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NBA Ticket Prices Are Insane for These 2 Historic Regular Season Games

By: Brad Tuttle
Brad Tuttle, expert in Personal finance, shopping, consumer trends, and Senior Editor at Money
Brad Tuttle
Senior Editor | Joined January 2014
Brad Tuttle is a senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals.
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Published: Apr 13, 2016 4 min read
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers greets fans before the first quarter of a NBA game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during his last road game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on April 22, 2016 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers
J. Pat Carter—Getty Images

Sports fans are accustomed to seeing ticket prices go bonkers when the stakes are the highest—specifically, when a championship is on the line. Courtside seats to the Game 7 of the NBA Finals have sold for $30,000, even $80,000 in recent years. Even the "cheap seats" for the Super Bowl in 2015 were going for over $4,000 on the secondary market.

This week, however, the resale prices of tickets to two NBA games have spiked to unprecedented heights, and the playoffs haven't even started yet.

The games in question both take place in California on Wednesday, and they will close out the 2015-2016 regular season. While obviously no titles are at stake, history is expected to be made—including what are being heralded as the most expensive NBA regular season games ever.

In fact, the Golden State Warriors have already made history this week, beating the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday to earn their 72nd win of the season—matching the best record ever, held by Michael Jordan and the 1996 Chicago Bulls. If the Warriors can win on the home court over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, they will grab victory #73 and take the crown for the best regular season record in NBA history.

Understandably, there are plenty of basketball fans who'd love to be on hand to see such a momentous event. Stephen Curry and the Warriors have been magnets for fans around the country all season long, with ticket prices spiking by a factor of as much as 10 compared to other teams. During the Warriors' run at the all-time best record, seat prices on the secondary market have been averaging $300 to $500 apiece, according to the ticket resale site TiqIQ.com. And for the final game of the season, on Wednesday versus the Grizzlies, list prices at TiqIQ have been averaging a whopping $1,594.

A look on Tuesday at other secondary market sale sites, such as Vivid Seats and StubHub, shows that the cheapest tickets for Wednesday's Warriors' game were in the mid-$300s, and some tickets were listed at over $15,000.

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Meanwhile, further south in California, ticket prices are even higher for a Wednesday night game—and the home team Los Angeles Lakers aren't even headed to the playoffs. Instead, history is being made in the form of Kobe Bryant (#24) playing in his final NBA game.

According to TiqIQ.com, the average list price on the secondary market for Wednesday's Lakers-Utah Jazz matchup at the Staples Center in L.A. has been a staggering $2,110. As of Tuesday, the lowest-price ticket available was running just under $900, and a courtside seat was listed at upwards of $25,000.

A message from TiqIQ sent to the media this weekend stated what many fans probably already guessed: Prices for these two NBA matchups are "the most expensive regular season games we have ever tracked."