Josh Hart has firsthand knowledge of how much Philadelphia sports fans support their teams.
The New York Knicks forward is a national championship winner at Villanova University.
However, after New York completed a four-game, second-round sweep against the Philadelphia 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena in a matchup that felt like it was played at Madison Square Garden because of the volume of Knicks fans, Hart is changing his tune.
“I used to think Philly was a sports town,” Hart said after the game. “I don’t know if it is anymore.”
There’s no official count of how many Knicks fans there were in comparison with hometown 76ers fans, but Philadelphia star Joel Embiid was booed when shown on the giant video screen just before the game, if that gives any idea.
When these two teams met in the playoffs in 2024, Knicks fans took over in Philadelphia. It led to Embiid’s pleading for 76ers fans not to sell their tickets ahead of this year’s series between the two teams.
Clearly, it didn’t work.
With Philadelphia facing an 0-3 deficit, its being Mother’s Day and the Phillies’ playing across the parking lot at the same time, locals didn’t appear too interested in making sure New York fans didn’t have access to Xfinity Mobile Arena.
“It absolutely sucks,” Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey said afterward. “That’s all I can really say about it. It’s hard. It’s definitely difficult.”
“There’s only one way to put a stop to it, and we have to go out there and win these games. Just being completely honest, we were better when we played them in The Garden the entire season. I know we lost games 2 and 1, but Game 2 was better, and the regular season was better. I was telling them, it just felt louder here for them than it did in The Garden.”
For Knicks fans, it’s cheaper to see New York play in Philadelphia than it is Madison Square Garden, where ticket prices have become very expensive. Philadelphia is roughly 90 miles from Manhattan and a little over a 90-minute drive without traffic.
