Are NBA Court-Side Seats Worth it? Fans of the NBA love nothing more than watching their favorite teams compete and perhaps prevail over the league’s top teams. Modern technology has made it easier for us to enjoy this time-honored tradition, whether we are at home, at the office, or on the go. The unprecedented access our devices offer is still not enough to capture the atmosphere, excitement, and enjoyment of a live game. Watching a live game is like no other experience, and depending on the stakes or the nature of the game, it could literally be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness history.

Why should you spend money on courtside seats? In a world in which courtside seats are sometimes unethically expensive, one may wonder if the constant roar of fans, the chance of being struck by a fast-break ball, or the landing zone for an overbearing player who wants to keep the ball in play is ultimately worthwhile.

Courtside Seating: A Brief History 

It would be an understatement to say that the NBA has grown exponentially over the past six decades. When the league started back in the 70s, its goal was to build up its value by grabbing as many fans as possible into its seats in order to sustain the franchises and the league as a whole.

When the LA Lakers were one of the league’s most popular teams in the late 1970s, courtside tickets were as low as $15. As the league’s worth skyrocketed thanks to the emergence of basketball legends like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan its tickets became more difficult to find and became increasingly more expensive.

On the extremely low end, courtside tickets to an NBA game can cost at least a few hundred dollars, and on the other end of the spectrum, they can cost several thousand dollars. There is usually a combination of factors that determine price, and these factors, such as the price, can vary between games and teams. Two courtside tickets for the 2017 championship cost a fan $133,000, setting the record for the most expensive tickets.

Franchisees don’t just slap large prices on their courtside tickets arbitrarily. Careful consideration and calculations go into deciding how much to charge for what is considered to be the most priceless of tickets. Among the factors taken into consideration are, but are not restricted to, these two.

The Market & Team Popularity

In simple terms, it’s where games are hosted or played. As a general rule, the larger the market, the larger the demand for tickets. Thus, courtside tickets for matches featuring big-market teams usually cost more than courtside tickets for matches featuring smaller markets.

The franchise enterprise is more than just selling courtside tickets. It is providing an elite experience for a mostly elite clientele who have deep pockets and aren’t shy to dig into them if they are getting their money’s worth.

What a team charges for courtside seating is affected by its popularity. In the NBA, the New York Knicks are an example of a team of this type. Prior to last season, the New York Knicks had gone through a gruesome rebuild in which they had consecutive seasons of poor performance, resulting in a seven-year playoff drought, which only ended last season.

Since the game of basketball is as much a part of the culture of the city as Wall Street, the Knicks’ courtside tickets were among the league’s most expensive. It also helps that their courtside seats give them the chance to rub shoulders with Academy Award-winning film directors and celebrities.

In addition, the performance of a team is also important. An example would be the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers enjoy greater success than their eastern conference adversaries, despite being a big market team like the Knicks. As a result, while courtside tickets to Lakers games may provide some level of access to NBA superstars and celebrities, like Drake and Logan Paul, they may also deliver excellent value, since the 17-time NBA World Champions often run deep into the playoffs.

What You Need to Know to Get Courtside Seats

It comes as no surprise that courtside seats are so sought after and expensive, given the coveted nature they command. The three most common ways of acquiring rare gems are listed below.

A league-certified ticketing website, such as NBATickets.com, is the best and easiest way to purchase courtside tickets. Buying tickets through these sites is often the most secure option, and the prices are generally more competitive. In addition, NBA fans can obtain tickets in a legal way if that is of any importance to them. 

In addition to purchasing tickets from ticket owners, you may also purchase them from resale buyers who may not have the time to attend the game or who may wish to undo their earlier hasty decision to purchase said tickets. As a result, this method of buying tickets involves taking a calculated risk, however, it may provide one with the opportunity to get a good deal, as tickets normally appreciate in value as they get closer to a game, but quickly begin to lose value once the game begins.

Finally, and perhaps the most ill-advised method of getting courtside access is to use a source that has existed since the beginning of time – the underground market. If you buy tickets from this supplier you are essentially offering yourself up like a fool for whom your money will soon disappear. At the very least, underground market tickets will be knockoffs of the originals, which won’t get you anywhere near sitting courtside, or at the very worst they could be priced so high that they may be double, triple, or even quadruple their initial offering price. 

As soon as prime tickets become available, a good number of underground market salespeople hurry to scoop up all the premier tickets and thereby create a false shortage from which they profit. After that, these swindlers set a price that they think is reasonable, sometimes even including a ridiculous “service fee” to link a buyer to the commodity. 

So does courtside seating make sense? I would say yes.