Shortly after the New York Knicks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 4 at Wells Fargo Center, reigning MVP Joel Embiid took to the media to express his disappointment with the home crowd.
Embiid specifically took issue with how many Knicks fans traveled to the City of Brotherly Love to fill the arena on the road. In a perfect world, those tickets would be sold to Sixers fans eager to cheer their fans to victory, yet, according to Embiid, that’s not what happened.
While Wells Fargo Center had its typical sellout crowd of over 21,000 spectators, Embiid feels there were far too many Knicks fans in the building. Now, the 76ers ownership group, led by Josh Harris, David Blitzer, David Adelman, and Michael Rubin, is taking matters into their own hands.
According to Rubin, the 76ers’ owners have purchased over 2,000 tickets for Thursday’s Game 6 NBA Playoffs matchup against the Knicks.
Those 2,000 tickets will be given away to first responders, healthcare professionals, and local Philadelphia-based organizations. Yet, there’s one condition: Rubin and the team needs to prove the recipients are actual fans of the 76ers and not, as he put it, “imposters.”
Josh Harris, David Blitzer, @david_adelman and I just bought more than 2,000 tix for Sixers Game 6 – 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… https://t.co/HQkOWJpHgB
— Michael Rubin (@michaelrubin) May 1, 2024
With the 76ers facing a win-or-stay-home scenario in their 3-2 series deficit, it’s now or never for the city of Philadelphia, and ownership is trying to do its part.