When the NBA season opens on Tuesday night, the New York Knicks will raise a championship banner for in 53 years before hosting LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers.
By itself, attending the Knicks' special night was always going to have high demand, with New York fans interested in seeing their team finally hang a banner from the rafters. Additionally, by itself, LeBron James's first game as a 76ers player was always going to draw demand for those who wanted to see James make more history.
Combine those two first-and-only events, along with them playing at Madison Square Garden, and you get one of the most expensive tickets in NBA history. As the game approaches tip-off, the price to get into the event only continues to rise and make history, putting this game in rarefied air.
Here's a breakdown of how expensive Tuesday night's tickets to Knicks-76ers are.
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How much are Knicks-76ers opening night tickets?
According Boardroom, the average ticket price for the Knicks vs. 76ers opening night game is $1,840, while the cheapest is $1,112. If that stands, this ticket will be the most expensive regular-season ticket in NBA history, surpassing Kobe Bryant's final game.
Knicks tickets during their NBA Finals run skyrocketed as fans wanted to see their team win their first NBA title in 53 years, so it's no surprise that the tickets for banner night are also expensive. This one-night-only situation is creating a level of demand that is not comparable across the rest of the league.
In fact, it seems like these tickets are only rising as the game approaches, which is a reversal from the way ticket prices usually operate. In most cases, ticket prices drop approaching game time as the demand decreases.
"This is up there with one of the sharpest and most sudden price reversals I've ever seen for a real marquee game," Keith Pagello, founder of TicketData, said.
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Most expensive tickets NBA history
Before 2026 Opening Night in New York, the previous most expensive regular-season ticket in NBA history was $1,137 for Kobe Bryant's last game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz. According to Front Office Sports, other games that approached this price include the first Lakers home game after Bryant passed away and the Lakers home games in the lead-up to James breaking the all-time scoring record.
Of course, playoff tickets have surpassed this number as recently as last June, when Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals in Madison Square Garden became one of the most expensive sporting events of all time.
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