Post-Jankudu era NBA Finals ratings may hit a record low, tickets fell to "bad price"

The tickets for the NBA Finals have fallen to a "baby price" sale? On June 6, the 2024-2025 NBA Finals will begin. According to a ticketing platform, the minimum ticket price for the NBA Finals G1 Thunder home game is only US$570. The ticket price alone is indeed not cheap, but this price is less than a fraction of the ticket price for the Celtics Finals. Netizens exclaimed: It’s so shabby! It is simply the coolest final in history!

Could it be that the business empire that Xiao Hua worked hard to manage really falls into the hands of small market teams this time?

ratings data may hit a record low

data show that in the 2022 NBA Finals, the average ticket price of the Warriors at home finals was US$3,249, the average ticket price of the Celtics at home was US$2,862, and the most expensive ticket is as high as US$80,879.

And in the 2024 NBA Finals, the showdown between the Celtics and the Mavericks attracted 11.31 million viewers, setting the second lowest record in history. Even so, the average ticket price for the Dallas G3 competition where Doncic was in charge last year had soared to $1,209, while the Thunder's G1 ticket price this year was only 63% of that.

When the Warriors, Lakers, Celtics, Clippers, etc. were eliminated early, only the "Little Transparent" Pacers and the Thunder were left in the spotlight, and it was difficult to bear the ticket facade.

According to the "double dark horse" showdown between the Thunder and the Pacers in 2025, the ratings data are expected to fall below the 10 million mark, and may even be lower than the 9.29 million viewers in the 2007 Spurs and Cavaliers Finals. Why is

like this? Just look at the family background of these two cities and you will understand. Oklahoma City has a population of 4 million; Indianapolis has only 1.3 million, which is only one-tenth of Los Angeles. On weekdays, the regular season attendance rate of these two cities is like a roller coaster ride, hovering around 70% all year round, not to mention "high-priced events" like the finals.

Some fans bluntly said: "Without James, Curry, and Durant, what else is there to watch in the Finals? All the traffic passwords are gone, Xiao Hua is stunned now!"

However, some rational netizens analyzed: "This may be a good opportunity for the NBA to transform. You can't always rely on those old faces to support the scene, right?"

How will the NBA develop in the post-Jankudu era?

A careful analysis, it is not difficult to find that the NBA league is taking a big game. They are staring at the incremental market in the "post-Jankudu era" and betting on the value of the cultivation of new stars, just like the miracle of the Bucks' ratings soaring against the trend by 21% after Antetokounmpo's top!

Halliburton averaged 13.4 assists and zero turnovers per game, which was simply possessed by "Magic" Johnson; Homegren scored 43 triple-doubles in the rookie season, which attracted attention on social platforms such as TikTok and attracted young fans. In this era when short videos are king, these explosive moments may be the "traffic password" that captures young fans.

However, the problem is also right in front of you. The NBA has always relied on "superstars" to make money. Now that small market teams are counterattacking, will the foundation be shaken? But if you just suppress it, you may miss the incremental market in the next ten years. Just like the ticket price of the Knicks East Finals G5, $671, is 3.8 times that of the Thunder G1. This huge gap exposes the rift and contradictions of the league's development.

This "cold" finals may be the painful period of the NBA's transformation. In an era when traffic is king, it is indeed difficult to continue to shine without the greatness of the spotlight. But from another perspective, the charm of basketball is not only box office and ratings. Isn’t the counterattack of the Pacers and the Thunder a pure interpretation of the spirit of basketball? Xiao Hua and the League, maybe we should think carefully about how to find a balance between business interests and the essence of basketball. After all, only by truly returning to basketball itself can the sport go further and more steadily in the future.