Demand for Cavs-Warriors IV remains high on the secondary market, but when it comes to just getting a seat in the arenas for the NBA Finals, this series will seem reasonable.
For Game 3 in Cleveland, the $270 get-in price on the secondary market is the least expensive over the four Finals series, and the $510 for Game 1 at Oracle Arena is the third cheapest of the decade. In percentage terms, that means Bay Area fans will pay 82 percent more than Cleveland fans for a seat in the building.
That said, the overall get-in average for the series is 97 percent higher than when Cavs star LeBron James played in his first NBA final in 2011. A fan could get a seat at that series for $197.
In the bigger picture, when the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors tip off for the fourth consecutive year in the NBA Finals, ticket prices will be among the highest in history, and the highest over the four years the teams have played in the Finals.
The $1,914 average asking price on the secondary market is the second highest that TicketIQ.com has tracked since 2011. Only the 2016 match-up, which cost $1,931, was more expensive.
For the Warriors, the $2,373 average asking price for a ticket to Oracle Arena is the highest of the decade for the team and the NBA as a whole. Cleveland’s average asking price of $1,302 is the third highest at Quicken Loans Arena, and eighth highest of the decade.
Overall, fans should expect to pay 20 percent more for this series than they paid for the same series four years ago.
In terms of individual games, the least expensive average asking price is $1,138 for Game 3 in Cleveland. In fact, the most expensive average asking price in Cleveland—$1,504 for the if-needed Game 6—is still lower than any of the games in Oakland. The cheapest average asking price in Oakland is $1,603 and the most expensive is $3,413 for the if-needed Game 7.
Between them, the Cavs and Warriors have won six NBA titles. The Cavs first shot at a championship was in 2015, and the four times they’ve played the Warriors are the only four times the franchise has gotten to the Finals.
The Warriors, who previously played in Philadelphia and San Francisco before becoming the Golden State Warriors in 1971, have played in nine title games, winning four.
