LeBron James’ pursuit of the NBA scoring record sends Lakers ticket prices SOARING

Sports
By James

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LeBron James’ quest for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record has wreaked havoc on ticket prices, with a pair soaring as high as $200,000, though actual purchase prices are expected to be much lower. .

The Los Angeles Lakers enter Tuesday’s game against the visiting Oklahoma Thunder with James trailing Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387-point total by just 35 points. And as a result, two courtside seats are being offered at Crypto.com Arena, 166 and 167, for $75,000 each, plus Ticketmaster fees. In total, the pair of tickets would cost $181,500.

And there’s no guarantee James will break the record on Tuesday; in fact, with his current scoring rate, he’d be just shy of the mark when the Thunder game ends.

That’s why those same seats are even more expensive Thursday for the Lakers’ next game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the two teams Abdul-Jabbar played for during his Hall of Fame career. For that game: $242,000, including fees. But history suggests that prices will come down; Industry insiders have long said that outlandishly priced tickets rarely reach the giant number listed.

However, make no mistake. The best seats will still cost a lot.

LeBron James' quest for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA scoring record has wreaked havoc on ticket prices, with a pair soaring as high as $200,000, though actual purchase prices are expected to be much lower. .

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar #33 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks to shoot over Caldwell Jones #11 of the Philadelphia 76ers during an NBA basketball game circa 1982

LeBron James’ quest for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA scoring record has wreaked havoc on ticket prices, with a pair soaring as high as $200,000, though actual purchase prices are expected to be much lower. .

“For Thursday’s game, we sold a couple of tickets, fieldside seats, for $24,000 a ticket, $48,000 total,” said Kyle Zorn, brand manager at online ticket marketplace TickPick. “I feel like people are betting on the story that he does it against Kareem’s former team, but he could easily put up 36 points on Tuesday and then the market for Thursday’s game could completely crash.”

Any time the record falls, maybe Tuesday, maybe Thursday, and it’s doubtful the chase will pass, unless James isn’t playing for some reason, it’s going to be an event.

The NBA has already changed the national television schedule for Tuesday, rearranging things so that the Lakers-Thunder game takes the second slot of TNT’s regular doubleheader for that night, and commissioner Adam Silver said the league wanted to make sure who had the most eyes. in record time as possible.

The Lakers will be back on TNT against the Bucks on Thursday, plus they’ll have another national television audience waiting Saturday when they visit Golden State on ABC. Those were previously programmed that way, no reorganization required.

And there's no guarantee James will break the record on Tuesday; in fact, with his current scoring rate, he'd be just shy of the mark when the Thunder game ends. That's why those same seats are even more expensive Thursday for the Lakers' next game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the two teams Abdul-Jabbar played for during his Hall of Fame career. For that game: $242,000, including fees. But history suggests that prices will come down; Industry insiders have long said that outlandishly priced tickets rarely reach the giant number listed.

Two front-row seats to Thursday's game against Milwaukee will cost $200,000, and that doesn't include Ticketmaster fees.

And there’s no guarantee James will break the record on Tuesday; in fact, with his current scoring rate, he’d be just shy of the mark when the Thunder game ends. That’s why those same seats are even more expensive Thursday for the Lakers’ next game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the two teams Abdul-Jabbar played for during his Hall of Fame career. For that game: $242,000, including fees. But history suggests that prices will come down; Industry insiders have long said that outlandishly priced tickets rarely reach the giant number listed.

Silver said the NBA will pay tribute when James surpasses Abdul-Jabbar’s total of 38,387 points, with a likely larger-scale celebration of the record on All-Star weekend in Salt Lake City later this month.

“There’s no question we’re going to stop that game and make sure we go down in history, the ball, the basket, the uniform,” Silver said. We’ll stop and make sure we’ve done our job as archivists for the NBA. At the same time, there’s the balance that they’re going to be playing against a team that wants to win that night and not get distracted. Most likely we will do something in the moment.

Common sense will probably prevail there: If James gets the record with a minute to go in a close game, for example, the NBA probably won’t interrupt the process with an extended stoppage. If it happens early, a brief game interruption would be unprecedented.

James came within 36 points of breaking his NBA career scoring record in the Lakers’ 131-126 loss to New Orleans on Saturday night that ended the Pelicans’ 10-game losing streak.

“I just want to win,” James said. “You know, you play the game the right way and see what happens.”

James had 27 points remaining with nine rebounds and six assists as he continued to close in on Abdul-Jabbar’s record total of 38,387 points.

“I’m very tired,” James said, but added: “I’ll be ready to play Tuesday,” when the Lakers play the Thunder.

The Los Angeles Lakers enter Tuesday's game against the visiting Oklahoma Thunder with James trailing Abdul-Jabbar's 38,387-point total by just 35 points. And as a result, two courtside seats are being offered at Crypto.com Arena¿166 and 167¿for $75,000 each, plus Ticketmaster fees. In total, the pair of tickets would cost $181,500.

The Los Angeles Lakers enter Tuesday’s game against the visiting Oklahoma Thunder with James trailing Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387-point total by just 35 points. And as a result, two courtside seats are being offered at Crypto.com Arena, 166 and 167, for $75,000 each, plus Ticketmaster fees. In total, the pair of tickets would cost $181,500.

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