne took to social media to celebrate the New York Knicks' 2026 NBA Finals triumph after a 53-year wait. The Knicks took home the Larry O'Brien Trophy in a win against the San Antonio Spurs.

The Knicks secured the prestigious NBA Championship for the first time since 1973 on Saturday, June 13. In Game 5, they defeated the Spurs 94-90 to clinch the series 4-1 at the Frost Bank Center. Dunne captioned her Instagram story shortly after the victory to join the Knicks' celebration on June 13, 2026.

“LFG @NYKNICKS !!!" she wrote.

She also accompanied it with a photo on her story of attending New York’s NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game on May 19.

She watched them beat the Cavaliers 115-104 from a front-row seat.

Dunne showed her support with an NY Knicks cap to go with her black crop top and darkish grey sweatpants.

For the New York Knicks, their return to the top of the NBA summit happened on the back of an incredible performance from Jalen Brunson. He mesmerised Dunne and many of the other basketball fans worldwide with a 45-point game, handing New York the win.

It led to Brunson becoming the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award winner.

As far as Dunne is concerned, her association with sports goes beyond gymnastics and basketball. She is the girlfriend of Major League Baseball pitcher Paul Skenes, pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Dunne has successfully transitioned from a college gymnast to a social media celebrity.

Olivia Dunne’s Success: From Student-Athlete to Internet Personality

Olivia Dunne came into the limelight as an artistic gymnast during her college days at Louisiana State University from 2021 to 2025.

While competing for the LSU Tigers, she used the newly introduced Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policy to build her online brand presence.

The advent of the NIL era on July 1, 2021, helped her earn $9.5 million during her collegiate career, per a 2024 estimation by the New York Times. With that, she also became the highest-paid women’s student-athlete in artistic gymnastics by a huge margin.

Dunne went on to win the NCAA Championship for the first time in her career in 2024 with the Tigers despite not taking the mat in the final.

In her fifth and final year with them in 2025, she suffered an avulsion fracture in her knee, which ended her journey as a student-athlete prematurely.

It was a turning point for her in regard to her artistic gymnastics career because she decided to retire from the sport on April 17 of the same year.

She has since starred in several high-profile advertisements and has also bagged a role in the upcoming FOX reboot of 'Baywatch'.

What do you think of Olivia Dunne's involvement in sports beyond her own? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Surjo Ray