What will it take to attend the New York Knicks’ first NBA Finals home game in 27 years?
It will likely cost more to visit Madison Square Garden than even to purchase a Super Bowl ticket.
“The Knicks continue to rewrite the record books,” SeatGeek’s Senior Director of Finance, Oliver Marvin, told Forbes in a statement. “All three home games at MSG are now pricing above every Super Bowl we’ve ever tracked — except Super Bowl 58, which had Taylor Swift, a dynasty matchup, and the novelty of the first Super Bowl in Vegas. The Knicks have none of those external factors. This is pure, 27-year pent-up demand for a championship moment at MSG, and it’s unlike anything we’ve seen on SeatGeek.”
With the Knicks holding a 2-0 Finals series lead over the San Antonio Spurs, a SeatGeek spokesperson told Forbes that tickets for Game 3 on Monday have averaged $7,768 per person. That number marks slightly higher than the average ticket price for Game 4 on Wednesday ($7,257). That cost is expected to increase, however, should the Knicks have a chance to sweep the Spurs for their first NBA championship since 1973. After all, a SeatGeek spokesperson said ticket prices for a potentially decisive Game 6 currently cost an average of $8,122 per person. That number is also expected to rise should the NBA Finals last that long.
A SeatGeek spokesperson said all of the Knicks’ three NBA Finals home games have priced above every Super Bowl with exception to Super Bowl LVIII, which took place in Las Vegas in 2024. Then, a SeatGeek spokesperson said average ticket prices cost $10,497 per person. Tickets for Game 3 and 4 at MSG are also more expensive than Super Bowl LVI, which took place in 2022 SoFi Stadium. Then, a SeatGeek spokesperson said average ticket prices cost $7,386 per person. If the Knicks hold a 3-2 series lead entering a possible Game 6, that demand could eclipse Super Bowl LVIII’s all-time record for highest average ticket price at a sporting event.
That data varies slightly with other secondary-market options.
A TickPick spokesperson told Forbes that Game 4 currently marks the most expensive NBA Finals game (an average of $5,447 per ticket). That spokesperson added Game 3 currently ranks a close second (an average of $5,200 per ticket). TickPick estimated a single ticket for Game 3 or 4 cost more than attending every remaining New York Yankees and Mets home games this season and for all of the Giants and Jets’ eight home games next season. TickPick projected it would cost someone an average of $4,558 to attend those games combined.
StubHub declined to provide exact prices since it is a publicly traded company. But ticket demand for Game 3 of the NBA Finals marks an 11% increase than for Super Bowl LIX (2025) and 4% more than for Super Bowl LX (2026). A StubHub spokesperson told Forbes that average ticket prices for Game 3 currently meet the same demand as paying for a combined 17 Knicks’ regular-season home games. Currently tickets for Game 4 are slightly behind at three-quarters of a pace while a possible Game 6 has drawn a smaller albeit higher-priced market.
“This is a story that’s 27 years in the making, and it’s bigger than just New York,” StubHub spokesperson Jill Gonzalez told Forbes in a statement. “It’s even bigger than just the US. This is one of the most international slate of buyers we’ve seen for the NBA Finals in years, and they’re willing to fly in, shell out the big bucks, and make a full trip out of it just to be in the building that night.”
Plenty of factors explain the high prices.
The Knicks have appeared in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. A StubHub spokesperson said that demand for Games 3 and 4 increased four to five times its prior resale pace after the Knicks held a 3-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns have played major roles in helping the Knicks appear in its second consecutive Eastern Conference Finals. Through the good and bad, notable celebrities and everyday New Yorkers consistently attend Knicks home games. Spurs center Victor Wembanyama also is considered the NBA’s next face of the league. A SeatGeek spokesperson said average ticket prices were relatively lower in San Antonio for Game 1 ($1,705) and Game 2 ($1,837), but a possible Game 7 in San Antonio has drawn an average of $11,361 per ticket.
The enthusiasm to see an NBA Finals game at MSG has also sparked strong buying behavior both from local and international fans. A TickPick spokesperson said that the majority of fans that purchased tickets for Game 3 reside in either New York or New Jersey (64%) while only 1.6% of those tickets represented Texas fans. But a StubHub spokesperson said that international tourists have represented the majority of their business for Game 3, Game 4 and a possible Game 6.
A StubHub spokesperson said that the company has seen more demand for Game 3 than Game 7 of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals between the Knicks and Indiana Pacers (three times as much). It has sparked more demand over other championship events: Game 7 of the 2025 World Series between the Los Angeles Dodger and Toronto Blue Jays (three times), the Boston Celtics’ home games in the 2024 NBA Finals (2.4 times), the 2026 College Football Playoff’s national championship game (1.6 times) and the 2026 UEFA Champions League Final (1.5 times). Meanwhile, a SeatGeek spokesperson said the average ticket prices for Games 3 and 4 at MSG ($7,562) are vastly more than other Finals home games in Dallas (2024: $1,917), at Golden State (2022: $1,883) and in Boston (2024: $1,800, 2022: $1,791).
Those numbers only represent the average ticket prices.
As for Game 3’s highest-selling tickets, a SeatGeek spokesperson said a fan purchased two courtside seats behind the basket for $62,680 each ($128.359 total), Another fan bought two lower-bowl seats along the sideline for $49,867 each ($99,734 total). For Game 4? A fan purchased three lower-bowl seats along the baseline for $42,819 each ($128,456 total). Another fan bought two courtside seats behind the basket for $60,602 each ($121,205 total). Another fan secured two lower-bowl sideline seats for $53,315 each ($106,631 total).
Knicks fans will find out soon if those tickets represented the best thing that money can buy.
