Leaving soon to visit New York? Take the opportunity to see a New York Knicks NBA game! Here’s our mini-guide!
With two NBA championship titles in 1970 and 1973, the history of the New York Knicks is punctuated by periods of ascendancy and seasons of decline. Founded in 1946, the New York franchise made its debut the same year the NBA – National Basketball Association – was created, and is thus New York’s historic basketball team. Seeing a New York Knicks NBA game has become a must on any trip to New York.
The team plays its home games at New York’s Madison Square Garden, in the heart of Manhattan. Two-time champions and frequent finalists in the 1980s and 1990s, they have since entered a period of decline. New York being on the East Coast of the United States, the New York Knicks logically play in the NBA’s Eastern Conference standings.
Madison Square Garden, with its 19,033-capacity basketball arena, is a great opportunity to see an NBA game on a trip to New York. Indeed, NBA games are a spectacle in their own right.
Do you love basketball? Take advantage of your stay in New York to go and see a New York Knicks NBA game! Follow our mini-guide to find out all about it!
When can I see a New York Knicks NBA game?
Photo Credit: Facebook – New York Knicks
When is the best time to see a New York Knicks NBA game? The season schedule is generally available around mid-August. The first official regular-season games start around October, and end in June. Your chances of seeing a New York Knicks NBA game are greater if you visit New York between autumn and early summer. The advantage is that most games are played at Madison Square Garden, which is very central in Manhattan and therefore easy to get to.
To find out when the next Knicks game is, check the calendar on this site.
How much does a ticket to a New York Knicks NBA game cost?
Photo Credit: Facebook – New York Knicks
How much does it cost to see a New York Knicks NBA game? Prices vary according to three parameters:
- Seat location: the further away, the cheaper,
- Match date: regular season or playoffs,
- The prestige of the opponent: matches against big franchises are more expensive.
Tickets can be found for as little as $60 or $70, but prices can climb to $1,000 if you choose a seat on the edge of the floor.
The Madison Square Garden stadium has been modeled in three dimensions, allowing you to choose the seat closest to the stadium or the least expensive. For example, seats 101 to 120 are the best placed and therefore the most expensive: you can expect to pay over $1,000 for a seat between rows 105 to 109 and 115 to 119. To enjoy the atmosphere, you’ll have to get up high, in rows 200: expect to pay between $70 and $250 for a view of a New York Knicks NBA game from above, in sections 208 to 214 or 221 to 227.
Even in advance, prices can skyrocket depending on the game, so imagine buying tickets on the spot… Why? Well, as the Knicks are New York’s most historic team, tickets for games are snapped up months in advance, driving up prices. Don’t worry: even if you’re upstairs, although basketball is best appreciated horizontally rather than vertically, there are giant screens so you can follow the game, filmed as close to the stage as possible.
Where can I buy tickets for a New York Knicks NBA game?
Photo Credit: Facebook – New York Knicks
Going to see an NBA game in New York is a bit like visiting the Empire State Building: it’s a must. Especially if you’re a sports fan. However, it’s best to prepare in advance if you want to get a ticket for Madison Square Garden and see the dribbling aces take to the floor.
Reserve your seats to see a New York Knicks game
SuperBillets
If you just want to enjoy the atmosphere of the overheated arena, without worrying about the style of play, you can look for a ticket to a pre-season match, which will surely be more relaxed (as the stakes are lower). You can reserve your seat via the SuperBillets website. The site allows you to subscribe to the newsletter in order to receive an e-mail when NBA tickets go on sale (mid-August 2019).
Ticketmaster
To save on fares, opt for e-tickets: you won’t pay any delivery charges, which amount to $40. Once you’ve purchased an e-ticket, you’ll receive an e-mail invitation asking you to accept the ticket transfer, via a « click here to accept tickets » link. You will then be redirected to the Ticketmaster/Knicks website, where you will need to create an account on the New York Knicks mobile application. This application, which can be downloaded onto a smartphone, will be used to present the barcode of the ticket at the Madison Square Garden entrance on the day of the match (the barcode, known as a QR code, will not appear until 48 hours before the match).
On site
Alternatively, if you haven’t had time to book online, you can buy your ticket to a New York Knicks NBA game on site. When a game is available, simply choose your seat location, noting that the closer you are to the court, the higher the price.
Official NBA website
Alternatively, you can book your tickets on the NBA’s official website, but they will be more expensive: many New Yorkers subscribe to see the games all year round. However, in the event of withdrawal, tickets are resold on the SuperBillets website.
Please note
Under no circumstances should you accept tickets – even cheaper ones – offered by scalpers at the entrance to the stadium, as you will not be guaranteed a genuine, nominative ticket.
How to get to Madison Square Garden
Photo Credit: Flickr – Jean-Baptiste Bellet
First of all, make sure you arrive at least an hour early, so that you can get through the checkpoints and, above all, enjoy the American atmosphere and show before the game: marching bands, cheerleaders, national anthem, training and player introductions. To see a New York Knicks NBA game, Madison Square Garden is easy to find. It’s located between 31st and 33rd Streets and between 7th and 8th Avenues, right in the middle of Manhattan’s peninsula. Address: 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY 10001, United States
The easiest way to get there is by subway: Madison Square Garden is served by lines 1, 2, 3, A, C, E, B, D, F, M, N, R and Q. Stop at 34 Street Penn Station to get close to the stadium.
By bus, the M34 stops at 34th Street. Alternatively, the M7 and M20 will drop you off at 7th or 8th Avenue. Outside Manhattan, the Long Island Railroad and New Jersey Transit serve Penn Station.
- The area around Madison Square Garden is littered with stores, food stalls and bars where you can party before and after the games,
- Tickets to see a New York Knicks NBA game are limited,
- We don’t recommend coming to Madison Square Garden by car or cab, as at match times the stadium and streets will be overcrowded and inaccessible by car.