The San Antonio Spurs tried to lock Knicks fans out of a potential championship game. New York’s political establishment had something to say about it, and by this morning the Spurs had backed down.
All ticket holders, regardless of where they live, will be allowed into Frost Bank Center for Game 5 of the NBA Finals tonight, after a rapid-fire backlash that drew in the New York Attorney General, the state’s governor, and the entire New York sports media.
What the Spurs did
The controversy started when fans attempting to buy Game 5 tickets on Ticketmaster encountered a notice warning that sales were restricted to customers living within 150 miles of Frost Bank Center. The notice specified that orders placed by residents outside that radius would be canceled without notice, with refunds issued, and that residency would be verified based on the credit card billing address.
The policy hit particularly hard because of who was buying the tickets. Kyle Zorn of TickPick reported that nearly half of Game 5 tickets had been purchased by fans with New York or New Jersey billing addresses, while Gametime confirmed the figure at 54%. Fans who had already bought tickets, booked flights and made hotel arrangements suddenly faced the prospect of losing everything without warning.
The Spurs framed it as a standing policy, not a one-game measure. The 150-mile radius restriction introduced during the playoffs remains in place throughout the NBA Finals, the team said in a statement. This allows us to continue prioritizing local fans across San Antonio, Austin and the surrounding communities.
My office is demanding the @spurs remove this policy and allow @nyknicks fans and anyone who can buy tickets for tonight’s game to be able to attend.
Let’s go Knicks.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) June 13, 2026
New York pushes back — fast
The response from New York was immediate and bipartisan in its intensity. Governor Kathy Hochul was among the first to call it out publicly, saying thousands of New Yorkers bought tickets, booked flights and made plans in good faith, and demanding that Ticketmaster and the Spurs reverse course and honor those seats. Attorney General Letitia James followed with her own public statement demanding the same, wrapping it in Knicks pride and raising the prospect of legal scrutiny.
The Spurs were not the first team to try this. The Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers had used similar geographic restrictions earlier in these same playoffs, both dealing with Knicks fans repeatedly taking over road arenas in rounds two and three. The Knicks’ traveling fanbase has been one of the defining storylines of this postseason.
The resolution
MSG Sports confirmed this morning that it had spoken with Spurs ownership and that no tickets would be revoked. All ticket holders will be admitted to the arena tonight. Ticketmaster separately said fans who purchased tickets can be confident they will get in.
What is at stake tonight
The Knicks enter Game 5 with a 3-1 series lead, one win away from their first NBA championship since 1973. New York’s title drought spans 53 years, and the Knicks pulled off the largest comeback in NBA Finals history in Game 4, erasing a 29-point deficit to win 107-106.
The historical parallel is hard to miss. Boston Red Sox fans filled Busch Stadium in St. Louis when the Sox ended their 86-year drought in 2004, and Chicago Cubs fans overran Progressive Field in Cleveland for Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. If the Knicks close it out in San Antonio tonight, they will join that company — and their fans will have earned their front-row seats to it, in more ways than one.