It took history for a 314% jump. But that history wasn’t with the grandeur they expected. OKC wanted to see their team reach their first NBA Finals in 13 years. Wouldn’t that naturally sell to the highest payer? Well compared to the rest of the land, even a Game 5 at the WCF costed a relatively cheaper $172. The NBA Finals though? An unprecedented $712 for Game 1. And even then, fans aren’t on board with it.

This Thunder team is so good that the season has felt like the start of a dynasty. But the Association forgets how much recency bias takes place when evaluating a team in the greats. They haven’t won a championship since 1979, back when they were based in Seattle. Never happened in The City. It’s upto Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Co. to change the narrative and prove the haters wrong. At the same time, it’s just hard to hate the Pacers surge into the Finals too. Thunder may be the antagonists, this time around.

But the ticket prices have no one impressed. In the ever-growing prices of the NBA, people don’t seem to care all about how the Thunder are making their own little history. So let’s break that down.

NBA Finals Game 1 prices deemed unimpressive by the fans

That Instagram post is brutal if you’re an OKC fan. There’s obviously bigger teams than them, like the Lakers and Knicks – who’s fanbases didn’t stay quiet. “That’s a Tuesday night at a Laker game,” “$2K min if Knicks made it. NBA is fuming,” and “that’s it ???” are the best ones to start this narrative.

Let’s form a little comparison. The median lowest-available ticket sold on the secondary market for the for the Knicks, Warriors, and Lakers (top 3) this season was $186, $185, and $162 respectively. And that’s just for the regular season. For Thunder’s Game 5 WCF Finals to be just $172 would only put them third. Talk about legacy. It might be brutal to deep this reality. But it’s one they’ll have to do like a twist to the gut.

It wasn’t just towards the Thunder though, right? The Pacers find themselves at a measly $30. Understand that the first NBA Final game at the Gainbridge will also cost a whopping $389. Maybe this reality to sink in was a little too much of a reach. Some of the comments said, “Those are crazy prices for OKC and Indiana,” “BOYCOTT ALL PRO SPORTS, THAT’S AN INSULT & ABUSE TO ALL FANS!!!!!!!!!” and “american capitalism at its finest.”

Money talks. The money you bring in decides your popularity, and guess what – that means lesser viewership too. It’ll be a treat to watch for sure, but the fans don’t seem to be in a hurry to shell out $1,386 for a potential Game 7 at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma. And the way people are thinking, it might not even go that far. There were fans like, “Zero interest- okc might sweep,” “Who cares” and “Still no one watching to pay that money 😂.”

Big history made for both teams, regardless of the scale. This series is their one-way ticket to stardom. So the supporting fans will give their mortgage to see their team be on top of the pile for once. As for the rest of the fans, they’re happy with ESPN.