Warriors and Kings Game 1 sets record for most expensive first round ticket

Want to watch the the team that just snapped its 16-season playoff drought go up against the reigning NBA champions? The Warriors-Kings game will cost you.

Imagine finally breaking the longest active playoff drought in the NBA, and in the first round your team has to face Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors. The Sacramento Kings have it rough.

Game 1 of the Warriors-Kings playoff series promises to be one of the most titillating first-round matchups of the 2023 postseason, and it’s no surprise that ticket prices are skyrocketing through the roof.

Held in Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, the average get-in price for Game 1 is $821, making this the most expensive first round playoff game in league history.

What’s more is that tickets in Sacramento are far more pricey than those in the Bay Area — nearly twice as expensive, according to TickPick.

The Kings, after all, have been waiting a long time for this. When they made the playoffs back in 2006, Blackberries were still all the rage, gas was $2.59 per gallon, Chris Paul was named Rookie of the Year, and Keegan Murray was six years old.

Three presidential administrations later, one of the longest-suffering NBA franchises will suffer no more. Except for the pain of buying these insanely expensive tickets.

Warriors-Kings Game 1 average get-in price is over $800

Golden State enters the first round as the lower seed, yet as the reigning NBA champions, not many would consider them underdogs to the No. 3-seeded Kings.

In a gotta-have-it final season game against the Portland Trailblazers, the Warriors secured their victory by the first quarter, putting up a record-breaking 55 points in the opening 12 minutes.

Thanks to a collective team effort, the Warriors get to escape the treacherous play-in and enjoy a road trip up Interstate 80 to play their local rivals. It’s really only fitting that Kings head coach Mike Brown faces his former team first. It’ll make any win that much sweeter.

On one side, the Kings come in rolling into the postseason with a full-strength well-rounded roster and a proven record of consistency this past year. On the other side are the metaphorical kings of the league, possibly entering the twilight years of their storied dynasty and looking to win a back-to-back title with the same experienced core.

Heading into this NorCal turf war, the Warriors’ loudest talker, Draymond Green, said something that might have rubbed Sacramento the wrong way: he actually wanted to face the Kings in the first round. The short travel was the main reason Green gave, though the Kings’ relative lack of experience and occasional defensive hiccups likely factor into it as well.

Whether Sacramento send the Dubs home packing or Golden State stomps all over Kings fans’ hearts, the memories — unlike the tickets — will be priceless.