There isn’t just one reason why the Sacramento Kings’ Game 1 showdown is one of the hottest tickets in NBA playoff history.
“It is kinda the perfect storm, as far as why this game is so expensive,” TickPick content strategy lead Kyle Zorn told Front Office Sports.
The average price for Game 1 in Sacramento, between the Kings and Golden State Warriors, is $668. This is the most expensive NBA playoff ticket that the online marketplace, apart from the NBA Finals, has ever tracked.
It’s also the most expensive Kings home game on record and 603% pricier than the average purchase price of a Kings home ticket during the regular season ($95), per data provided to FOS.
The current price of admission is $379. However, the highest purchase to date has been a staggering $2,496. That was for two tickets on the 100th level.
Zorn attributes several key factors to the massive spike.
The most obvious is the “pent-up demand” from the Sacramento faithful, who haven’t seen their team in the playoffs since 2006 — the longest playoff drought in NBA history.
The match itself is second. The Warriors were the most expensive team in the league in terms of average home ticket price this season.
With the two teams’ home arenas less than a two-hour drive from each other, the ease of access for fans is also increasing demand.
Saturday’s Warriors-Kings game tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ABC.
