Have A Seat: Knicks, Celtics, Lakers, Emirates Cup Drive NBA ’24-25 Ticket Sales

By Barry Janoff

October 10, 2024: With the 2024-25 NBA season on the horizon, top storylines include the defending champion Boston Celtics, LeBron James playing alongside son Bronny on the Los Angeles Lakers, the second in-season Emirates NBA Cup Tournament and the rise of such teams as the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves.

But among teams most in-demand, the lead story is the New York Knicks.

The Knicks are No. 1 in ticket sales — with season ticket sales up 48% compared to last season — and they play in six of the ten best-selling games of the season to date, with Madison Square Garden hosting five of those games.

Overall, the Knicks are outselling the No. 2 Celtics by 36% and the No. 3 Lakers by 81%, according to the just-released NBA Season Preview from online ticket platform StubHub.

The Knicks at Celtics (Oct. 22) is the best-selling game on StubHub (as of Oct. 7), followed by the Indiana Pacers at Knicks (Oct. 25), Lakers at Knicks (Feb. 1) and San Antonio Spurs at Knicks (Dec. 25).

However, the Celtics are no slouches regarding ticket sales.

Celtics season sales in TD Garden have nearly doubled compared to last season’s opener (91%), and they are outselling the Lakers by 29%.

The 79th NBA regular season is scheduled to begin Oct. 22 and conclude April 13, 2025.

The first five days of the 2024-25 NBA regular season — Oct. 22-26 — will feature 11 nationally televised games as part of Kia NBA Tip-Off 2024, including two doubleheaders each on TNT (Oct. 22) and ESPN (Oct. 23) and a triple-header on NBA TV (Oct. 26).

StubHub said it has seen a 32% increase in sales across the league compared to last season's start, with ticket buyers on StubHub and its international marketplace, viagogo, coming from 127 countries — 40% more countries than last year.

"The spotlight on basketball this summer at the Olympics, especially Team USA, is no doubt having an impact on sales this season,” Adam Budelli, spokesperson for StubHub, said via the company.

“International demand for the NBA on StubHub is experiencing rapid growth. It's a trend we're seeing across sports leagues, as many international travelers are purchasing tickets to a sporting event during their stay in the U.S.”

The Lakers play in four of the ten best-selling games of the season, hosting two of them in Crypto.com Arena.

Lakers ticket buyers come from 53 countries — the second most in the league — with 32% of all tickets sold for Lakers games are coming from buyers outside of the U.S. and Canada, according to StubHub.

That trails only the Brooklyn Nets (44%).

The Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia Sixers have seen the biggest sales growth over last season.

Ticket sales for the Timberwolves jumped nearly four-times compared to last season (275%), the most of any other team on StubHub.

Ticket sales for the Hawks jumped nearly three-times over last season; the 76ers ticket sales jumped nearly two-and-half times.

Demand is also on the rise for the NBA's second annual in-season competition.

This year’s in-season tournament, the Emirates NBA Cup, has sold 17% more tickets than last year’s in-season tournament when looking at this same time frame.

The Emirates NBA Cup 2024 games will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays Nov. 12-Dec. 3. TNT and ESPN will combine to air 14 games, NBA TV will televise three games in the first stage.

The semifinals and championship will be held in Las Vegas, Dec. 14 and Dec. 17, respectively.

The Knicks host the best-selling NBA Cup game — vs. the Nets (Nov. 15) — which it has sold 65% more tickets than the next best best-selling NBA Cup game, Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors (Nov. 12) in Chase Center.

Ticket buyers are coming from all 50 U.S. states for Emirates NBA Cup games this season.

For the semifinal and championship games in Las Vegas, early ticket sales are coming from nine countries and 19 U.S. states.

Sales for the NBA Global Game in Mexico City — Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards Nov. 2, 2024, in the Arena CDMX — are more than double that of last season's game, according to StubHub’s NBA Season Preview.
 
Of those, 31% of buyers are traveling to the game from the U.S.

People from Florida, Texas and Washington D.C. have purchased the most tickets to the Mexico City game on StubHub.

Canada, Costa Rica, The Netherlands and Russia are also among top-buying countries for the game, outside of Mexico and the U.S.

"Mexico City has a rich tradition of hosting the NBA’s international games,” said Budelli. “And this season’s match-up between the Miami Heat and the Washington Wizards is drawing big crowds from the host country as well as a strong contingency of fans from the U.S."

Also on the International front, the NBA Paris Games 2025 presented by Tissot, are also riding the post-Paris Olympics wave.

Two games — Jan. 23-25, 2025 — will feature the Spurs and France-born 2023-24 NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama playing the Pacers in Accor Arena (which hosted 2024 Olympic Games), marking the first time the NBA will play two regular-season games in the French capital in the same season.

"Looking ahead to the games in Paris, we expect to see a large turnout of French fans to see star player Victor Wembanyama play in his home country,” said Budelli.


• Top In-Demand 2024-25 NBA Teams

1. New York Knicks

2. Boston Celtics

3. Los Angeles Lakers

4. Toronto Raptors

5. Miami Heat

6. Philadelphia 76ers

7. Phoenix Suns

8. Golden State Warriors

9. LA Clippers

10. Washington Wizards

Based on cumulative ticket sales on StubHub North America and viagogo international for the 2024-25 season, as of Oct. 7, 2024.


• Top In-Demand NBA Games of the 2024-25 Season

1. New York Knicks at Boston Celtics on Oct. 22

2. Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks on Oct. 25

3. Los Angeles Lakers at New York Knicks on Feb. 1

4. San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks on Dec. 25

5. Los Angeles Lakers at Toronto Raptors on Nov. 1

6. Cleveland Cavaliers at New York Knicks on Oct. 28

7. Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 22

8. Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks on Nov. 8

9. Golden State Warriors at Boston Celtics on Nov. 6

10. Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 25

Based on cumulative ticket sales on StubHub North America and viagogo international for the 2024-25 season, as of Oct. 7, 2024.


• Top In-Demand Emirates NBA Cup 2024 Games

1. Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks Nov. 15

2. Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors Nov. 12

3. New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers Nov. 12

4. Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs Nov. 15

5. Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers Nov. 29

Based on cumulative ticket sales on StubHub North America and viagogo international for the 2024-25 season, as of Oct. 7, 2024.


• Top Trending NBA Teams of the 2024-25 Season

1. Minnesota Timberwolves

2. Atlanta Hawks

3. Philadelphia 76ers

4. San Antonio Spurs

5. Indiana Pacers

6. Washington Wizards

7. New Orleans Pelicans

8. Boston Celtics

9. Cleveland Cavaliers

10. Charlotte Hornets

Based on international ticket sales for the 2024-25 season, as of Oct. 7, 2024, compared to sales ahead of the 2023-24 season.


• NBA Teams with the Most International Buyers

1. Brooklyn Nets: 44%

2. Los Angeles Lakers: 32%

3. New York Knicks: 32%

4. Orlando Magic: 29%

5. Golden State Warriors: 29%

Based on percentage of tickets sold to buyers outside of the U.S. and Canada on StubHub North America and viagogo international for the 2024-25 season, as of Oct. 7, 2024.

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