Cheap NBA Tickets: How to Get the Best Price in 2026-27

By Low Key NBA Feb 2, 2023, updated Oct 18, 2026

The cheapest way to get NBA tickets is to buy a Monday to Thursday game against a non-marquee opponent, on a resale site that shows the all-in price, in the last day or two before tip-off. The cheapest teams to watch in 2026-27 are the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans, with an average starting price of $23 a game. The league average starting price is $46. Students and military members can often pay less through team programs.

This guide covers where to buy, which teams and games are cheapest, when prices drop, every discount program worth checking, and how to avoid fake tickets. Prices are for the 2026-27 season and were last checked on 19 October 2026.

Cheap NBA tickets at a glance

Cheapest teams to watch (2026-27)	Grizzlies and Pelicans ($23 average starting price), Jazz ($25), Hornets ($27)
Most expensive	Knicks ($167), 76ers ($105), Lakers ($89)
League average starting price	$46 per game ($202 average price paid)
Best time to buy	Within a week of the game, ideally game day, unless it is a rivalry or sold-out game
Cheapest days	Monday to Wednesday
Cheapest discount programs	Student rush (Suns from $19), military nights (Spurs up to 40% off), mini plans (Grizzlies from $26 a game)
Fees	Since 12 May 2025 sellers must show the total price with mandatory fees up front (FTC rule)

The best way to buy NBA tickets: 10 rules

Compare the all-in price, not the headline price. Check the same section on two or three sites. Fees differ by site, and all of them now have to show the total up front.
Pick a weeknight. Monday to Wednesday games draw smaller crowds than Friday to Sunday, and prices follow demand.
Pick the opponent. A visit from a star or a big-market team (Lakers, Warriors, Knicks) raises prices in every arena. A rebuilding team keeps them low.
Buy late for ordinary games. Sellers who cannot use their seats cut prices in the last days and hours. See the timing section below.
Buy early for big games. Opening week, rivalry games, Christmas Day and the playoffs rarely get cheaper.
Sit high and center. Upper-level seats on the sideline usually give a better view per dollar than lower-level corners.
Use team programs. Student rush, military nights, group rates and mini plans are often below anything on resale sites.
Follow your team on the road. Some teams cost far less as visitors than at home. Knicks games average a $261 starting price at Madison Square Garden and $72 on the road.
Pay by credit card. It gives you the strongest dispute rights if something goes wrong.
Never buy outside a marketplace. Social media sellers and screenshots are where the scams are.

Where to buy NBA tickets

Primary sellers: the team and Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster is the NBA’s official ticketing partner and runs NBATickets.com, the league’s official resale marketplace. Most teams sell their own seats through it, at face value set by the team. A few teams use SeatGeek instead, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brooklyn Nets, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz. Buying from the team directly is the only way to get face-value seats, team discount programs and presales.

Resale marketplaces compared

Site	How fees are shown	Buyer guarantee
Ticketmaster (Verified Resale)	All-in pricing (fees in, taxes extra)	Tickets are verified and reissued with a new barcode
StubHub	Fees included in the price shown	FanProtect: comparable tickets or your money back
SeatGeek	Total price up front since May 2025; Deal Score rates value	Buyer Guarantee: valid entry, or replacement, refund or credit
Vivid Seats	Total price shown up front (required since May 2025)	100% Buyer Guarantee
Gametime	“Prices have fees included”	Lowest Price Guarantee (110% of the difference, up to $200, within 2 hours)
TickPick	No buyer fees	BuyerTrust Guarantee; BestPrice match on the same ticket

Because every site now shows a total, the honest test is simple: open the same section for the same game on each site and compare the number at checkout. Teams do not set resale prices, so the same seat can be listed at different prices on different sites.

Which NBA teams have the cheapest tickets?

The cheapest NBA teams to watch in 2026-27 are the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans, both at a $23 average starting price per game, followed by the Utah Jazz at $25 and the Charlotte Hornets at $27. The New York Knicks are the most expensive at $167, about 3.6 times the $46 league average.

Cheapest and most expensive NBA tickets, 2026-27

Average starting price per game (cheapest listed seat), home and away games combined, in US dollars

Source: SeatPick, "NBA ticket prices: all 30 teams ranked", 13 October 2026. Asking prices on resale listings, not completed sales.

Show the data behind this chart

Cheapest and most expensive NBA tickets, 2026-27
Team	Average starting price
New York Knicks	$167
Philadelphia 76ers	$105
Los Angeles Lakers	$89
Golden State Warriors	$73
Boston Celtics	$66
League average	$46
Charlotte Hornets	$27
Utah Jazz	$25
New Orleans Pelicans	$23
Memphis Grizzlies	$23

Two things move these numbers more than the team itself. Home games are often dearer than away games for popular teams: the Knicks average a $261 starting price at home and $72 away, and the Lakers $111 and $67. And the opponent matters: when a big draw comes to Memphis or New Orleans, the cheap seats go fast.

Team	Home games	Away games
New York Knicks	$261	$72
Los Angeles Lakers	$111	$67
Philadelphia 76ers	$75	$135
Denver Nuggets	$27	$48
Houston Rockets	$21	$43

Average starting price per game, 2026-27, SeatPick, 13 October 2026.

Not sure which arena is closest to you? Our NBA teams map has a “closest team to me” tool that ranks the nearest arenas by distance.

