SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The hottest ticket in the NBA is in Sacramento, according to StubHub.
The underdog Sacramento Kings are taking on the defending champion Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.
Kings vs. Warriors is actually outselling their California cohorts respective series, the LA Lakers and Clippers, combined.
"We certainly are seeing tremendous demand in Sacramento for the Kings," said Adam Budelli, spokesperson for StubHub.
It's comes amid an exciting season for California basketball. All four California-based NBA teams are in the playoffs for the first time ever.
Game 1 was the highest-selling first round game of the 2023 NBA playoffs to date.
"The first round of the playoffs in general typically, the higher priced tickets are going to be for those fan bases that haven't been in recent years," said Budelli. "And that's across all sports not not specific to NBA or the Kings in this situation."
The Kings lead the series and ticket demand. Total sales for Sacramento Games 1 and 2 at home are more than double sales for Games 3 and 4 so far.
StubHub said the record-breaking prices are mainly thanks to the Kings' 17-year playoff drought and the fact that they're playing the Warriors.
"Having the Warriors in proximity certainly keeps demand for these tickets, even more higher than just the excitement for a team making a first appearance since 2006," said Budelli.
Kings and Warriors is the top in-demand series of Round 1 so far. Total sales for the series is outselling the No. 2 top-selling playoff series, Knicks vs. Cavaliers, by over 20%.
"We will see how this changes. After we look at through games for the series, obviously, the Knicks will be home in New York - big market - as well as the Lakers back in LA, so that typically, those gaps we anticipate will actually get a little bit closer together," said Budelli.
Tickets for Games 3 and 4 in San Francisco on StubHub started around $220 and $270, respectively. But people should prepare for another spike for Game 5, depending on the next games play out.
With tickets costing so much, you'll want to protect that big purchase.
StubHub's advice: Don't pay cash, don't buy on the street, use a service with guarantee, and be careful with what you share on social media. Budelli said scammers can use photos of ticket barcodes that people share on social media to make fake tickets.
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