{"id":1948953,"date":"2026-05-22T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1948953"},"modified":"2026-05-22T10:00:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T07:00:54","slug":"how-nba-teams-try-to-keep-opposing-fans-out-of-their-arenas-during-the-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1948953","title":{"rendered":"How NBA teams try to keep opposing fans out of their arenas during the playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the NBA playoffs, protecting home court extends from the hardwood to the box office.<\/p>\n

After Joel Embiid\u2019s Philadelphia 76ers rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round, the 2023 NBA MVP had one request as his team prepared to face the New York Knicks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just have a message for our fans,\u201d Embiid said after the Sixers won Game 7 in Boston to eliminate the Celtics. \u201cLast time we played the Knicks, it felt like this was Madison Square Garden East (sic). We\u2019re going to need the support.<\/p>\n

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

He even offered to help fans who might need to sell their tickets because of financial need.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you need money,\u201d Embiid joked, \u201cI got you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While some people laughed at the request, it wasn\u2019t an unreasonable ask. Embiid only said what others were thinking: You want to see us win? Show up and help us out in the best way you can.<\/p>\n

Historically, in every sport, the advantage of being at home is something every team has worked to have. But that advantage has dissolved in some arenas thanks to the booming resale market and some pettiness. Playing in front of your fans is crucial and emotional. Players also say fans can put pressure on officials and opponents. It\u2019s not the kind of strategy a coach can scheme for, but it is sort of a psychological advantage. It adds some gravity to the arguments of fans who use \u201cwe\u201d when discussing their favorite team.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvery little run, the crowd gets hyped. You get hyped with the crowd,\u201d the Indiana Pacers\u2019 Aaron Nesmith said during the 2025 NBA Finals<\/a>. \u201cYou feed off the energy. Makes it tough for them. They got to fight against 20,000 people in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

If a series has a Game 7, every player wants that shot to win it all at home, a shot Nesmith and his Pacers did not have in 2025. After losing Tyrese Haliburton to an Achilles tear in the first quarter, the Pacers lost Game 7 on the road to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Of the 78 teams with home court advantage in the NBA Finals (excluding the Orlando bubble in 2020), 57 have gone on to win the championship. Players are well aware of the palpable edge they have with a friendly home crowd.<\/p>\n

In this year\u2019s Eastern Conference finals, the Knicks will play the Cavaliers in Cleveland for Games 3 and 4. And once again, the home team is doing all it can to keep opposing fans away.<\/p>\n

The day after the Knicks\u2019 epic comeback in Game 1 in New York, Cavs season ticket holders received an email stating \u201cticket access for games at Rocket Arena will be limited to fans with billing addresses in select areas of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.\u201d This was just days after Cavs owner Dan Gilbert bused fans to Detroit for Game 7<\/a> \u2026 and Cleveland beat the Pistons.<\/p>\n

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Embiid\u2019s Sixers also used geographical restrictions to help ensure the crowd was on their side. In an attempt to help maintain home-court advantage, the Sixers restricted ticket sales for Games 3 and 4 of their semifinal series at Xfinity Mobile Arena by ZIP code \u2014 a practice known as geofencing. The Sixers also went so far as to donate 500 tickets and buy some themselves to keep New York fans out.<\/p>\n

But it didn\u2019t work. In fact, it backfired horribly. According to one report, one Knicks fan in the Philadelphia area spent more than $18,000<\/a> to help Knicks fans circumvent the ZIP code restrictions.<\/p>\n

Game 3 in Philly sounded as if the crowd was mostly split, but Game 4 looked and sounded like a Knicks home game. As New York built its lead, one couldn\u2019t help but notice the crowd noise for the team in blue and orange. And they were loud.<\/p>\n

As the Knicks continued to step on the gas, hitting a record number of 3-pointers, the New York crowd got louder and louder. It was the nightmare Embiid had warned against. Knicks fans took the idea of being blocked from seeing their beloved team as a challenge.<\/p>\n

New York won both the games and the attendance battle. After they had secured the 144-114 win and the sweep, Knicks supporters could be seen taking over a concourse in the area during a local news broadcast.<\/p>\n

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Tough scenes in Philly after the Sixers were swept by the Knicks. pic.twitter.com\/0xh04fwsIX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For the Sixers, the \u201cLet\u2019s Go Knicks!\u201d chants echoing throughout their arena in an embarrassing loss were like salt in an open wound.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to think Philly was a sports town,\u201d Knicks guard Josh Hart, who played for four years at Villanova University, said after the game<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it is anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

But New York fans don\u2019t just travel well because they\u2019re passionate. They also travel because of the expense of attending a game at Madison Square Garden. It\u2019s far cheaper to see a game in cities like Philadelphia, which is drivable, or Cleveland. According to The Action Network<\/a>, a family of four at a Knicks home playoff game spends roughly 2.7 times more than at a Cleveland home playoff game, with ticket costs before food, drinks, merchandise or parking are even considered. Those savings can be an enticing reason for Knicks fans to swarm away games, especially as their team inches closer to what they hope is a banner year.<\/p>\n

