Saturday night, the Philadelphia 76ers officially punched their ticket to a second-round bout against the third-seeded New York Knicks.
The last time these two clubs squared off against one another in the postseason was back in the 2024 East quarterfinals, where the Knickerbockers bested the Sixers in six.
Though it's been two years since this series, superstar center Joel Embiid still remembers it vividly, particularly when it comes to all the New York fans who infiltrated Xfinity Mobile Arena and, in his words, made it feel like they were playing a road game out at Madison Square Garden.
Heading into this highly anticipated rematch, Embiid is desperately trying to avoid experiencing such an atmosphere again, as he’s now publicly imploring Philly fans not to sell their tickets, even offering to help them out financially by saying, “If you need the money, I got you.”
Considering the Knicks won both games out in the City of Brotherly Love this year, coupled with the fact that Philadelphia is coming into the semifinals fresh off a long and arduous seven-game series against the Boston Celtics, it goes without saying that they’re looking for every possible advantage they can get.
Though they’re still a full work-week away from their first game out in Philly, Embiid is already trying his best to lock down a homecourt edge.
Ticket prices for Knicks games are through the roof
Outside of the well-known fact that New York’s faithful followers are some of the most loyal and intense fans in all of sports, the reality is that a lot of those who ventured out to Philadelphia back in 2024, and who may be taking the trek back here in 2026, are doing so due to the egregious prices that come with attending a home game at MSG.
For Game 5 of their last series against the Hawks, the cheapest ticket heading in was a whopping $376, with courtside running north of $46,000. As we make our way into Game 1 of the semifinals, Garden prices are starting at a disgusting $503.
To put things into perspective, for someone living in New York City or its surrounding areas, it would literally be cheaper to drive out to Philadelphia and buy a ticket for Game 3 (starting price is currently $278) than it would be to take any one of the seventh or eighth avenue subway lines to one of the first two games at MSG.
For years, the cost of seeing games at the World’s Most Famous Arena has steadily risen to objectively unreasonable levels.
As they get set to take part in their fourth straight second-round excursion, we find many true Knicks fans, yet again, being priced out of seeing their beloved franchise play at home.
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