A confectionary creation commemorating OG Anunoby's pivotal tip-in during Game 4 of the NBA Finals has gone viral, delighting New York Knicks fans and earning widespread attention on social media. The elaborate 2-foot cake, sculpted from fondant and modeling chocolate, depicts the forward-guard making the crucial shot with 2.4 seconds remaining on the clock.
Queens native Don Donneruno, known as "The Cake Don," crafted the edible tribute, which took approximately five hours to complete. The cake's details extend to fondant figures of celebrities spotted in the audience, including Spike Lee, Mariska Hargitay, Timothée Chalamet, and Ben Stiller, along with a print of the New York Post's front page from the day after the game. Donneruno shared a video of the dessert that has garnered over 315,000 views on Instagram.
Donneruno, a self-proclaimed "Knicks freak," stated that the moment was an obvious choice for a cake, believing the play is now a permanent fixture in New York sports history. The inspiration for this particular cake reportedly came from a young fan who visited his Huntington, Long Island, shop wearing an OG Anunoby jersey and requested a Knicks-themed cake for his birthday.
This is not Donneruno's first foray into creating cakes for the Knicks organization. He previously made a cake for team president Leon Rose and another for guard Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson's mother commissioned a cake designed to look like a Louis Vuitton suitcase overflowing with edible $100 bills, which was delivered to Madison Square Garden.
Donneruno, 58, transitioned to cake artistry after an 18-year career in the corporate office of a designer shoe company. His career shift began when he assisted a nanny with a cake and subsequently posted the result online. A friend's comment, "You're The Cake Don," inspired him to pursue baking, a path he fully committed to a year later.
His portfolio includes other notable creations, such as a cake for Timothy Cardinal Dolan, former Archbishop of New York, depicted in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Donneruno's first celebrity cake was for basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal, a life-sized replica of his Reebok Pump sneaker with a basketball on top. O'Neal's reaction to the shoe-shaped cake was, "It's too small."