An eagle-eyed Star Wars fan may have just proved that the New York Knicks are part of canon, but only from a certain point of view. There are very few things in our real world that overlap with the galaxy developed in Star Wars, but it’s not surprising that George Lucas and other creatives behind Star Wars took reference from our real world when creating the fantastical ones we’ve seen in a galaxy far, far away.

Sports have never been a big deal in Star Wars, and have mostly been used as a way for other characters to gamble. In-universe, there are games like sabacc, which is a card game that could be compared to poker in our world. There's also the beloved podracing seen in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and its sister sport, riot racing, from Star Wars: The Bad Batch.

Despite the clear relationship to gambling, racing, and fighting that we see in Star Wars, I can’t help but wonder what other sports are in Star Wars and if there are any professional leagues. However, with one prequel era detail, we have to question if we could see one or more of the major North American sports appear in Star Wars.

Star Wars Fans Noticed The Real Madison Square Garden Hidden On Coruscant

Does This Make The New York Rangers & New York Knicks Star Wars Canon?

Twitter/X @CobaltGreen1138 noticed that if you zoom into the cityscape of Coruscant in the Star Wars prequels, Madison Square Garden can be seen hidden amongst other buildings. As a native New Yorker and someone who frequently visits “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” this was an awesome find. The appearance of the real-life Madison Square Garden implies that other things associated with the arena are also a part of Star Wars canon.

Of particular interest is whether the New York Rangers ice hockey team and the New York Knicks basketball team still play at the Madison Square Garden seen on Coruscant. The likely answer is no, but as someone who grew up loving New York sports, particularly the Rangers and Knicks, it’s awesome to see this love of sports interact in some way with my love of Star Wars.

Considering how large and populous Coruscant is, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe there are professional sports teams. Hopefully, these galactic Rangers and Knicks win more championships than their New York counterparts.

Having Real-Life Structures As Part Of Coruscant’s Cityscape Isn’t Surprising

Inspiration Had To Be Drawn From Somewhere

Galactic Empire and hosted their governments. However, when creating the imagery of Coruscant, it’s understandable that not all structures were original creations of the prequels. It’s unclear if it was George Lucas or one of the other creatives who worked on the prequels who approved the use of real-world structures on the Coruscant surface.

With such a big and city-covered planet like Coruscant, it’s not surprising that animators likely took images from multiple real-world cities and inserted them on Coruscant to make the planet feel more inhabited and so that they didn’t have to design every inch of the planet for the prequel films. It’s unclear if Madison Square Garden’s inclusion on Coruscant was just something to help fill space, or if someone who worked on the Star Wars prequels wanted to put in one of the world’s most recognizable arenas as an Easter egg for fans to find.

New York City Is Very Similar To Coruscant

So It’s The Perfect City to Include In Star Wars

The similarities between Coruscant and New York City are fairly clear. Not only are both very urban, but they also both host a major government system. Coruscant hosts the Senate, whereas New York is the home of the United Nations. Additionally, both Coruscant and New York are very class-divided. On Coruscant, the closer to the surface you are, the wealthier you are, whereas New York has many historically rich and poorer neighborhoods. With these similarities in mind, it’s no wonder that a New York staple like Madison Square Garden was included in Coruscant’s cityscape.

Other city-planets in Star Wars include Hosnian Prime, Eufornis Major, and Taris.

While a real-world reference is a rarity in Star Wars, seeing part of the New York City cityscape on Coruscant is a welcome surprise. Though Madison Square Garden’s appearance realistically has very little in-world effect, it’s fun to think of what other iconic real-world buildings are hidden in Star Wars.