Fat Joe Talks Cavs Courtside Ban in Video, Sounds Off on Knicks' NBA Finals Berth

After being among the New York Knicks fans who were banned from sitting courtside during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cavaliers in Cleveland, rapper Fat Joe explained what happened this week.

In an interview with TMZ Sports (beginning at the 1:30 mark of the video), Fat Joe talked about getting displaced from the courtside seats he purchased in hopes of seeing the Knicks close out the ECF with a sweep:

"I bought courtside tickets to Cleveland. We flew in, and they found out it was Fat Joe early afternoon and they were like, 'Yo, you're dead on the tickets,'" Joe said.

Although Joe was unsure if he ended up getting reimbursed for the cost of the tickets, he noted that he was still able to get in the building to see the Knicks punch their ticket to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, saying, "We bought the tickets, and then they was like, 'Oh no, you Fat Joe, super fan, you ain't coming up here to do all that at courtside.' So then last minute, somebody gave us two tickets to the game. We was like really stranded in Cleveland. They did us dirty."

Fat Joe first came forward with the story on Monday prior to Game 4 during an appearance on ESPN's NBA Today:

It was also reported that day by Christian Arnold of the New York Post that 10-plus Knicks fans had their courtside tickets revoked for Game 4. Stefan Bondy of the New York Post followed up by reporting that those Knicks fans were relocated to higher seats.

While it wasn't an ideal experience for Fat Joe in Cleveland, he still expressed excitement over the Knicks sweeping the Cavs and putting themselves in position to potentially win their first championship since 1973.

Joe proclaimed to TMZ Sports that the Knicks are "winning the chip," and that if it happens, he's going to "cry" and "shut the city down."

The Knicks are currently in wait-and-see mode, as the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder hold a 3-2 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals.

The winner of that series will be the only team standing between the Knicks and their first title in over 50 years.