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Sports Illustrated
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Dan Lyons

‘Ridiculous’: Knicks’ Josh Hart Speaks Out Against Skyrocketing NBA Finals Ticket Prices in New York

Rarely is any NBA Finals ticket cheap, but Games 3 and 4 between the Knicks and Spurs at New York’s Madison Square Garden are especially unfriendly to the middle-class fan. As of publication, the get-in price for Monday’s Game 3—the first NBA Finals game at MSG since 1999—is well over $6,000.

Game 4, a potential championship-clincher at home for the Knicks on Wednesday if they win Monday, is even more absurd, with the minimum price at the major secondary markets over $13,000.

New Yorkers online have worn the sky-high prices as a badge of honor, knowing full well that they wouldn’t be able to afford a single ticket themselves. The playoffs have also seen Knicks fans (and their legions of celebrity diehards) hitting the road for games in Philadelphia, Cleveland and even San Antonio in droves; for Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals on the road, the costs of flights, hotels and tickets in Texas added up to less than a single ticket to a Madison Square Garden game.

Mannix: The Knicks Keep Finding a Way, and a Championship Is Within Reach

Not everyone is celebrating the financial excess that comes with a championship-hungry (and well-heeled) New York fan base, however. During a Sunday press conference ahead of Game 3, Knicks’ do-it-all wing Josh Hart, a blue-collar player on the court, bemoaned that the average fan has been thoroughly priced out.

“The environment, atmosphere is going to be electric, obviously, and we’re happy that we’re at home and we have [the fans] at our back. I kind of wish the ticket prices weren’t as crazy as they are. I feel like a lot of people who have been waiting for this moment for a very long time, and unfortunately aren’t able to get into the building with the cheapest ticket seven, eight thousand dollars, so—that’s ridiculous.

“It should still be rocking, but obviously wish those were a little cheaper.”

A thoughtful note from the popular Knicks role player. The atmosphere at MSG will be wild no matter what, but it is a shame that so many are being boxed out by the price, even if it is a market-based issue inflated by the Knicks’ two-plus decades of struggles since their last Finals appearance.

Cheapest, most expensive Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals tickets for the remaining games

As the Finals head to MSG with New York up 2–0, there’s no guarantee that this series heads back to San Antonio for Game 5, and given the prices on the secondary market, Knicks intend to help their team close it out in four.

As of Sunday, here’s what the current NBA Finals ticket market looks like.

NBA Finals Game 3 ticket prices: Madison Square Garden (New York City), Monday, June 8

No. of Tickets Cheapest Seat Marketplace Most Expensive Seat Marketplace
1 $6,776 Sec. 415, Row 4 Gametime $197,861 Sec. 6D, Row A SeatGeek
2 $6,000 per Sec. 318, Row BS3 Gametime $197,861 per
Sec. 6D, Row A SeatGeek

NBA Finals Game 4 ticket prices: Madison Square Garden (New York City), Wednesday, June 10

No. of Tickets Cheapest Seat Marketplace Most Expensive Seat Marketplace
1 $11,331 Sec. 210, Row 24 TickPick $743,852 Section 5D, Row A StubHub
2 $11,331 per Sec. 210, Row 24 TickPick $233,116 per Sec. 107, Row 22 TickPick

And if necessary ...

NBA Finals Game 5 ticket prices: Frost Bank Center (San Antonio), Saturday, June 13

No. of Tickets Cheapest Seat Marketplace Most Expensive Seat Marketplace
1 $1,886 Sec. 210, Row 10 StubHub $111,255.90 Visitors Fan VIP Package SeatGeek
2 $1,843 per Sec. 220, Row 4 Vivid Seats $111,255.90 per Visitors Fan VIP Package SeatGeek

If the series is extended by at least a game and Knicks fans want the chance to see their team play (and potentially close out the series on the road, as they’ve in every round of this historic playoff run), it looks that it will once again be much cheaper to take a trip to San Antonio than to spend money on Games 3 and 4 at MSG.


More NBA Finals on Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.

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