Research from resale marketplace StubHub has found that nearly every team in the National Basketball Association (NBA) has seen greater ticket sales ahead of the new season, compared to this time last year.
In particular, games in New York and Los Angeles are the most popular, and account for nearly 40% of all the NBA’s ticket sales on StubHub.
StubHub said that core players returning to New York and Los Angeles teams has driven huge demand. Other teams such as the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors are also enjoying a surge in ticket sales.
StubHub’s most in demand teams include New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks and the Chicago Bulls.
The New York Knicks knocked the LA Lakers off the top spot and is StubHub’s best-selling team. Sales for the Los Angeles Clippers have also more than doubled since 2021.
The Celtics boasts almost 40% greater ticket sales than the Golden State Warriors, while Warriors vs Knicks is the most popular game of the new season on StubHub. Warriors is also StubHub’s number two trending team with nearly five-times more ticket sales compared to sales ahead of last season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers is the number one trending team for StubHub, with sales seeing a major 600% jump since 2021. The Dallas Mavericks also made StubHub’s top 10 teams for the first time and has seen a jump in sales compared to last season.
Adam Budelli, spokesperson for StubHub, said: “The new NBA season is seeing a massive 65% in ticket sales on StubHub compared to last year, anchored by New York and Los Angeles teams.
“With the lifting of COVID restrictions that impacted the start of last season in some major markets, the Warriors and Raptors return to prominence on this year’s list of top-selling teams and join the Celtics, Cavaliers and Mavericks in contributing to increased demand across the league.”