Ball brothers' Lithuanian team triples ticket prices for LaMelo, LiAngelo debut

How long will LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball last in Lithuania? That, incredibly, is a question people actually care about. And the answer, many believe, is some form of “not very” – according to one former player who spent time in the Eastern European country, “a month, maximum.”

So before this absurd experiment goes south, the Ball brothers’ Lithuanian team, Prienai Vytautas, is going to get its money’s worth. It’s going to make sure it exploits the heck out of the Ball name. It appears the team has hiked up ticket prices for LaMelo and LiAngelo’s anticipated debut – Jan. 9.

For next Friday’s game against Siauliu, before the Ball brothers suit up, tickets behind either basket start at 2.40 euros. But for the first Prienai Vytautas home game after the holiday period, against Tsmoki-Minsk on a Tuesday night, all tickets are 7.30 euro. That’s 304.2 percent of the previous price. It’s a 204.2 percent increase.

With fees included, the 2.40 rises to 3.00, and the 7.30 rises to 8.00. That’s 3.54 U.S. Dollars without the Ball brothers in uniform, and $9.43 with them. Still not that expensive by American sporting-event standards, but for a Lithuanian league game, it’s a decently steep hike.

And it’s not just for the one game. It’s for the two other January games as well:

Perhaps all games after the holiday break were slated for ticket price increases anyway. Or perhaps prices are higher for other reasons, like the fact that all three January games are on Tuesday nights. But that reasoning is unlikely. Such is the pull of Big Baller Brand.