Star power has become as much a part of the NBA playoffs as the basketball itself, and the 2026 post-season served up a courtside guest list worth gawking at.
Whenever the New York Knicks or Los Angeles Lakers go deep, the famous faces multiply — and Madison Square Garden, in particular, turns into something close to a red carpet.
Taylor Swift and Kylie Jenner were two of the most photographed fixtures of the entire run, drawing cameras whether the cameras wanted basketball or not. Now the actual chairs they sat in have gone under the hammer, and when the final bids landed, one name towered over the rest.
Taylor Swift’s NBA courtside chair led the auction
The Cleveland Cavaliers and memorabilia company The Realest put the courtside chairs from Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference finals up for sale, the seats used at Rocket Arena as the Cavaliers hosted the Knicks. The full breakdown was reported by The Athletic.
Swift’s chair, from Game 3, blew past the field at $7,000 — more than four times the next-highest bid.
Here is how every celebrity seat sold:
- Taylor Swift (Game 3): $7,000
- Kylie Jenner (Game 4): $1,505
- Travis Kelce (Game 3): $1,405
- Timothée Chalamet (Game 4): $1,202
- Ben Stiller (Game 4): $732
- Machine Gun Kelly (Game 4): $635
Swift sat on the Cavaliers’ side at Game 3 with fiancé Kelce, an Ohio native and lifelong Cavs fan, while Jenner backed the Knicks at Game 4 alongside Chalamet.
Anyway, New York had the last laugh, sweeping the series before Swift and Jenner’s viral courtside embrace at the Finals. Interestingly, Swift was in full Knicks colours against the Spurs — a point of contention that led to plenty of off-court drama.
For all the star wattage in the building, the math is hard to argue with. Like it or not, Taylor Swift was the biggest name at the 2026 playoffs — and a $7,000 chair is the receipt.
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