The Philadelphia 76ers are trying their best to avoid a Knicks fan takeover at their home games for their upcoming second-round playoff series. After overcoming a 3-1 series deficit in the first round of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics to win Game 7 and advance to the next round, the Sixers will face a Knicks team whose fanbase is known for invading Philadelphia’s arena.
In order to avoid that, the Sixers announced on their ticket purchasing website that they’ll be restricting ticket sales to fans who live in the “greater Philadelphia area.” The billing address will have to be within the Philadelphia area for fans to buy tickets, and those outside the zone will have their purchases canceled.
This isn’t the first time the Sixers have done something like this when playing against the Knicks. In 2024, the Sixers ownership group bought more than 2,000 tickets during a first-round playoff series between these two teams to keep them out of the hands of Knicks fans.
Sixers superstar Joel Embiid knows Knicks fans travel well, and pleaded with Philly fans following the team’s Game 7 win against the Celtics.
“Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like this was Madison Square Garden East,” Embiid said Saturday night. “We’re going to need the support, don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys. The atmosphere that we’ve had the last couple games in Philly, especially the last one, pushing it to Game 7, we need all of it.”
Embiid continued: “I don’t care if it’s 70-30. Knicks fans, they travel, they’re going to buy the tickets. There’s going to be some people that need the money, and are probably going to sell tickets. But don’t do it. We need you guys. We got a pretty good chance. We’re going to need that support. We’re going to need them to be extremely loud. If you need money, I got you.”
While the Sixers are hoping that their method of restricting access will keep the orange and blue at a minimum at Xfinity Mobile Arena, Knicks guard Josh Hart has faith the fans will find a way to support them.
“The good thing about New Yorkers, they’re persistent,” Hart said Sunday when asked about the Sixers’ plans to restrict ticket sales. “They don’t care. They’re gonna do it. For a lot of people, everything revolves around money, so if they can get a good price for those tickets, they’re gonna sell them.”
The Sixers aren’t the only team to deploy this type of ticket sale restriction to Knicks fans. During the 2024 playoffs, the Detroit Pistons used geo-fencing to limit ticket sales to those within the Michigan area. But, like Hart said, that doesn’t necessarily work when fans sell tickets on secondary markets. Knicks fans can find a way if they want to.
But at least the Sixers are trying something to maintain a homecourt advantage. The Knicks just finished a series against the Atlanta Hawks during which you could hear Knicks forward OG Anunoby getting positive chants from Knicks fans on the road. That’s what the Sixers are trying to avoid.
