Nuggets vs Lakers opener is NBA’s most expensive ticket

The most important game of the Denver Nuggets season will likely be the most expensive as well, the Los Angeles Lakers come with a price tag

BY JAKE SHAPIRO

Aug 18, 2023, 2:48 PM

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The most important game of the Denver Nuggets regular season will likely be the most expensive as well.

The Nuggets will host the Los Angeles Lakers to kick off the entire 2023-24 NBA season and the cost for the game is the most expensive single-game ticket across the league’s entire 1,230 game schedule. This data comes from Vivid Seats’ consumer communications specialist Shana Rosenthal, who says the average price for the Oct. 24 contest is $413. That eye-watering price is justified when you consider it’s the Lakers lone trip to Denver, and their little feud will get stirred up again. Oh yeah, and Denver will give out rings and hoist the championship banner.

Here are the most in-demand NBA games for the coming season by average ticket price
10/24/23 Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets – $413
12/25/23 Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks – $321
2/17/24 NBA All-Star Saturday Night – $279
12/9/23 NBA In-Season Tournament Championship – $232
11/01/23 Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks – $191

That October game will see the beef continue as the foes from the 2023 Western Conference Finals will match up to open the year. The Nuggets swept the Lakers out of the playoffs, marking the first time LeBron James had been swept that early in the playoffs. L.A. is back with vengeance as the face of the league’s team ‘won the offseason‘ and can’t seem get the Nuggets out of their heads. The teams have have feuded since that series ended in Los Angeles. Michael Malone threw shots and James following Denver’s NBA Finals win over the Heat. The poking came as James weakly suggested he may retire after losing to the Nuggets and the bear was provoked months later throwing a shot back at his former coach Malone, from France. Darvin Ham has also joined the fray of the beef, all the while a few Nuggets have talked about how much meaning beating the Lakers carried.

The opening night ticket is 435% more expensive than last year’s game according to Vivid Seats and it’s almost double the price of the last highest-price regular season game, a contest against Golden Sate this past season that sold for an average of $238.

Vivid Seats also says the reigning champs are the second most in demand team this season across the NBA, trailing only the Lakers.

The good news for you, the Nuggets fan, is that these are all secondary market prices. Nuggets single-game tickets actually go on sale Saturday at noon. If you can’t make the matchup with the Lakers but want a prime game, here are some suggestions to check out.

Jan. 27: 76ers at Nuggets
Jan. 29: Bucks at Nuggets
March 5: Suns at Nuggets
March 7: Celtics at Nuggets
March 25: Grizzles at Nuggets

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