Joel Embiid Begs Sixers Fans To Not Sell Tickets To Knicks Fans

The last time the Sixers and the Knicks faced in the playoffs, the Sixers saw their home arena, now called Xfinity Mobile Arena, taken over by visiting Knicks fans. New Yorkers came either down the Turnpike or via the train, in droves, to make the games pretty much a neutral arena, with a ton of Knicks orange overtaking the Sixers blue and red. It got to the point where there were MVP Chants for Jalen Brunson in Philly.

That is something Joel Embiid badly wants to avoid this time around. He called it out at the time, and after beating the Celtics in game 7 the other night, he called it out again.

"Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like this was Madison Square Garden East. So we're going to need the support," Embiid said. "Don't sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys. The atmosphere we've had the last couple games in Philly, especially the last one pushing it to Game 7, I mean, we need all of it."

The Sixers, for their part, limited ticket sales to people within the Philadelphia area. But that won't prevent Knicks fans from getting them on the secondhand market.

With Tickets being so expensive at Madison Square Garden, and the trip to Philly being fairly easy, many New Yorkers just see the games in Philly as a cheaper way to get playoff tickets.

The cheapest ticket for Game 2 at MSG is $461. That is just one ticket. Get two Tickets, and you are looking at dropping upwards of $1000 before you even talk about transport or food and drink. 2 Tickets to game 3 in Philly will run you nearly $700. Still expensive, but far cheaper than a night out at MSG.

Will Embiid's pleas and the Sixers geofence stop Knicks fans from coming? Probably not. But maybe they can prevent a complete takeover like the one that happened in 2024.

Embiid went as far as to offer to help Sixers fans if they need money.

"Knicks fans, they travel," he said. "There's going to be some people that need the money and probably going to sell tickets, but don't do it. We need you guys. We've got a pretty good chance. We're going to need our support. We're going to need them to be extremely loud, and if you need money, I got you."

Would he back that up? It's not clear. But Embiid did once help arena workers get paid during the COVID shutdown.