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The New York Knicks are one win away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, and if the crowds around Madison Square Garden after wins are any indication, it will be pandemonium in New York City if that happens.
Also, a ticket to enter the “Haven” for the finals is certainly expensive, as they have been throughout the playoffs. But no one may have expected what two seats at the courts have already sold for.
Sports business reporter Darren Rovell confirmed a sale of two courtside tickets at MSG for the NBA Finals that cost a whopping $279,804.
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Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks celebrates after making a basket against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the third quarter of Game Two of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York City on May 21, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The purchase was made on StubHub, the secondary ticket company, for what would be the Knicks’ first home game in the Finals. That would be Game 3, as the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs both have higher seeds than the Knicks in these NBA Playoffs.
Jaw-dropping is an understatement for a price of that magnitude, but it’s also been crazy to see a potential storyline for one of the most storied franchises in sports.
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It has been 53 years since the Knicks last won an NBA title, dating back to the years of Walt “Clyde Frazier”, Phil Jackson, Dick Barnett, Willis Reed and Bill Bradley. The Knicks won two titles in 1970 and 1973, as Red Holzman’s crew was etched in basketball history forever.
Since the 1973 victory, the Knicks have been to the NBA Finals just twice, the first in 1994 when the Houston Rockets secured a Game 7 victory, 90-84, to crush New York’s dreams.
Miles McBride and Mikal Bridges of the New York Knicks celebrate after McBride’s 3-pointer against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first quarter of Game Four of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pa., on May 10, 2026. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Then, in 1999, the likes of Patrick Ewing, Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston and current Knicks coach Rick Brunson, father of All-Star guard Jalen Brunson, returned to the Finals and faced a potential opponent this year – the Spurs.
But Tim Duncan and company got the job done in just five games, defeating the Knicks, 78-77, in Game 5 to celebrate their title on the MSG hardwood.
Knicks fans hope that’s not the case this time, but they have to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers once again after taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals following a road win on Saturday night. New York has now won 10 straight playoff games, and their only two losses in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks came by one point.
As a result, fans are already eyeing tickets for Game 3 at the Garden. As of Sunday night, the cheapest ticket to enter the building is on StubHub for $3,554 in Section 418.
New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson reacts after scoring in the second half of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in New York, New York, on May 19, 2026. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)
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By comparison, the cheapest ticket for a potential Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Paycor Center — home of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who lead the Spurs, 2-1, in the Western Conference Finals — is $1,252 on StubHub. The vacant single-decker seat is $32,106 as of Sunday night.
The Knicks can clinch their spot in the NBA Finals on Memorial Day when they host the Cavaliers in Game 4 in Cleveland at
