The New York Knicks have one of the most passionate fan bases in basketball. This was on full display against the Philadelphia 76ers in their second-round matchup, as Knicks fans completely took over Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena for Games 3 and 4. These games essentially were Knicks home games purely because of the incredible support they received from fans who were willing to travel.
Given the price of tickets at Madison Square Garden, travelling to Philly for a 90-minute ride is a much more economical way of watching an NBA game than at their home arena. Despite the organization trying to ensure tickets were sold only to Philadelphia locals, it didn’t work, as the 76ers lost Game 4 at home 144-114 with mostly Knicks fans in attendance.
76ers guard Tyrese Maxey reflected on the fan invasion during his post-game 4 press conference, not mincing words about his true feelings while also admitting he doesn’t know what the 76ers can do to ensure Knicks fans don’t keep hijacking Philly’s home games.
“It absolutely sucks, if I’m being honest. It just sucks. That’s really all I can say about it, man. It’s hard. It’s definitely difficult. It’s only one way to put a stop to it, and it’s that we have to go out there and win these games.”
“Just being completely honest, we were better when we played them in the Garden this entire season. I know we lost Game 2 and 1, but Game 2 was better. The regular season was better. I was telling them, it felt louder here for them than it did in the Garden.”
“We’ve got to put a stop to it as a team. Winning these games, that’s gonna make our fans louder than theirs or whatever. I don’t know how to keep them out. I don’t know the logistics of it, but it does suck. I can’t even lie. It definitely does suck.”
The problem of invading Knicks fans isn’t something the 76ers were unaware of. We’ve already discussed how they tried making tickets available to local fans, but many Knicks fans are also local to the area. In addition, Joel Embiid’s passionate plea to 76ers fans after the first-round to ensure they could maintain home-court advantage also seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
“I have a message for our fans. Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like (Philly) was Madison Square Garden East. We’re gonna need the support. Don’t sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys. The atmosphere you guys created in the last two games, especially in (Game 6), we need all of it. Knicks fans travel; they buy tickets. There’s gonna be people who will sell the tickets because they need the money. Don’t do it, we need you guys. We need the support, and we need them to be extremely loud. If you need money, I’ve got you.”
We saw another edition of Madison Square Garden East in the 2026 NBA Playoffs. This might be a problem that the 76ers will never be able to address, unless they have a genuine title-contending team, which encourages more local fans to come out and support them. But the way that Knicks fans punked them in this series has had other NBA players question Philly’s reputation as a sports town.
