Tickets for Game 1 of the NBA Finals are unsurprisingly much cheaper on the secondary market than last year’s series between the Golden State Warriors and Boston Celtics.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the average resale ticket price for Thursday night’s matchup between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets at the latter’s Ball Arena is $1,288, according to SeatGeek data. That’s a 36% decrease from last year’s opening game, which had an average resale ticket price of $1,999 one day out.
A series between the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers — who both lost in their respective conference finals — could have set new records for ticket prices.
However, many are touting the quality of the Nuggets-Heat series for basketball savants, with the added attraction that Denver is looking for its first NBA title.
Pending the outcome of Game 1, which has a get-in price of about $700 and some courtside seats selling for $20,000-plus, the average price for Game 2 will likely fluctuate from its current value of $1,359, SeatGeek tells Front Office Sports.
The current average resale price for Games 3 and 4 in Miami are similar to the first two games in Denver, currently sitting at $1,365 and $1,277, respectively.
Denver fans haven’t seen the Nuggets play at home since May 18, when they went up 2-0 on the Lakers on the way to an eventual series sweep. The Heat, meanwhile, are fresh off their seven-game series with the Celtics, which ended Monday night in Boston.
