Joel Embiid Begged 76ers Fans Not to Sell Their Tickets—It May Have Backfired vs. the Knicks

The 76ers’ season looks like it's coming to a disappointing end soon after they suffered their third loss of their second-round playoff series against the Knicks in Philly on Friday night. What may be equally as disappointing as the result, though, was the 76ers fan turnout at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

As the Knicks pulled away late in Game 3 to take home a 108-94 win over the 76ers, hordes of Knicks fans could be heard cheering on their team within Philly’s arena in viral videos on social media. When 76ers star Joel Embiid was at the charity stripe taking free throws, the arena even echoed with loud boos from Knicks fans trying to throw him off his game. NBA playoff history tells us that Knicks fans have always been relentless and tenacious when it comes to supporting their squad, but they make have taken it up another notch after what Embiid said before the series.

“I just have a message for our fans. Last time we played the Knicks, it felt like this was Madison Square Garden east. We're going to need the support. Don't sell your tickets. This is bigger than you. If you need money, I got you,” Embiid said after the 76ers upset the Celtics in a seven-game series in the first round.

Philly also announced that tickets for their home playoff games would be restricted to “residents of Greater Philadelphia area,” with residency based on credit card billing address. But... did it work? Based on the apparently lopsided fan attendance at Game 3, it doesn’t look like it. It may have even backfired.

Embiid was asked about the Knicks-heavy crowd in Philadelphia after the loss and he pretty much brushed it off:

"I don't know. I was focused on the game. I really wasn't paying attention,” the 76ers big man said.

Joel Embiid was asked about the crowd in Philadelphia tonight:

"I don't know. I was focused on the game. I really wasn't paying attention." pic.twitter.com/CtRlGvE1XF
— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 9, 2026

What 76ers players said about Knicks fans taking over Philly during Game 3 of playoff series

While Embiid may not have been very forthcoming about his thoughts on the Knicks fan takeover, his teammate Paul George seemed to suggest the crowd made it feel less like a home game and more like a neutral site.

“It was a lot. It was a lot of Knicks fans,” George told reporters postgame. “But they travel, I guess. I thought our fans were there in support as well, but it was good showing from the Knicks crowd as well.”

When asked how difficult it was to play in that atmosphere, George said, “It happens. I’ve been multiple places in my career where an instance like this happens. All of these are in a radius of one another, there’s a long line of history of Knicks, so New York I guess in this moment, they’re probably standing and supporting their guys. You can’t stop Knicks fans from buying tickets, so it is what it is.”

Sixers star Paul George was asked what he and the team made about the amount of Knicks fans in the building for Game 3 in Philadelphia.

Paul was also asked how difficult it is when you’re at home and it’s like you’re playing a road game or at a neutral site. @SportsRadioWIP… pic.twitter.com/Ow8GysR3iS
— Dave Uram (@MrUram) May 9, 2026

Kelly Oubre Jr. also weighed in on the topic in the wake of a sea of blue-and-orange seemingly flooding the 76ers’ home court.

“I could say something that could get clickbaited but I’m not,” Oubre said. “At the end of the day, we’re the show on the court. We’re not necessarily focused on the crowd, things like that. Obviously we need it, we love it, we love our fans, but at the end of the day we have to lock in on our task. We have to figure out our game plan, just have a tight huddle, because no matter what it's loud.

“It's kind of the same no matter who the crowd's cheering for. ... We are home, this is the court that we practice on, shoot around on, and we’re comfortable here. So we gotta go out there and just perform.”

"I could say something that could get clickbaited but…No matter what it's loud. It's kind of the same no matter who the crowd's cheering for…"

– Kelly Oubre on Knicks fans taking over Philly

Knicks up 3-0 on Sixers

(yerr. nyc) pic.twitter.com/AewD4D7VUP
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) May 9, 2026

One needs only to go back to 2024, when the 76ers were facing the Knicks in the first round of the postseason, to remember the measures Philly went to in order to keep tickets in the hands of their own fans. Embiid first noted back then that the 76ers’ home area felt like “Madison Square Garden East,” no doubt inciting even more petty Knicks fans to make the roughly one and a half hour train ride to Philadelphia.

Ahead of Game 6 of the 76ers-Knicks series in ‘24, Philly’s franchise owners even bought more than 2,000 tickets to give to the Philadelphia community.

“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 we know they’re legit Sixers fans and not imposters!! Let’s go Sixers - we can do this!!” former minority owner Michael Rubin posted on X.

The Knicks went on to win Game 6, 118-115, and knock out the 76ers in a 4-2 series elimination.

It’ll be interesting to see if Philly has any similar plans to keep Knicks fans out in Game 4 on Sunday night, with New York looking to clinch its first sweep in a seven-game playoff series since 1999. Then again, as Paul George bluntly put it, one simply might not be able to stop Knicks fans from doing what they want—plenty have tried, and failed.

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