Josh Hart knows Philadelphia sports. The Knicks guard played his college ball at Villanova, just outside the City of Brotherly Love, so he's seen firsthand what makes Philly fans tick. But after what went down this weekend at Xfinity Mobile Arena, he's starting to rethink everything.
"I used to think Philly was a sports town," Hart said with a grin Sunday, fresh off the Knicks' dominant series sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
What happened on the court was impressive—a 144-114 blowout in Game 4 that sealed the deal. But what happened in the stands was something else entirely. Knicks fans took over the Sixers' home court, and they made sure everyone knew it.
From the opening tip, the sea of blue and orange was unmistakable. They booed Joel Embiid with thunderous passion, waved posters of Mitchell Robinson's posterizing dunk from two days earlier, and erupted when Robinson knocked down back-to-back free throws. By the final buzzer, they were chanting "Knicks in 4" at a volume that would've made Madison Square Garden proud.
The party didn't stop there. Fans spilled into the concourses and beyond, with one particularly rowdy group surrounding local TV reporter Cheyenne Corin during her live broadcast. She handled it like a pro, but the moment quickly went viral as a symbol of just how thoroughly Knicks Nation had taken over.
"It absolutely sucks, if I'm being honest," said Sixers star Tyrese Maxey, shaking his head. "It just sucks, bro. It just sucks, man. It sucks. That's all I can really say about it."
This invasion didn't happen by accident. Ahead of the series, Embiid had pleaded with Philly fans not to sell their tickets, desperate to avoid a repeat of the Knicks fans' takeover during their 2024 first-round matchup. The Sixers even restricted original ticket sales to Greater Philadelphia residents and donated seats to local community groups.
But geography and economics were working against them. Philadelphia sits just 90 miles from Manhattan, and tickets at Xfinity Mobile Arena were significantly cheaper than those at MSG. For Knicks fans hungry for playoff basketball, it was an easy road trip—and a chance to make a statement.
Hart, who knows both cities intimately, summed it up best. "I used to think Philly was a sports town," he said. After this weekend, he's not so sure anymore.