Best NBA Bars in NYC (2026–27): Knicks, Nets & Team Bars
Knicks and Nets hangouts, out-of-town team bars and the best all-around places to watch basketball this season
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For the first time since 1973, the Knicks are starting a season as NBA champions, and you can feel it in every bar near the Garden. Finding a room full of Knicks fans won't be hard this year. Finding your people when you root for the Sixers, Warriors or Celtics takes a little more work.
This guide covers the best NBA bars in NYC: Knicks and Nets hangouts near Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center, out-of-town team bars, fan-group watch parties, and dependable all-around places to watch basketball across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. Some teams don't have a permanent home here. When a fan group moves from bar to bar, we'll tell you, so you don't end up in the wrong room.
Find your team or a nearby watch spot on the map above, then use the guide to pick the right crowd for the night.
Find Your Team: NBA Bars in NYC at a Glance
Eleven teams have a real gathering place in New York. Everyone else should start with the general watch bars further down.
| Team | Where to go | Neighborhood | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Knicks | Mustang Harry's, American Whiskey, Tara Mór and more | Near MSG, plus all five boroughs | Team bar |
| Brooklyn Nets | McMahon's Public House | Park Slope | Team bar |
| Philadelphia 76ers | Olde City | NoMad, Hell's Kitchen, Upper East Side, Upper West Side | Team bar |
| Golden State Warriors | Finnerty's | Midtown | Team bar |
| Boston Celtics | The Three Monkeys | Hell's Kitchen | Team bar |
| Los Angeles Lakers | Taqueria St. Marks | East Village | Team bar |
| Chicago Bulls | Kelly's Sports Bar | East Village, Upper East Side | Team bar |
| San Antonio Spurs | Yellow Rose | East Village | Team bar |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Haswell Green's | Theater District | Watch parties |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | ThunderNYC, usually at Standings or Penn 6 | East Village, Midtown | Watch parties |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | Lake Street Bar | Greenpoint | Watch parties |
| Every other team | Standings, Roebling Sporting Club, Finn's Corner, Olde City | Manhattan, Brooklyn | General watch bar |
Knicks & Nets Bars in NYC
Almost every sports bar in the city has the Knicks on this season. The real choice is the kind of night you want: the scene around the Garden, a big group outing in Queens, or a neighborhood pub closer to home. Nets fans have a smaller bar scene, and their pick near Barclays Center is below.
Knicks Bars
Mustang Harry's
352 7th Ave, New York, NY 10001, USA
The official Knicks fan bar, steps from the Garden, and the default meeting point for a Knicks night. It's an Irish gastropub that's been on Seventh Avenue for about three decades, with more than 20 TVs and proper surround sound.
American Whiskey
247 W 30th St, New York, NY 10001, USA
One block from MSG, American Whiskey was packed through the title run with fan watch parties, 37 TVs and live game audio. Book a table on Resy for big games, and expect a spending minimum on the busiest nights.
Tara Mór
150 W 30th St, New York, NY 10001, USA
An Irish bar with a more modern menu and better cocktails than the usual Midtown pub. Tara Mór runs Knicks watch parties for home and away games, with 16 HD screens.
Pennsylvania 6
132 W 31st St, New York, NY 10001, USA
Around the corner from the Garden, Penn 6 hosts Knicks watch parties and works for a pregame dinner before heading over. It also hosts ThunderNYC gatherings, so check what's on if you want an all-Knicks room.
Stout Penn Station
215 W 35th St, New York, NY 10001, USA
A big, easy meetup spot two blocks from Penn Station, handy when half your group is coming in on the LIRR or NJ Transit.
Harlem Tavern
2153 Frederick Douglass Blvd, New York, NY 10026, USA
The uptown pick, and a member of the Knicks' official playoff bar network. It's a bar, restaurant and beer garden with craft beer and a real food menu, from mac and cheese to truffle burgers.
Pig Beach BBQ Queens
35-37 36th St Ground Floor, Astoria, NY 11106, USA
The biggest game-day room in the city: 28,000 square feet, 65 TVs, four bars and an outdoor jumbotron, plus smoked meats from the Pig Beach pitmasters. Bring the whole group. It's usually closed Mondays.