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How Did We Get Here?<\/div>\n
\n \"Knicks\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n Knicks\u2019 conference finals ticket prices run rampant as NBA Finals pursuit continues\n <\/div>\n
\n In 1999, the average regular-season ticket price for the Knicks that year was $79 per game. This year, it was $815.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Instead of buying tickets at the home team\u2019s ticket or box office as fans once did, fans now use ticket brokers and third-party sites to make their purchases, not the original point of sale. It\u2019s almost as if it triggers the petty parts within a fandom that not only want to see their team win, but they also want organizations to know that efforts to keep them out served as a motivational challenge.<\/p>\n

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Despite their best efforts to keep opposing fans out of their buildings, recent efforts have seemed to have fallen short, yet teams still try.<\/p>\n

So, how did we even get here anyway?<\/p>\n

More than 25 years ago<\/a>, during the NHL playoffs, Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis\u2019 staff wrote a computer program to prevent Pittsburgh Penguins fans from buying tickets on the Capitals\u2019 website. Ticketing procedures are entirely up to the team, so it wasn\u2019t the first time an organization wanted only the most supportive fans in the building.<\/p>\n

The move reversed what had been a growing issue for the Capitals as their home games against the Penguins typically sounded like a Pittsburgh game. But the Capitals\u2019 staff\u2019s geofencing kept the attendance numbers in Washington\u2019s favor. They won the first game of the best-of-seven series, 1-0.<\/p>\n

Ticket purchasing wasn\u2019t as advanced as it is today, and the effort prevented fans with western Pennsylvania area codes from buying online. Pittsburgh supporters were forced to skip the game in person or drive to D.C. and purchase at the box office.<\/p>\n

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A quarter century later, the Thunder used geofencing during the 2025 playoffs for their series against the Denver Nuggets<\/a>\u00a0and Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>. Through Ticketmaster, the organization limited which ZIP codes people can be from to attend playoff games at Paycom Center, allowing only people with billing addresses in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri and Nebraska to buy tickets. During the Western Conference semis, both the Nuggets and Thunder won away games, but the Thunder trounced the Nuggets by 32 in Game 7 in OKC. In the conference finals, the lone Minnesota win in the series came in Game 3 at home.<\/p>\n

The Pistons also tried geofencing in the 2025 playoffs, restricting purchases for Knicks fans during their first-round matchup. When New York supporters tried to purchase tickets for games at Little Caesars Arena, they were met with a message on Ticketmaster that read: \u201cTo better serve local fans looking to attend the playoff games at Little Caesars Arena, the Detroit Pistons are restricting tickets sales to customers located in Michigan and in certain parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Ontario, Canada, as determined by the Pistons and subject to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Those who purchased tickets with a billing ZIP code outside of those areas would be issued a refund, the message continued.<\/p>\n

Despite Detroit\u2019s better efforts on and off the court, New York went on to win the series 4-2, with three of those wins coming on the road.<\/p>\n

What happens if you\u2019re a fan who happens to live in a different area and wants to travel for your team\u2019s home game? We reached out on social media<\/a> to find fans who had difficulty getting playoff tickets.<\/p>\n

Kyle S., a Thunder fan who lives in Hawaii, has been rocking with the team since the days of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Kyle tried to purchase tickets to Game 1 of the first round last year. But because of geofencing, he was blocked from making a purchase and had to use a third-party app.<\/p>\n

Or, what if you\u2019re not a fan of either team and just want to experience a playoff game?<\/p>\n

Or there\u2019s Jaylon F., an Atlanta resident who was visiting OKC for a work trip during the 2025 Western Conference finals. Jaylon wanted to catch a game as a neutral fan, but because of his billing address, he couldn\u2019t purchase a ticket directly. Instead of using a third-party app, though, Jaylon asked his dad\u2019s 65-year-old former college roommate, who lives in the Kansas City area, for help. That gentleman bought a single ticket and transferred it to Jaylon a couple of hours before the game.<\/p>\n

Though they had to take an extra step or two to get tickets, fans, like the Knicks fans in Philly, have been able to get around the sales restriction. Especially with enterprising fans who are willing to buy and then resell tickets for a profit.<\/p>\n

Because as we\u2019ve seen, fans \u2014 like the athletes they try to follow across the country \u2014 can be competitive, too.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Why<\/p>\n
\n
\n Why is watching the NBA playoffs at a bar harder than it should be?\n <\/div>\n
\n Two writers walk into a bar and … no joke, can’t find an NBA game on TV at the establishment. We tried to find out why.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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In the NBA playoffs, protecting home court extends from the hardwood to the box office. After Joel Embiid\u2019s Philadelphia 76ers rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round, the 2023 NBA MVP had one request as his team prepared to face the New York Knicks. \u201cI just have a message for our fans,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1948953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1948953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948953\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1948953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1948953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1948953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}