The New York Knicks are the richest, most glamorous and most talked-about NBA franchise in all of America. Last Sunday, for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, they were followed to the Xfinity Mobile Arena of the Philadelphia 76ers by thousands of fans who had bought extremely expensive tickets, believing in the sweep, the 4-0 whitewash. In the end the whitewash did indeed arrive, along with a place in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive season. That alone might be enough, perhaps, for a team that has not won the title since 1973 and has not reached the Finals since 1999. But there is also another aspect to consider: the enormous revenues already banked, plus those still to come.
The Knicks have already played five home games in the playoffs, generating almost 50 million dollars in gross revenue before the share retained by the NBA from ticket receipts. The team could have at least five more ahead of it, also because in the Conference Finals it will start as the clear favourite against the winner of the series between the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers — Cleveland is currently ahead 3-2. This would bring revenues to around 140 million dollars, also assuming two home games in the NBA Finals. The ideal scenario, at least from an economic point of view, would be to play a seven-game series against the Cavaliers — the Pistons would instead have home-court advantage against New York — and an NBA Finals of at least six games: in that case gross revenues could come close to 180 million dollars.
Estimates say the franchise earned around eight million dollars for every home game in the first round of the 2026 playoffs, against the Atlanta Hawks. This figure should be considered gross, including tickets, hospitality, concessions and merchandising. The figure rose to 12 million per game in the second round, when the Knicks swept away the Philadelphia 76ers. The Conference Finals are worth around 17 million dollars for every home game. It has not yet been possible to produce a precise estimate for the NBA Finals, but in all likelihood it would reach at least 20 million dollars per game.
By way of comparison: the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers generated more than 120 million dollars in playoff revenue over 12 games during the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, also setting the NHL record with 15 million dollars in ticket revenue for each home game in the rematch against the Florida Panthers. In short, we really are on another planet. And it is no coincidence, given that the NBA is the league that guarantees the greatest economic returns to teams that reach the postseason. Traditionally, the league retained 45% of box-office receipts in the playoffs, compared with 6% in the regular season. In 2016, that share was reduced to 25%, significantly increasing franchises’ profit opportunities during the playoffs. As if that were not enough, demand for tickets in the postseason is enormously higher, allowing teams to raise prices.
The Knicks, moreover, are the only team — among those still alive in the playoffs — to rank in the NBA’s top 10 for box-office revenue. Players should hope for as many Knicks home games as possible, because that would increase so-called basketball-related income, the parameter used to determine the distribution of economic shares between owners and players under the collective bargaining agreement. In Sportico’s 2025 NBA valuations, the Knicks were estimated at 9.85 billion dollars, while the Rangers are worth 3.65 billion in the NHL ranking. Nor can this, of course, be considered a coincidence.