NBA Cup Tickets Are 50% Cheaper Than Last Season

The chase for the 2024 NBA Cup has been narrowed down to four teams. The two semi-final games will be played on Saturday and the championship game on Tuesday, all of which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. But based on the drop in ticket prices from last season, it might not be the final compliment of franchises that the league was hoping for.

NBA Cup Ticket Prices Plummet From 2023 Numbers

Smaller markets prevalent in this year’s finals. Missing are marquee teams like the Knicks, Warriors, or Lakers, the latter of which was the main attraction of last year’s event. In their place are solidly ranked media markets, including Houston (#6) and Atlanta (#7), but the Rockets and Hawks aren’t exactly the most popular franchises in the NBA.

The other two teams are some of the most talented, but play in some of the smallest media markets in the league. The Milwaukee Bucks were involved last season, losing to the Indiana Pacers in the semi-finals. They’ll take on the Hawks on Saturday in the early game. The fourth and final team is the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are tied with the Celtics for the second-best record in the league. But when it comes to the size of their audience, they don’t compare to the attraction of teams from Boston, New York, or Los Angeles.

This year’s ticket prices for the NBA Cup reflect the dropoff in fan base size from last season. While this year’s Eastern Conference matchup is actually more expensive than last year (by a small margin), getting into the Western Conference game is more than 50% cheaper. The get-in price for the Pelicans vs. Lakers game was $86, while this year’s matchup between the Rockets and Thunder is going for $39. The final is projected to be far lower, as well. Tickets to next Tuesday’s championship game are going for $79 for a single seat, when the cheapest last year was $160.

NBA viewership continues to decline…

◾️ NBA Cup Viewership: Down 10%

◾️ ESPN Viewership: Down 28%

◾️ 2024 Playoff Viewership: Down 12%

One Major Problem…

Half the league’s fans can’t watch their teams play without buying packages outside of basic cable pic.twitter.com/xImgVDoxEU

— Frank Michael Smith (@frankmikesmith) December 11, 2024

It may be an issue with market size, but more likely has to do with a drop in viewership overall.

The NBA has had an issue with viewership so far during the 2024-25 season. Reports are that numbers are down across the board, with noticeable changes in the amount of eyes on both ESPN and TNT broadcasts. The former is reporting a drop of nearly 28%, a major disappointment given that viewership already decreased by 12% overall last year.