{"id":728176,"date":"2026-05-07T16:06:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/728176\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T16:06:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:06:23","slug":"embiids-plea-to-76ers-fans-dont-sell-tickets-for-home-playoff-games-vs-knicks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/728176\/","title":{"rendered":"Embiid’s plea to 76ers fans: Don’t sell tickets for home playoff games vs. Knicks"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 After watching Knicks fans take over the 76ers\u2019 arena for years, Joel Embiid openly pleaded<\/a> with fans not to sell their tickets on the open market for home playoff games.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t sell your tickets,\u201d Embiid said. \u201cThis is bigger than you. We need you guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of more pressing concern for the Sixers and their fans, they need Embiid.<\/p>\n

The 2023 NBA MVP, Embiid missed Game 2<\/a> of the second-round series against the Knicks with a sprained right ankle and a sore right hip.<\/p>\n

The 76ers put up a far better fight without Embiid than in the Knicks\u2019 137-98 romp in Game 1<\/a>, yet still lost 108-102<\/a> on Wednesday night. It\u2019s the Knicks who hold a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals when the series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Friday night and Game 4 on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Recent history proved, the Knicks should feel right at home once they play in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Spurred by affordable train fare, cheaper tickets compared to Madison Square Garden and a simply overzealous passion for Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> and the rest of the Knicks team stamped a legitimate NBA championship contender, New York fans have flooded Philly and provided a home-court edge on the road.<\/p>\n

The Sixers\u2019 strategy to ward off Knicks fans in this playoff series was to try through Ticketmaster to geographically restrict sales.<\/p>\n

Geo-fencing, in sports ticket lingo.<\/p>\n

A message on their website over the weekend read<\/a>: \u201cXfinity Mobile Arena is located in Philadelphia, PA. Sales to this event will be restricted to residents of Greater Philadelphia area. Residency will be based on credit card billing address. Orders by residents outside Greater Philadelphia area will be canceled without notice and refunds given.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 76ers \u2014 and other sports teams in all leagues that cut off sales outside city limits \u2014 essentially shut the front door of their home but leave all the windows open. There are so many ways around the game plan through the various resale platforms \u2014 no proof-of-Philadelphia ID needed \u2014 it hardly seemed worth the effort.<\/p>\n

The splashy headline for a day could turn into a cold reality check on Friday night \u2014 there\u2019s nothing that can prevent big-spending backers of the Knicks from buying from Philadelphia fans who choose to sell.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re soft,\u201d Knicks fan Bryan Reinah, of Queens, said at Game 2. \u201cThey\u2019re afraid of the Knicks takeover. I think last time we played them it was 47% Knicks fans. Everybody hops on the trains and goes right down. Tickets are cheaper and the Knicks fans travel well. They\u2019re afraid of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 76ers\u2019 plan did spark national headlines even though the policy is not new or even uncommon in sports.<\/p>\n

The thought is, why not try?<\/p>\n

Of recent note, the Detroit Pistons tried the same tactic in last season\u2019s playoffs and limited ticket sales on Ticketmaster to residents of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Ontario, Canada. The Carolina Hurricanes did the same to New York Rangers fans during the 2024 and 2022 NHL playoffs.<\/p>\n

Hey, maybe these cities just don\u2019t like New Yorkers!?<\/p>\n

Ah, maybe not as the policy through the decades has enforcement well beyond the five boroughs.<\/p>\n

Take 2001, when Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, a former senior executive with America Online, wrote a computer program that banned Pittsburgh residents from buying tickets on the Capitals\u2019 website.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty cool, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Leonsis said in 2001. \u201cI got a lot of emails from Pittsburgh saying I was mean-spirited and unfair. I don\u2019t care. I\u2019m going to keep doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sixers said this season\u2019s effort was designed to ensure that tickets remained in the hands of local fans who have supported the team all season.<\/p>\n

Neither the Sixers nor Ticketmaster said how many face-value tickets went on sale Sunday.<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster put out a statement that covered its geo-fencing policy with a peppy social media post.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho gets to buy tickets to sports games? Let us break it down,\u201d the video noted<\/a>. \u201cSometimes, sports teams put limits on who can buy tickets for big, in-demand matchups. This is a way to give local fans the best shot at attending the event and to limit scalpers who are located hundreds of miles away, who are trying to flip to the tickets just for a profit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ticketmaster said those rules and decisions come directly for the team.<\/p>\n

When the Knicks played at Philadelphia in Game 6 of a first-round series in 2024, Sixers owners Josh Harris, David Blitzer and David Adelman and former minority owner Michael Rubin<\/a> joined forces to buy more than 2,000 tickets they handed out to people<\/a> who serve the Philadelphia community.<\/p>\n

Tickets for Game 3 on StubHub as of Thursday started at about $220 a pop in the upper deck and topped $1,000 in the lower bowl.<\/p>\n

Sixers or Knicks fans, that\u2019s some serious cash.<\/p>\n

The amount of blue-and-orange and Brunson jerseys in the stands on Friday night will be the final word on if Sixers fans were serious about listening to Embiid and keeping tickets in house.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP freelance writer Adry Torres in New York contributed to this story.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nba<\/a><\/p>\n