Left for dead in the series with the loss of Kyrie Irving, the Cleveland Cavaliers were able to leave Oakland with the NBA Finals tied 1-1. The Cavs, along with the Golden State Warriors, will now head to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4 of the series, starting with Game 3 on Tuesday night. Even as the Cavaliers were able to sneak away with a win in Game 2, Cavaliers Finals tickets on the secondary market have been dropping in price. However, those prices are still expensive regardless of how much they’ve dropped.
According to TiqIQ, the current average price of Cavaliers tickets for Game 3 on the secondary market is $1,093.65. That is the least expensive average on the secondary market across all seven potential games of the 2015 NBA Finals and down 21% from the start of the series. The current get-in price for Tuesday’s game is $357. Tuesday’s Game 3 will be the first NBA Finals game played in Cleveland since 2007, and the Cavaliers will still be looking for their first home Finals win. During the 2007 series against the San Antonio Spurs, the Cavaliers were swept after losing the final two games at home by a total of four points.
Prices could fall for Game 4 on Thursday if the Cavaliers don’t win in Game 3, though the fourth game of the series is currently more expensive on the secondary market. The average price for Game 4 is $1,286.33 with a get-in price of $359. Similar to Game 3, the average for Game 4 has fallen 22% on the secondary market since the start of the series.
Cleveland needed a 39-16-11 from LeBron James to come home with a tied series. They may need similar performances to head back to Golden State with the series still tied for Game 5. Prices for Warriors Finals tickets are significantly more expensive than those in Cleveland. Each of the first two games of the Finals had an average price above $1,300 on the secondary market and Game 5 currently has an average of $1,730.69. That’s almost exactly the average of a potential Game 6 at Quicken Loans Arena that has an average of $1,717.51. However, the get-in price at Oracle Arena is significantly more expensive with the least expensive ticket listed at $775. The cheapest ticket for a Game 6 in Cleveland is currently $412.
If the series were to go to a Game 7, it could be more expensive just to get into Oracle Arena than an average ticket for the first few games. The current get-in price is $1,065 and that could easily go up should a deciding game be needed.
With these high averages, the 2015 NBA Finals remain the most expensive NBA Finals on the secondary market since at least 2011. Previously the most expensive series came in 2013 between the Spurs and Miami Heat with a series average of $974.21.