Rivercrest
33-15 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria, NY 11105, USA
A Ditmars neighborhood pub for nights you'd rather not trek into Manhattan, with good bar food and a Knicks crowd that filled the room during the playoffs.
Break Bar & Billiards
32-04 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106, USA
Pool tables, games and the Knicks on every screen. Break is the pick when half your group wants to shoot pool during timeouts.
The Rambling House
4292 Katonah Ave, Bronx, NY 10470, USA
An Irish pub on the Knicks' official bar network, so Bronx fans don't have to head downtown to find a Knicks crowd.
Jimmy Max
280 Watchogue Rd, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA
Pizza, Italian food and Knicks events on the calendar for big games. It's the Staten Island choice for a game-night dinner.
In Brooklyn, most Knicks fans settle into a good general sports bar. Roebling Sporting Club and Finn's Corner, further down, are reliable picks.
Nets Bars Near Barclays Center
Nets fans don't have the same standing bar scene as the Knicks, and plenty of them watch at their neighborhood sports bar. If you want a Nets crowd near Barclays Center, start here.
McMahon's Public House
39 5th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217, USA
A Park Slope sports pub about a 10-minute walk from Barclays Center that has hosted Nets watch parties. Think neighborhood pub, not supporters' club. It works for an away game on the screens or for meeting up before a home game.
Going to the game? Fourth Avenue Pub at 76 Fourth Avenue, a few blocks from the arena, takes $2 off Founders Solid Gold Lager for two hours before and after every Nets home game. It's a beer bar first, so treat it as a pregame or postgame stop rather than a place to watch.
Team-Specific NBA Bars in NYC
These are the places where fans of visiting teams actually find each other. A few are year-round team bars. Others come alive when a fan group organizes a watch party. Several double as football bars on Sundays; see our NFL bars guide.
Philadelphia 76ers Bar: Olde City
Olde City (NoMad)
66 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016, USA
The clearest team bar in the city. Olde City shows every Sixers game at all four locations, carries NBA League Pass, and backs up the Philly identity with cheesesteaks. LeBron James signed with the Sixers this summer, which gives even casual fans a reason to show up.
Olde City (Hell's Kitchen)
576 9th Ave, New York, NY 10036, USA
The Hell's Kitchen branch on Ninth Avenue, a few blocks from Port Authority, with the same every-game Sixers setup.
Olde City (Upper East Side)
1664 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10128, USA
The Upper East Side branch on Third Avenue, for Sixers fans who'd rather stay uptown.
Olde City (Upper West Side)
201 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10023, USA
The Upper West Side branch on Amsterdam Avenue, with the same every-game Sixers setup.
Golden State Warriors Bar: Finnerty's
Finnerty's
18 W 33rd St, New York, NY 10001, USA
New York's Bay Area bar, now across the street from the Empire State Building after leaving its old East Village home. The door handles are made from Golden Gate Bridge cable, there's fernet behind the bar, and it's open until 4 a.m. every night, so a 10:30 p.m. tip-off is no problem.
Boston Celtics Bar: The Three Monkeys
The Three Monkeys
832 8th Ave, New York, NY 10019, USA
A three-level New England sports bar near Times Square, where Celtics, Bruins, Patriots and Red Sox fans all end up. It runs late, with the kitchen open until 1 a.m. If you remember it on West 54th Street, it has moved to Eighth Avenue.
Los Angeles Lakers Bar: Taqueria St. Marks
Taqueria St. Marks
79 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003, USA
Lakers memorabilia on the walls, tacos and margaritas on the table. It's a restaurant first, so come for dinner with the game on rather than a wall of screens, and check the closing time before a late West Coast tip.
Chicago Bulls Bar: Kelly's Sports Bar
Kelly's Sports Bar (East Village)
12 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009, USA
An Irish sports bar where Chicago fans gather for Bulls games. Start with the original Avenue A location.
Kelly's Sports Bar (Upper East Side)
1154 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10065, USA
The Upper East Side branch, handy if you're uptown for a Bulls game.
San Antonio Spurs Bar: Yellow Rose
Yellow Rose
102 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10003, USA
A Texas restaurant with San Antonio roots and Spurs pride to match. Games go up on a projector while dinner service carries on, sometimes without game sound, so come for the crowd and the food rather than the play-by-play. For bigger Spurs gatherings, Doris in Bed-Stuy has hosted watch parties too.
