The 2023-24 NBA season will tip off as the Denver Nuggets take on the Los Angeles Lakers in a Western Conference Finals rematch. Denver’s opening-night matchup will see the home players receive their championship rings as well as the team’s championship banner raised to the rafters.
It’s an exciting moment each and every season, as the previous winners get to enjoy being honored. Unfortunately, the excitement dies down a bit when it comes to ticket prices. Nuggets fans who are looking to watch their squad tip off the season against the Lakers will reportedly be paying the steepest price for any ticket across the league for the entire year.
According to Denver Sports, the average cost of an opening-night ticket is $413, which again — is the most for any NBA game in the 2023-24 season.
The Denver Nuggets season opener has some juice to it
There’s a reason why it costs an arm and a leg to go see the Nuggets open their season against the Lakers. For starters, it’s the Lakers. Los Angeles is one of the league’s most polarizing teams. Fans either love them or hate them. Either way, it makes for an expensive ticket.
Factor in that the October 24 meeting is the only one between the two sides in Denver, and that drives the price even more.
Of course, the history of last season’s Western Conference Finals comes into play as well. Shortly after the Nuggets swept the Lakers, star forward LeBron James turned the attention away from Denver’s success by teasing the idea of retirement.
“But we’ll see. We’ll see,” James told reporters after Game 4, per ESPN. “We’ll see what happens going forward. I don’t know. I don’t know. I’ve got a lot to think about, to be honest. Just for me, personally, going forward with the game of basketball, I’ve got a lot to think about.”