Kelly Oubre Jr takes jab at Madison Square Garden seating: "They're going to give celebrities those $100k tickets"

The seventh-seed Philadelphia 76ers are set to face the second-seed New York Knicks on Saturday night's playoff game and Kelly Oubre Jr already has some interesting comments aimed at the Madison Square Garden crowd. Ahead of tomorrow's game, the Sixers guard is aware of how loud the Knicks crowd gets, especially in a playoff environment.

However, Kelly Oubre Jr took a jab at celebrities who show up to the games, despite not caring that much about the actual contest, compared to the actual fans. Additionally, he pointed out that these individuals only agreed to an appearance due to receiving $100,000 free tickets, as per PHLY Sixers (@PHLY_Sixers).

"The fans are pretty crazy," Oubre Jr said. "They have a really good culture of being wild and loving basketball to the root and core of it. It's definitely called the Mecca of Basketball for a reason. The lights are super bright. They're gonna give celebrities those $100,000 free tickets just to be there and not care about the game."

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Game 1 of the quarterfinal round between the 76ers and the Knicks will take place in the "Mecca of Basketball," the Madison Square Garden. It's already given that the arena will be packed and roaring with high expectations placed on their New York Knicks.

Following these comments from Kelly Oubre Jr, it'll be interesting to see how the fans will respond to him. Be that as it may, Oubre Jr is still looking forward to the first-round matchup against the Knicks as he considers their arena as "one of my favorite places to play."

How has Kelly Oubre Jr performed against the New York Knicks this season?

In the four games played vs the New York Knicks this season, Sixers guard Kelly Oubre Jr averaged 16.5 points (41.7% shooting, including 33.3% from 3-point range) and 6.8 rebounds.

He had his highest-scored performance against the Knicks this season on March 12, 2024, when he put up 19 points (7-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range) and 6 rebounds. However, the Philadelphia 76ers still ended up losing that game by a score of 106-79.

Throughout this season, Oubre Jr has been a reliable scoring option coming off the bench. Interestingly, his 44.1% shooting this season has bogged down in matchups against the Knicks. This will be something to monitor in the first-round series as the Sixers will need his offensive production against the ninth-best defense in the league.

When it comes to the number of times he's gone up against the Knicks, he has played in 24 games against them. In those ball games, Kelly Oubre Jr averaged 14.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists.