As basketball legend LeBron James inches closer to breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-held NBA scoring record of 38,387 points, it seems super-fans are willing to break the bank to witness what will soon be an unforgettable moment in NBA history, as tickets to the next Lakers games have skyrocketed in price.
As of Wednesday, James is just 89 points shy of Abdul-Jabbar’s record, which has been held by the Lakers veteran since 1984; that was nearly 40 years ago, and was set months before James was even born. Now, in his 20th season with the league, James is likely to surpass that record next week barring any injury or rest. The Lakers have two home games next week, first against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday and then against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday. If LeBron doesn’t reach that goal by Thursday, he’ll still have another shot on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
For the Lakers vs. Thunder game, ticket prices range from $400 at the very lowest to an average price of $1,152, representing a 390% increase from season opener prices. For the Thursday game against the Bucks, the average price is $1,302, or a 175% increase. Should Lebron shape up to make history in Saturday’s game, prices ranging from $600 and higher are expected.
For fans, buying these tickets is a huge gamble. While fans and analysts alike can guess which game will be “the one,” only time will tell when James will reach one of his greatest accomplishments to date–something that he, according to him, has never even thought about until now.
“I never thought that I could catch Kareem in scoring, that has never been something that has been on my mind”, said James at a Lakers vs Clippers postgame conference on January 25, in a statement calling out Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue for mentioning that James used to think about beating Abdul-Jabbar’s record. “[He’s’] not a liar, but he’s lying there for sure.”
Regardless, what James is about to achieve is a rare and momentous occasion for basketball history, and one that will come with unparalleled fanfare and celebration.
