Yahoo Sports How Much Playing in the Bubble Cost Each NBA Team
No matter how anyone feels about LeBron James? conquest of the NBA Championship with his third franchise, all fans should be grateful there was any playoff action at all. When the pandemic put the league on pause in March, it was never certain that there would even be a 2020 postseason.
Each NBA team played between 63-67 games before the shutdown instead of a standard 82 games. That?s an average of 32 1/2 home games each instead of 41 in a normal season. That leaves an 8 1/2 home game deficit for each of the 22 teams that continued on to the bubble when play resumed.
In order to find out how much was lost by playing to empty stands, GOBankingRates added each team?s lost ticket revenue with their lost non-ticket revenue. Lost ticket revenue was calculated by multiplying each team?s average home game attendance, as reported by ESPN, by its average ticket price, as reported by TicketIQ, and multiplying the total by 8 1/2 games not played.
It?s difficult to gauge exactly what each individual team earns per stadium game in non-ticket revenue for things like food, drinks and merchandise. But Sports Business Daily estimated at the start of the shutdown that it?s between $500,000-$750,000 per team per game for an average of $625,000. Multiplied by 8 1/2 games, that?s $5.31 million, which only adds to the enormous amount of revenue already lost due to the pandemic. Teams were ranked from least amount lost to most.
Take a look at how the pandemic — and the missing games — have impacted your team’s finances.
Last updated: Oct. 22, 2020
22. Memphis Grizzlies
Average attendance: 15,857
Average ticket price: $73
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $15.17 million
21. Phoenix Suns
Average attendance: 15,732
Average ticket price: $85
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $16.70 million
20. Orlando Magic
Average attendance: 17,092
Average ticket price: $87
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $17.98 million
19. Washington Wizards
Average attendance: 16,646
Average ticket price: $92
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $18.32 million
18. Indiana Pacers
Average attendance: 16,531
Average ticket price: $94
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $18.49 million
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17. New Orleans Pelicans
Average attendance: 16,505
Average ticket price: $105
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $20.02 million
16. Sacramento Kings
Average attendance: 16,795
Average ticket price: $107
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $20.61 million
15. Portland Trail Blazers
Average attendance: 19,633
Average ticket price: $103
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $22.48 million
14. Utah Jazz
Average attendance: 18,306
Average ticket price: $117
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $23.5 million
13. Dallas Mavericks
Average attendance: 20,061
Average ticket price: $110
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $24.1 million
12. Milwaukee Bucks
Average attendance: 17,710
Average ticket price: $132
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $25.2 million
11. Oklahoma City Thunder
Average attendance: 18,203
Average ticket price: $137
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $26.48 million
10. Boston Celtics
Average attendance: 19,089
Average ticket price: $154
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $30.3 million
9. Denver Nuggets
Average attendance: 19,186
Average ticket price: $154
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $30.39 million
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8. Miami Heat
Average attendance: 19,680
Average ticket price: $150
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $30.39 million
7. Philadelphia 76ers
Average attendance: 20,628
Average ticket price: $150
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $31.58 million
6. San Antonio Spurs
Average attendance: 18,350
Average ticket price: $177
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $32.94 million
5. Houston Rockets
Average attendance: 18,076
Average ticket price: $189
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $34.38 million
4. Toronto Raptors
Average attendance: 19,795
Average ticket price: $179
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $35.40 million
3. Brooklyn Nets
Average attendance: 16,403
Average ticket price: $242
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $39.06 million
2. Los Angeles Clippers
Average attendance: 19,068
Average ticket price: $267
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $48.58 million
1. Los Angeles Lakers
Average attendance: 18,997
Average ticket price: $473
Food and merchandise revenue per home game: $625,000
Amount lost playing the remainder of the season in the bubble: $81.73 million
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much Playing in the Bubble Cost Each NBA Team
