Timothee Chalamet, Ben Stiller and Spike Lee are all expected to headline Madison Square Garden’s iconic celebrity row on Monday night as their beloved New York Knicks take on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3.
However, they won’t be the first A-listers to grace the Garden’s famous courtside seats.
The Knicks head into Game 3 on home court with a 2-0 advantage over the Spurs in their first NBA Finals since 1999.
The NBA Finals showdown is a repeat of the series from 27 years ago and MSG’s celebrity row was just as star-studded then as it is now.
Ahead of the Finals returning to the Big Apple on Monday night, footage emerged of the jam-packed celebrity row from the Knicks’ last appearance all the way back before the turn of the millenium.
Today’s celebrity row features a lot of familiar faces from the 1999 Finals, including Stiller.
Ben Stiller was one of the recognizable faces on the New York Knicks’ celebrity row in 1999
New York mainstays Adam Sandler and Billy Crystal were also present for the 1999 NBA Finals
The Zoolander actor came under fire earlier in the postseason when he snubbed Game 1 of the Knicks’ series against the Philadelphia 76ers for the Met Gala.
But the footage from 1999 proves Stiller’s undying loyalty to the Knicks. Just as he does now, the Hollywood star took pride of place on celebrity row, being captured animatedly cheering on New York.
Diehard fanatic Lee was, of course, present. The director is perhaps one of the most recognizable faces of the Knicks super fandom, having fallen in love with the team all the way back in the 1970s.
The filmmaker, known his vibrant, highly coordinated game-day outfits, is an omnipresent fixture at the Garden, with his dedication even earning him an induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
However, Lee and Stiller’s current day comrade, Timothee Chalamet, was not seen cheering on the Knicks back in 1999.
That’s because the Oscar nominee, who unlike Stiller did snub the Met Gala in favor of the Knicks and has been seen supporting the team alongside his girlfriend Kylie Jenner throughout the playoffs, was only three.
Chalamet was born in December 1995 in New York City, meaning the Knicks’ last Finals appearance came long before his Hollywood fame and fortune could earn him a spot on celebrity row.
Other frequent attendees, including Adam Sandler, Billy Crystal and Woody Allen, were also seen in courtside seats back in 1999, proving their long-standing dedication.
The late John F. Kennedy Jr. watched Game 4 at MSG less than a month before his death
Knicks superfabn Timothee Chalamet was only three the last time the Knicks played the Finals
The late John F. Kennedy Jr. was a fixture on celebrity row during the 1990s when he was one of the most famous men in the United States, let alone New York City.
Kennedy, the son of former President John F. Kennedy, is said to have owned two pairs of Knicks tickets, one on Celebrity Row and one behind the basket.
He was regularly spotted inside the Garden in a shirt and tie, having made the dash to the court straight from the office
The last Knicks game Kennedy reportedly attended was Game 4 of the 1999 Finals, which took place on June 18 that year, less than a month before his tragic death in a plane crash alongside his wife Carolyn Bessette and her sister, Lauren.
Other rarer faces were also spotted at the Garden back in 1999, including golf legend Tiger Woods.
Now a 15-time major winner, Woods was still a rising star back in the 1990s, having burst onto the scene in 1997 by winning the Masters in historic fashion.
Still only 23 in 1999, Woods was captured in a box at MSG for the Finals showdown. Two months later, he would add to his lone major championship by winning the PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club.
Boxer Evander Holyfield, in the twilight years of his career, was also in attendance for the Knicks’ Game 4. Fresh off a fight against Lennox Lewis at the famous arena just a few months prior, he was captured taking in the on-court action.
Golf legend Tiger Woods (right) took in the action from a box inside Madison Square Garden
The Knicks last reached the NBA Finals in 1999 when they also faces the San Antonio Spurs
While many of the faces of celebrity row have changed, so have the ticket prices.
The A-listers gracing the courtside seats on Monday night will have paid a fortune for the priority places in comparison to 1999.
Game 3 appears set to be the most expensive NBA ticket of all-time, with the cheapest available ticket in the arena going for $13,421 at the weekend.
For those fans with a higher budget, courtside seats for Game 3 of the 2026 Finals are currently available for $70,000, while a slightly cheaper option in the middle bowl will cost you around $26,000.
Game 3 will also host another notable name with Donald Trump set to make an appearance at the Garden.
The presidential visit has sparked chaos throughout New York with heightened security measures placing the streets around MSG into lockdown.
Should the Knicks win on Monday night, it is almost guaranteed that tickets will be even more expensive on Wednesday – with Game 4 potentially seeing the Knicks lift the championship trophy inside the world’s most famous arena.
Despite the first two games of the Finals taking place in San Antonio, the streets of New York City have been full of Knicks fans enjoying watch parties and celebrating the fairytale run of the team, which has now won 13 games in a row.
