The 76ers released single-game tickets Sunday for their second-round playoff series against the Knicks and they were “restricted to fans from the Greater Philadelphia area, shutting out prospective buyers” from N.Y. and other cities around the country, according to DeAntae Prince of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. The team’s website included a message explaining that purchases “would be canceled without notice and refunded if anyone bought tickets that does not live in the Philly area,” which is established through the credit card billing address. The Sixers are not the first team to employ this practice, but that “didn’t stop them from drawing the ire of Knicks fans, who make the trip to Philly rather than purchase tickets in New York.” As it stands on the secondary market, tickets in N.Y. are priced north of $400, while the going rate in Philly is around $290. While there might “not be direct correlation, the move comes on the heels” of Sixers C Joel Embiid’s plea to Philly fans not to sell their tickets to New Yorkers (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 5/3).
PLEASE, NOT AGAIN: On Long Island, Anthony Rieber noted the 76ers are “hoping to prevent a repeat of two years ago,” when Knicks fans flooded the Philly arena during a playoff series. This year’s rematch starts on Monday night at Madison Square Garden (NEWSDAY, 5/4). CBSSPORTS.com’s Jasmyn Wimbish noted this in not 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.” 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 G Josh Hart has “faith the fans will find a way to support them.” Hart: “The good thing about New Yorkers, they’re persistent” (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/3).
