Extortionate Knicks NBA Finals tickets soar to 435 times more than cost to watch lowly Mets

HOW MUCH?

New York Knicks fans may be weighing up whether to put their homes up as collateral in exchange for being able to watch their beloved team in the NBA Finals.

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The Knicks punched their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 after completing an emphatic 4-0 sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Jalen Brunson continued his good form from the 2025-26 season, where he spearheaded the Orange and Blue to Emirates NBA Cup glory mid-season, averaging 25.5 points shooting at a 48.7 percent clip to go with 3.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and a steal in the series.

It’s been a long time coming for the Knicks faithful, but they will ultimately have a chance at getting their hands on the Larry O’Brien Trophy for the first time since 1973 – just as die-hard fan Spike Lee predicted exclusively to talkSPORT back in February.

Their opponent remains to be determined, with the Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the reigning champions Oklahoma City Thunder having gone the distance, with Game 7 set to take place on Saturday.

But whomever they will face does not matter to fans in the Big Apple – they just want to be in Madison Square Garden, no matter the cost.

And some of the more wealthy fans are so desperate to watch their team in the NBA Finals taking that they have forked out more than many would ever be able to afford.

Tickets at a huge premium

According to Complex, the first pair of courtside tickets were sold on StubHub for a whopping $279,804.

Even the cheapest tickets at the highest point of the rafters for Game 1 on the secondary market don’t come cheap, with fans having to find a minimum of $3,500 for a seat.

Data from SeatGeek has estimated the average Finals tickets at MSG to be around $6,000, which makes it the most sought-after Finals ticket on record.

For context, the cheapest tickets to see Game 7 between the Spurs and Thunder at Paycom Center cost $356 per ticket, while courtside tickets are approximately $12,150.

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Due to the extortionate prices, and the cost of living for the majority of those leaving in the state, some New Yorkers have opted for the next best thing – following their team on the road.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, between 40 and 50 percent of sales for the games in Oklahoma and Texas have come from buyers in the New York/New Jersey metro area.

“It’s a level of fan travel we typically only see for marquee events like the Super Bowl,” SeatGeek’s senior director of marketing Chris Leyden said.

But not everybody can afford to travel out of state to support their team.

If fans are looking to still rep the colors orange and blue, though, they can always head to Flushing in Queens to support the New York Mets.

The Major League Baseball side are one of the richest in the sport, and have players such as Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor fronting the team.

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However, Mets fans have had to endure a horrendous start to their 2026 MLB campaign, in which they have gone 23-33 and don the second-worst record in the National League, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies (20-37).

This has seen ticket prices at Citi Field suffer a huge dip, with fans being able to get in for as little as $11, around 435 times less than the most expensive Knicks’ Finals tickets.

The baseball may not be of a good standard, in fact nowhere near what is expected from a team that is worth $3.2 billion, per Forbes.

But hey, at least the tickets are cheap.

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