James needs 36 points to eclipse Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record of 38,387 points and gets his first chance to do it on Tuesday at home against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Tickets for that game start at $284, 50 percent higher than the team’s season average, according to ticket retailer StubHub.
Prices are even higher for Thursday’s home game against the Milwaukee Bucks, indicating the market believes James, who is averaging 30 points per game in his 20th season, will need two games to hit the mark.
To compare against Hollywood’s brightest stars, courtside tickets to Tuesday’s contest could cost you as much as $48,403, and Thursday’s is a staggering $68,995, according to retailer TickPick.
The sticker shock has led some Lakers fans to look for ways to witness the story at a discount.
“I just texted my boyfriend right now to see if he can get tickets to Tuesday’s game, because that’s when I think he’s going to bust it,” Moses Maldonado said as he watched a Lakers game Saturday at Legends Sports Bar of Long Beach.
“He works for the Lakers but hasn’t responded yet,” he said. “I have to get into that game. I have to be there.”
Others said breaking the record will help James, who won championships in Miami and Cleveland before collecting his fourth title as a Laker in 2020, step out of the shadow of the late Kobe Bryant.
Bryant, one of the most beloved players to ever wear the purple and gold jersey, is fourth on the all-time scoring list.
“I remember we were on vacation with Melo and D-Wade, we talked about it a few years ago.” Chris Paul on LeBron… https://t.co/0K7OvS6s6Z
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) 1675278088000
“This might be one of those things that endears it to Los Angeles,” said longtime Lakers fan Mike DeMars.
Standing alone atop the mountain of markers undoubtedly reinforces James’s case that he is the greatest of all time, though that debate will likely never be resolved, said Long Beach native Mark Ellis.
“It’s hard for me to compare different eras because the game was different in the 80s and 90s,” Ellis said. “But he’s on Mount Rushmore that’s for sure. To me, he’s one of the four best NBA players ever.”
