TiqIQ is a leading online ticket search engine listing both primary and secondary tickets. The company is an authority on ticket data analysis and trends.
As the NBA Playoffs head into the second round, the intensity of each game increases. That’s not just from the players who are inching closer to the Conference Finals, it’s also from the fans, who are just as eagerly anticipating their favorite team advancing to the next round. As the playoffs go deeper, ticket prices also rise thanks to that intensity. That’s especially true with demand on the secondary market.
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Not all playoff tickets are created the same, though, as different arenas around the country allow fans to enter in different ways. The different entry options, however, have little impact on the actual ticket prices. Half of the remaining venues (five of 10 venues, counting the home venues for the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets, who have not yet concluded their first round series) allow paperless entry using a phone scan. Those are AT&T Center in San Antonio, FedExForum in Memphis, Toyota Center in Houston, Philips Arena in Atlanta and Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
The most expensive of that group comes in Memphis, as Grizzlies playoff tickets on TiqIQ have an average price of $388.61. Meanwhile, the average price of Cavaliers tickets is just $254.30 for the second round, well below the other teams despite having the second highest regular season average.
Three other arenas — Oracle Arena in Oakland, Staples Center in Los Angeles and Verizon Center in Washington D.C. — allow paperless entry using a credit card. With credit card entry, the credit card used to purchase the tickets along with a government ID must be shown, and entry is accessed by simply swiping the credit card.
That group is led by Golden State, as the average price of Warriors playoff tickets is $425.77. That’s the second most team average of the second round, which follows the trend of the regular season. Golden State had the highest regular season average on the secondary market during the regular season at $327, 26.7% above the Cavaliers.
Bulls tickets are the most expensive of the second round with an average price of $482.78 for their home games against the Cavaliers.
There are, however, still two remaining arenas where printed or hard tickets are necessary. Fans for both the Chicago Bulls at United Center and Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center will not be able to enter their games without a physical ticket in hand.