StubHub Releases Second Annual NBA Season Preview: Lakers Demand Skyrockets with LeBron Arrival

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- StubHub, the world's largest event marketplace, today released its second annual NBA Season Preview, which includes the top-trending teams, hottest-selling games and most popular NBA merchandise heading into the 2018-19 season.

For the second season in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers are the most in-demand team, but after the offseason signing of the league's star talent, LeBron James, demand for the team increased by 427% over last season. The Lakers' home opener against the Houston Rockets – and LeBron's Los Angeles debut – is the most in-demand game of the season. The Lakers even dominate on the road. StubHub sees an increase of nearly 374% in sales over the average when the Lakers come to town as the visiting team.

"The overwhelming demand for Lakers tickets is a testament to the value of star power on a team, with fans excited to see LeBron in his new home," said Scott Jablonski, StubHub's general manager of NHL, NFL & NBA. "It's not often that we see this large of a spike in demand for a team that already led sales the season before. There are only a handful of athletes in the world who can make an impact on ticket demand like LeBron can."

StubHub worked with eBay data analysts to identify how the LeBron effect has played into jersey sales and sneakers. LeBron's Lakers jersey is the top-selling NBA jersey on eBay this offseason. In fact, more than 12,000 jerseys have been sold since LeBron signed with Los Angeles on July 2 - that's nearly 200 per day.

The LeBron momentum spills into the sneaker game as well. Sales of his LeBron 15 signature shoe on eBay doubled that of Kyrie Irving's Kyrie 4. His new Western Conference rival, Stephen Curry, came in at number four on the best-selling rankings.   

"At eBay, we most recently saw teams in the East drive the most sales for all NBA merchandise from June through August 2018," said Sam Bright, eBay vice president of Soft Goods, North America. "LeBron's move to Los Angeles certainly ignites iconic rivalries and we look forward to seeing which coast moves the needle across fan sales at tip-off."

Additional top highlights include:

• After winning back-to-back NBA championships, the Golden State Warriors landed at #2 on StubHub's top 10 most in-demand teams list, with a 70% spike in demand compared to last year.
• The Portland Trail Blazers make the top 10 list for the first time at #7 (up from #19 last season).
• The Christmas Day game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors is among StubHub's top-selling matchups of the season.

More in-depth highlights can be found in StubHub's PressBox, which includes visuals to support the best-selling teams, games and more. Hi-res graphics of top-selling games and teams can be accessed here.

The 2018-19 NBA season marks the first season in which StubHub is an official partner of the New Orleans Pelicans. The Pelicans join the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers as StubHub's official NBA partners. Tickets for all NBA teams are available to purchase on StubHub now for the 2018-19 regular season. As always, StubHub backs all listings with its market-leading FanProtect™ Guarantee and basketball fans can use StubHub's 360-degree Virtual View feature and price alerts technology to find the perfect seats for any game.

ABOUT STUBHUB
At StubHub, our mission is simple: bring the joy of live to fans globally. We connect fans with their favorite teams, shows and artists and introduce them to the ones they'll love next. As the largest ticket marketplace in the world, we enable fans to buy and sell tickets to tens of thousands of events, whenever they want, through our desktop and mobile experiences, including our StubHub app for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android. Offering a superior fan experience at its core, StubHub reinvented the ticket resale market in 2000 and continues to lead through innovation. Our industry firsts include the introduction of the first ticketing application, the first interactive seat mapping tool, and the first live entertainment rewards program. Our business partners include more than 130 properties in MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS and NCAA, plus AEG, AXS and Paciolan, and now the Tessitura Network. StubHub provides the total end-to-end event going experience throughout the world. StubHub is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). For more information on StubHub, visit StubHub.com or follow @StubHub on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram or YouTube.com/StubHub.

SOURCE StubHub

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