Cleveland Cavaliers Watch Parties: Haswell Green's
Haswell Green's
240 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019, USA
The Big Apple Browns Backers, New York's Cleveland fan club, brought every Cavs playoff game here in spring 2026. Follow the group for this season's watch parties. On other nights it's a big Theater District sports bar with plenty of screens.
Oklahoma City Thunder Watch Parties: ThunderNYC
Thunder fans gather through ThunderNYC, a fan group that picks a bar game by game. Standings in the East Village and Pennsylvania 6 near the Garden have both hosted, so check the group's latest post before you head out.
Minnesota Timberwolves Watch Parties: Lake Street Bar
Lake Street Bar
706 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222, USA
A Minnesota bar in Greenpoint that fills with Wolves fans during the playoffs. Regular-season nights are quieter, so it's at its best for big games.
General NBA Watch Bars in NYC
You don't need a team bar for a good basketball night. These are dependable places to watch any NBA game, from a sound-on East Village room to big screens for a group. For a bigger crowd, see our bars for large groups, and for match days, our soccer bars by team.
Standings
43 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003, USA
A small bar built for watching games, with the sound on the game instead of a playlist. It's tight, so it suits a few friends better than a big group at tip-off. ThunderNYC sometimes takes it over.
Reservoir
70 University Pl # A, New York, NY 10003, USA
A no-fuss neighborhood sports bar near Union Square with a full menu and NBA games on. Easy for settling in on a weeknight without making a whole night of it.
The Hairy Lemon
28 Avenue B, New York, NY 10009, USA
An Irish pub with NBA games in its regular lineup and a bit more emphasis on food than the average sports bar.
Smithfield Hall
138 W 25th St, New York, NY 10001, USA
A central Chelsea meetup for a mixed group, with the NBA on its screens. Soccer is a big part of its identity, so ask which game has the sound before you settle in.
Slate
54 W 21st St, New York, NY 10010, USA
Knicks games on a 16-foot LED wall, table reservations, cocktails and bar games. It's a group night out around a big game rather than a neighborhood pub.
Brickyard Craft Kitchen & Bar
23 Park Pl, New York, NY 10007, USA
Downtown's pick for groups who care about the view, with 10 video walls and reservations that let you request a specific table. It closes at midnight, so it's better for 7:30 tips than late West Coast games.
Blue Haven East
493 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016, USA
A straightforward East Side sports bar for when you just want the game on close to home.
Houston Hall
222 W Houston St, New York, NY 10014, USA
A big beer hall with four 12-foot screens. It's the move for a large group watching a marquee game, more social night than die-hard crowd.
Roebling Sporting Club
225 N 8th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211, USA
Williamsburg's best all-around basketball bar: 14 HD screens, the major sports packages including the NBA, good food, and a crowd that sticks around after the final buzzer.
Finn's Corner
660 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11238, USA
A Prospect Heights neighborhood sports bar with 13 HD TVs, NBA packages, pool, darts and a backyard. It's close enough to Barclays for a postgame drink.
Dram Shop
339 9th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USA
The Park Slope bar with clear house rules: eight TVs, a projector, sound on for playoff games and first-come TV requests. It carries MSG, YES and NBA TV but nothing on streaming services, so check where your game is airing first.
Kent Ale House
51 Kent Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249, USA
A Williamsburg pub with the NBA in its lineup alongside plenty of soccer and rugby. Confirm your game is on before you walk over.
Before You Go
Watching the Hawks, Hornets, Pistons, Pacers, Heat, Bucks, Magic, Raptors, Wizards, Mavericks, Nuggets, Rockets, Clippers, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Suns, Trail Blazers, Kings or Jazz? There's no dependable team bar for you in New York yet, so start with Standings, Roebling Sporting Club, Finn's Corner or Olde City, which carries NBA League Pass.
- Ask about your exact game. Out-of-market games need NBA League Pass, and not every bar has it. Ask whether the game will be on and whether the sound will be up.
- Plan around late tips. West Coast games often start at 10 or 10:30 p.m. Eastern. Finnerty's stays open until 4 a.m.; plenty of other bars close earlier, so check before you go.
- Book the view, not just the table. For a group, ask for a table facing a screen. For fan-group watch parties, check the latest announcement, since venues change from game to game.
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Frequently asked questions
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