No professional sports league has the individual star power of the NBA. It’s one of the reasons we love NBA betting every night of the season. From LeBron to Steph to Giannis, KD, Kyrie, Joker and Luka, people around the world know these players by their first names and nicknames.
It’s great to sit on your couch and place bets from your sports betting app. But to see her in person? That is not cheap.
The cost of attending an NBA game has increased, just like any other sports league. With star power reigning in marquee teams, tiered pricing has become the norm for NBA teams looking to squeeze a few extra bucks when these household names come to town.
TIED TOGETHER: Cost of attending a 2022-23 NFL game
A family of four can come to a game for a fraction of the cost of an NFL game. But if you want to pick a specific opponent, prepare to fight back.
Bookies.com calculated the cost of attending NBA games at each arena. On average, families spend $288.38 on four of the cheapest tickets available, a parking spot, two beers, two sodas and four hot dogs at an NBA arena this winter. (The NFL, on the other hand, costs a whopping $536.77.)
However, the cost between the most expensive market and the cheapest can be dramatic.
Nowhere is it more expensive than in San Francisco. Sometimes you get what you pay for, and the Warriors have been the class of the NBA for the past decade. The defending champion is again at the top of the NBA futures markets for the title next season. But if you’re looking for the cheapest tickets at the Chase Center and want drinks and hot dogs, the night still rings at nearly $700.
The New York Knicks weren’t far behind, then there’s a gap of over $150 between the second most expensive game in New York and No. 3 on the chart.
Meanwhile, you could go to four Indiana Pacers games and spend less than one game at the Golden State or New York.
Cost of attending the 2022-23 NBA game
Cheapest NBA ticket available
Tickets, of course, make up the bulk of the cost of attending an NBA game. Getting tickets for some games is very easy, for others it is much more difficult.
We took the cheapest tickets available (4) for home games in December and January, going only through official sources and avoiding the secondary market (Ticketmaster standard tickets were the most common team partner). These tickets were then averaged for a price. The tickets used for the formula were those available on October 12, 2022.
Finding the cheapest ticket available is very different depending on the opponent. Teams charging $25 for a view from above when the Kings come to town charge well over $100 for the same pillow when Lakers Night is on.
Each team has taken Lakers games to unique heights. To make this comparison a little more even, we eliminated all of the Lakers’ road games from the equation. If your family of four is on a budget, forget about watching LeBron James.
The Warriors and Knicks had by far the most expensive tickets available. The average cheapest seats in the Golden State have sold for over $140 each.
In contrast, Pacers tickets are available at face value for under $20.
Lakers fans will be shelling out a pretty penny — almost $110 a ticket. But you can go to the same building another night and get Clippers seats for less than $35.
TIED TOGETHER: Complete NBA Betting Guide for the 2022-23 Season
parking spot
Unlike most NFL and MLB stadiums, many NBA arenas do not have official parking lots or ramps. However, most are located downtown in a major city and have multiple available parking spaces.
Parking varied widely, but it should come as no surprise that the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks top the list in terms of cost. Both teams advised to forego a car altogether and instead rely on public transport, which is widely available and significantly cheaper.
The Boston Celtics ranked right there in terms of cost as the NYC area teams, each charging over $50 per ride. Parking at New Orleans Pelicans and Houston Rockets games is approximately 80% cheaper.
Beer & Lemonade
We took the beer prices and converted them all to 16-ounce sizes. Still, the cost of a few pops still varies widely. You’ll pay over $17 for a 16-ounce machine in Boston or Golden State, by far the highest rates in the NBA.
The same drink costs about half in Indiana, San Antonio, and Atlanta, and less than half in Cleveland and Oklahoma City.
Soda is much less volatile in price but still has a sizable reach. Two 20-ounce sodas in Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas and Washington will get you half as much in places like Brooklyn, New York, Miami and Boston.
hot dogs
The Atlanta Falcons are known for having dirt cheap dogs on game days. This Atlanta tradition extends to Hawks games as well. Both the Hawks and Spurs charge $3 or less for a hot dog.
At Madison Square Garden, home of the Knicks, you’re paying triple that, while the Warriors and Wizards are also approaching a 300% premium on that $3 dog.
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