October 3, 2018: When it comes to NBA tickets that are most in-demand for the upcoming season, there is the Los Angeles Lakers, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers, followed by the Los Angeles.
For the second consecutive year, the Lakers are the most in-demand team, with demand to see the team having increased by 427% over last season following the off-season signing by LeBron James, according to event marketplace StubHub.
The Lakers' home opener on Oct. 20 against the Houston Rockets — and LeBron's regular-season debut in Staples Center in a Lakers uniform — is the most in-demand game of the season. Average ticket prices in are going for $934 on StubHub.
The Lakers even dominate on the road. StubHub said it sees an increase of nearly 374% in sales over the average when the Lakers are the visiting team.
The second most in-demand game involves the Lakers visiting the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in Oracle Arena on Christmas Day, with tickets on StubHub averaging $713.
The third most in-demand game in terms of average ticket price is the Warriors visiting the Lakers on Jan. 21, going for $642.
Of the Top Ten most in-demand tickets on StubHub, seven involve the Lakers either at home or on the road.
Not on the current list but expected to move up as the date approaches: James making his return to Cleveland on Nov. 21 to face the Cavaliers in Quicken Loans Areana for the first time as a member of the Lakers.
"The overwhelming demand for Lakers tickets is a testament to the value of star power on a team, with fans excited to see LeBron in his new home," Scott Jablonski, StubHub's general manager of NHL, NFL and NBA, said via the company.
"It's not often that we see this large of a spike in demand for a team that already led sales the season before. There are only a handful of athletes in the world who can make an impact on ticket demand like LeBron can."
Based on the amount of ticket sales per team on StubHub (to date) for the upcoming season, the Lakers are the most in-demand, a spot they held in 2017 and 2015 (dropping to No. 3 in 2016).
The Top Ten most in-demand teams also include No. 2 Warriors (up from No. 4 in 2017), No. 3 New York Knicks (which had been either No. 1 or No. 2 since 2013), No. 4 Celtics, No. 5 Philadelphia 76ers, No. 6 Toronto Raptors, No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers (showing the biggest jump from No. 19 in 2017), No. 8 Brooklyn Nets, No. 9. Miami Heat (up from No. 15, due in part to the final season for Dwyane Wade) and No. 10 Los Angeles Clippers.
Versus 2017-18, the top-trending teams in ticket sales on StubHub are the Lakers, Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Raptors and Utah Jazz.
Top-trending teams in ticket sales on StubHub over the past five seasons led by the Lakers, Raptors, Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and Cavaliers.
"The overwhelming demand for Lakers tickets is a testament to the value of star power on a team, with fans excited to see LeBron in his new home."
The demand for anything LeBron includes, not surprisingly, sales of his Lakers Nike jersey and Nike basketball shoes.
LeBron's Lakers jersey has been the top-selling NBA jersey on eBay this off-season, with more than 12,000 sold since he signed with Los Angeles on July 2.
Sales of his LeBron 15 signature shoe on eBay (which is a division of StubHub) doubled that of former teammate Kyrie Irving's Nike Kyrie 4.
Damian Lillard's adidas Dame 4 is third, Stephen Curry's Under Armour shoes fourth and Russell Westbrook's Air Jordan Why Not Zero.1 fifth.
"At eBay, we most recently saw teams in the East drive the most sales for all NBA merchandise from June through August 2018," according to Sam Bright, eBay vp-soft goods, North America.
"LeBron's move to Los Angeles certainly ignites iconic rivalries and we look forward to seeing which coast moves the needle across fan sales at tip-off."
The 2018-19 NBA season is the first season in which StubHub is an official partner of the New Orleans Pelicans. StubHub official partners also include the 76ers and Cavaliers.