How do you try to keep New York Knicks fans out of your building with your season on the line? You purchase the tickets and distribute them yourself to ensure they fall into the hands of Philadelphia 76ers fans.
That’s what Sixers ownership did on Wednesday, according to Crossing Broad. Majority owners Josh Harris, David Blitzer and David Adelman teamed up with former minority owner Michael Rubin, head of Fanatics, to buy 2,000 tickets for Thursday’s Game 6. The seats will be given to first responders, healthcare professionals, community groups and other local organizations.
Josh Harris, David Blitzer, @david_adelman and I just bought more than 2,000 tix for Sixers Game 6 – we absolutely CANNOT let Knicks fans take over our arena again!!! Giving them to first responders, health care professionals and other local Philadelphia-based organizations once… https://t.co/HQkOWJpHgB
— Michael Rubin (@michaelrubin) May 1, 2024
While a nice gesture, there’s a motive behind it: so that Wells Fargo Center doesn’t sound like a Knicks home game, which was the case during New York’s Game 4 victory on Sunday.
The loud Knicks fans in the crowd in Philadelphia didn’t sit well with Sixers forward Joel Embiid, who called it “disappointing.”
“I love our fans. Think it’s unfortunate,” Embiid said. “And I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing. Obviously, you’ve got a lot of Knicks fans and they’re down the road. Never seen it, and I’ve been here for 10 years. Kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town. So they’ve always shown up, and I don’t think that should happen. It’s not OK.”
It’s not just first responders, healthcare professionals and community groups getting the chance to go to Game 6, either. The Sixers posted a video on social media Wednesday handing out envelopes with tickets to fans on the street.
Even South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, a Philadelphia native, took to X urging Sixers fans to hold on to their tickets.
I need the @WellsFargoCtr full of @sixers fans….season tickets holders DO NOT SELL YOUR TICKETS to Knicks fans….I repeat DO NOT SELL YOUR TICKERS to Knicks fans! Pour into our @sixers! We can really do this ish man!!!
— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) May 1, 2024
After forcing Game 6, thanks to Tyrese Maxey’s 46-point performance during their 112-106 overtime win on Tuesday, the Sixers now face another elimination game with the Knicks up 3-2 in the series.
“I know what we have to do in 48 hours,” Maxey said after Game 5. “And we can’t let this roll over. It’s a whole new game. And our season’s back on the line again.”
We’ll see how much the effort to keep Knicks fans out of Wells Fargo Center works when Game 6 tips off at 9 p.m. ET (TNT) on Thursday night.
