The LeBron Effect
This post was written by CNBC Sports Business Producer Tom Rotunno
King James may have left the court and gone home for the season, but it doesn’t mean he’s finished impacting the NBA playoffs - at least not where ticket prices are concerned.
If fans wanted to be a witness to what might have been James’ last playoff run in a Cavalier uniform, they had to be willing to pay a premium.
According to the latest data from SeatGeek.com, which forecasts the prices of tickets on the secondary market, fans that bought tickets for the NBA Eastern Conference Finals before the Cavaliers were eliminated on Thursday May 13 were paying an average ticket price of $177.04. Without LeBron and the Cavaliers, the average price has dropped more than $20 to $154.74. The average price for Celtics home ticket prices is $157.81; the average price for Magic home ticket prices is $157.90.
Those prices are a bargain compared to what Cleveland fans would have paid had the Cavaliers advanced. Tickets for potential Cleveland home games were more than $200 higher, with fans looking at an average ticket price of $349.
The Lebron-less Eastern Conference Finals remain the best value when compared to the Western Conference Finals, which have an average ticket price of $283. Lakers fans are paying an average of $320.69 for home games, with Suns home games going for an average of $218.67.
