LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer on Tuesday night — dropping 38 points to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and attain 38,390 for his career — during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A sellout crowd was on hand at Crypto.com Arena to witness the historic moment — and they did so on a relative bargain compared to those who speculated that James would break the record Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Per data provided to Front Office Sports from ticket marketplace TickPick, the get-in price for Tuesday night’s contest was as low as $128.
By contrast, the get-in price to Thursday’s game was $796 before James’ record-breaking performance; as of Wednesday, the lowest-priced tickets stand at $100 — an astounding 87% drop in price.
“Lakers vs. Bucks on Thursday was pacing to be one of the most expensive games on record, if not the most expensive,” TickPick brand manager Kyle Zorn said in an email. “It became evident very early that LeBron was going to break the record last night, and immediately prices for Thursday’s game started to plummet.”
Before Tuesday night, one couldn’t purchase tickets in the 100 level for less than $1200; now, 100-level seats are going for as low as $253 — a 78% discount for those who waited.
Those who pulled the trigger on tickets before Tuesday night are probably having buyer’s remorse Wednesday, especially one fan who purchased two courtside tickets for $24,781 a piece — adding up to an astounding $49,562.
