Ben Stiller is not an Average Joe, and he wasn’t going to stand for a 76ers star calling out the Knicks and Madison Square Garden’s celebrity row in silence.
On Friday, a day before the Knicks and 76ers were set to do battle in the first round of the NBA playoffs, Kelly Oubre Jr. spoke about the incredible crowd at The Garden, but he took a not-so-subtle shot at the way A-listers are treated at The World’s Most Famous Arena.
“They’re gonna give celebrities those $100,000 [worth of] free tickets just to be there and not care about the game,” Oubre said. “That’s what they do.”
Well, Stiller, an avid and vocal Knicks fan, waded into the conversation with a sarcastic reply on Friday before taking an actual shot at Oubre on Saturday.
Stiller invoked the voice of one of his most iconic characters, White Goodman, from the 2004 comedy flick “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.”
“Oh I think I care a lot more than you think that you thought I cared…” Stiller wrote on X “Kelly Who-bre?”
It’s not the first time Stiller has chimed in about the Knicks this season, and he notably ranted on X earlier this season when All-Star guard Jalen Brunson was called for a controversial foul that led to a two-point loss to the Rockets.
“@NBAOfficial How are you going to deal with the Houston Knicks awful call,” Stiller posted on X shortly after that loss. “Brunson getting fouled entire game by [Dillon] Brooks and then a no call – call to end the game and take it out of the players hands. Brunson is an all star and that was not a foul in this game. Wrong call. Cost overtime.”
Stiller, in March, appeared on Brunson and Josh Hart’s “Roommates Show” and discussed his Knicks fandom, saying the 2010s, even with star Carmelo Anthony, were largely a tough time for the diehards.
“There definitely is like true excitement about the Knicks now, and as you know, like a fan base that’s like really so hungry for it.” Stiller said on the podcast. “There’s nothing compared to this city, this fanbase, this team.
“The intensity of basketball fans in New York is unlike anything else, and with social media now, the engagement is even more intense.”
But in terms of this playoff series, the words from Oubre were just a small bit of pre-series chatter after 76ers center Paul Reed said he and his Philadelphia teammates preferred to face off against the Knicks in the first round.
“Oh man, I feel like we ain’t ducking no smoke, but yeah, we wanted the Knicks matchup, of course. That’s the easier team, I guess,” Reed said during an appearance Thursday on the “Run It Back” podcast.
Actor — and Knicks fan — Jerry Ferrara also jumped into the fray, saying he’s OK with the 76ers players talking before the games happen.
“To the Sixers players. Please please please keep doing your interviews and talking your s–t,” Ferrara posted. “We all know you have a rich playoff history the last 10 years. … This is fun! I usually just want to win at all costs. But the Sixers role players chirping in a dumb ass way is gonna add to the series.”
