This upcoming title defense tour for the New York Knicks is already shaping up to be exclusively for the millionaires and the fiscally irresponsible rather than your average, everyday die-hard.
Unfortunately, this has been shaping up to be the case for years when attending Knicks games out at Madison Square Garden, even when they were winning just 19 games in an entire season.
From fans being priced out of the Mecca and shipping out to Philadelphia for more affordable tickets at Xfinity Mobile Arena during the 2026 semifinals to the baseline get-in price being north of $3,000 for the worst seats (you know, the ones where you're just watching the giant jumbotron) in Game 3 of this past NBA Finals, it's sadly become incredibly expensive to see this cherished team play in person.
Now, to simply get into the building for opening night of the 2026-27 season, the cost is officially set at over $1,300. To put this into perspective, the same seats for New York's home opener last year were $215, a more than 500 percent increase.
This pricetag is more than all Knicks playoff games last season outside of the championship round.
Sadly, this lofty cost of getting into the Garden isn't expected to change anytime soon. At least, not according to the folks at TicketIQ.
The bar for Knicks ticket prices has been reset with championship win
Though objectively ridiculous, the cost for opening night at least can be somewhat justified.
After all, it will be New York's first time raising a championship banner into the rafters since 1973 and marks the debut of LeBron James as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Unfortunately, this raised level of ticket prices seems to be something that's expected to stay well beyond banner night.
According to Shane Galvin of the New York Post, Jesse Lawrence, CEO of TicketIQ, suspects that the club's 2026 title run "completely reset the Knicks ticket market," with get-in prices expected to be over 40 percent higher than last season.
Per TicketIQ's findings, the average per-game price for the cheapest seat is slated to jump from an already absurd $234 to $344.
As upsetting as this may be, the players still deserve all the support they can get from fans in the building and those watching from home this coming year.
After all, considering many, such as Josh Hart, have gone on record publicly ridiculing the soaring prices as "ridiculous," it's clear the ones on the hardwood aren't to blame.
It's those fair-weather season ticket holders who are choosing capital gains over everything who are pricing everyday Knicks fans out of the building.
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