The Detroit Pistons are clearly aware of how well the New York Knicks fan base travels for road games.
The 3-seed Knicks and the 6-seed Pistons are set to face off in the first round of this year’s NBA playoffs. With Detroit guaranteed at least two home playoff games at Little Caesars Arena, the team wants to make sure home fans are the ones who score most of the tickets.
Fans who have tried to buy tickets for Games 3 and 4 in Detroit online have noticed an interesting disclaimer upon checkout. The site has indicated that the Pistons are “restricting” ticket sales to fans “located in Michigan and in certain parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Ontario, Canada, as determined by the Pistons and subject to change.”
Pistons have restricted fans outside of Michigan from buying tickets for home games vs. the Knicks 👀 pic.twitter.com/SW4LWY1K2i
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 14, 2025
The disclaimer above clarified that the Pistons are filtering out non-local fans based on the billing address listed for the credit card used to make the ticket purchase. Those buying tickets outside the select areas will have their orders canceled.
The Pistons have not had much postseason success since icons like Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace were donning the team’s jersey. Detroit has only made the playoffs thrice since 2009. The team has also lost 14 consecutive postseason games, dating back to the team’s 2008 Eastern Conference Finals exit against the Boston Celtics.
While the Pistons’ billing address method is far from foolproof, it’s hard to blame the team for trying to ensure the team’s real fans get to attend the games in person. That rings especially true opposite a Knicks squad with one of the most rabid fan bases in sports.