When is the best time to buy NBA tickets?

For an ordinary regular-season game, the best time to buy is in the final week, and often on game day. Prices on resale sites tend to hold steady until about two months out and then fall as sellers who cannot go cut their prices. Every study we found points the same way.

How much less late buyers paid

Discount versus buying weeks ahead or versus the average price, by study

Source: Gametime via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Nov 2021); SeatGeek (Oct 2016); StubHub via eBay Inc. (May 2012). The studies measure different things and years, so treat the bars as a direction, not a forecast.

Show the data behind this chart

How much less late buyers paid
Study	Discount for buying late
Gametime, NBA tickets bought on game day vs average price, 2021	12% less
SeatGeek, NBA tickets bought within a week vs a month or more ahead, 2015-16 season	25% less
Gametime, sports tickets bought within an hour of the start vs average, 2021	33% less
StubHub, average $62 within 24 hours vs $95 a month out, all events, 2012	35% less

The exceptions are the games everyone wants. Opening week of 2026-27 averaged $326 a ticket, against a $202 average price paid across the season. Rivalry games, Christmas Day and playoff games tend to sell out or rise, so buy those early or not at all.

Day of the week and time of season

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday games are usually the cheapest; Friday, Saturday and Sunday the most expensive. Early-season games from October to December have historically been cheaper than games in the spring playoff race, with opening week the big exception.

NBA discount tickets: student, military, group and plans

Team programs are the biggest discounts in the NBA, and most people never check them. Examples for the 2026-27 season:

Program	Team example	What you get
Student rush	Phoenix Suns	Upper-level seats from $19 with a .edu email, announced by text on game day
Student pass	Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs	Discounted tickets all season with a verified .edu email (Bulls: up to 4 per game)
Military and veterans	San Antonio Spurs	Up to 40% off on Salute Nights, verified through GovX
Military marketplace offer	GovX with StubHub	$20 off purchases of $200 or more for 22 teams
Mini plans	Memphis Grizzlies	Pick your games, seats from $26 a game
Partial plans	Charlotte Hornets	10-game plans from $19 a seat per game
Group tickets	Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks	Group rates for 10 or more tickets

Most teams publish these under “Tickets” on their page at NBA.com. Programs change during the season, so check your team’s page before you buy on resale.

NBA ticket fees: what the 2025 FTC rule changed

Since 12 May 2025, the Federal Trade Commission’s rule on unfair or deceptive fees requires anyone selling live-event tickets in the US, including resale sites, to show the total price with all mandatory fees at the start of the purchase, more prominently than any other price. Taxes, delivery charges and optional add-ons can be left out but must be disclosed before you pay. The rule does not cap or ban fees; it only makes them visible. Civil penalties run up to $51,744 per violation.

For buyers, the practical change is that the price on the search page is now close to the price at checkout, which makes comparing sites much easier than it used to be.

How to avoid fake NBA tickets

NBA tickets are mobile only. Teams such as the Lakers state that screenshots and printouts are not valid for entry. A seller offering a PDF or a screenshot is a red flag.
Get tickets transferred through the official app. A real transfer lands in your Ticketmaster or team app account.
Type the site address yourself. Scam sites copy real ones with an address that is off by one or two letters.
Stay on the platform. Never pay a seller by payment app, wire or gift card outside the marketplace.
Do not buy student or rush tickets from someone else. They are non-transferable and will not scan.
Watch for speculative listings, where a seller lists tickets they do not own yet. The FTC has warned they may break the fees rule.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest way to buy NBA tickets?

Buy a weeknight game against a non-marquee opponent from a resale site that shows all-in prices, and buy close to tip-off. If you qualify, a team student rush or military program is cheaper still: Phoenix Suns student rush seats start at $19.

Which NBA team has the cheapest tickets?

For 2026-27 the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans have the lowest average starting price, $23 per game, followed by the Utah Jazz ($25) and Charlotte Hornets ($27), according to SeatPick’s 13 October 2026 ranking.

Are NBA tickets cheaper on the day of the game?

Usually, if the game is not sold out. Gametime found NBA tickets bought on game day were 12% below the average price, and SeatGeek found NBA tickets bought within a week of the game sold for almost 25% less than those bought a month or more ahead. Rivalry games, opening week and playoff games are the exception.

How much does an NBA ticket cost on average?

SeatPick puts the average starting price for 2026-27 at $46 per game and the average price actually paid at $202. Opening week is far higher: a $326 league average.

What is the best site to buy NBA tickets?

There is no single cheapest site. Ticketmaster is the NBA’s official ticket marketplace and sells most teams’ primary tickets. For resale, compare the all-in price on StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, Gametime and TickPick for the same section; since May 2025 the total including mandatory fees has to be shown up front.

Do NBA teams offer student or military discounts?

Many do. Examples: Suns Student Rush (from $19, .edu email), the Bulls Student Pass and the Spurs College Pass, and the Spurs’ Salute Nights, with up to 40% off for military and veterans verified through GovX.

Is it safe to buy NBA tickets on resale sites?

On the major marketplaces, yes: StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats and Gametime all guarantee valid entry or a refund, and Ticketmaster reissues a new barcode on Verified Resale tickets. Avoid sellers on social media and screenshots of tickets; NBA tickets are mobile only.

Sources

Last checked 19 October 2026.