If you’ve ever dreamed of catching an NBA game courtside surrounded by roaring fans and the buzz of the crowd, you might want to check the price tag first.
Our 2025-26 breakdown looks at the real cost of an NBA night out, from tickets and concessions to parking and team merchandise, so you can see which arenas are the most affordable and which come with the biggest price tags.
Across the league, the average cost for a family of four to attend an NBA game is $1,442.03. Some teams come in well below that mark and make for easier family nights. Others blow past it, thanks to premium markets, higher ticket demand, and pricier in-arena experiences.
To make sure everything's up-to-date and accurate, all data was inflation-adjusted to 2025 using the Consumer Price Index. The analysis combines verified ticket data, concession spending, and merchandise costs, giving a clear look at where NBA fans are paying the most and where they’re getting the best value.
Let’s start at the top, with the teams where a single game can feel like a courtside splurge.
Key Highlights from the 2025 NBA Game-Day Cost Study
- New York Knicks top the list as the most expensive team for families, with an average game-day cost of $2,130.53, nearly 50% above the league average of $1,442.03.
- New Orleans Pelicans offer the most affordable experience at $980, roughly 32% below the league average.
- League average for a family of four: $1,442.03.
- Ticket prices make up more than half of a family’s total game-day spend, 50.65%, which shows how rising seat prices drive overall costs.
The Most Expensive NBA Games for Families in 2025
Attending an NBA game is a bucket-list move for a lot of fans, but for some teams, a full family outing comes with a pretty big price tag. These arenas combine premium tickets, prime locations, and strong merchandise demand, making them the priciest places to catch a game this season.
The top five all sit several hundred dollars above the league average, a reminder of how costly big-market basketball games can be.
1. New York Knicks, Madison Square Garden ($2,130.53)
The Knicks lead the list for family cost, 48% above the league average. Four tickets alone clear $1,380, driven by New York demand and limited seating. Food and drinks add $83, merchandise for four hats and jerseys runs about $614, and parking near Madison Square Garden is just under $50. A family night in Midtown turns into a luxury tab fast.
2. Los Angeles Lakers, Crypto.com Arena ($1,937.37)
A Los Angeles Lakers game in downtown LA costs families roughly 34% more than the league average, with four seats averaging north of $1,150. Expect about $75 on food and drinks and roughly $680 on team gear. Parking lands under $25, but that savings doesn’t move the needle much against the baseline price of seeing one of basketball’s flagship brands.
3. Golden State Warriors, Chase Center ($1,906.36)
A Golden State Warriors outing comes in about 32% above average. Four tickets at Chase Center average $1,045, and food and drinks are around $84. Merchandise climbs higher, roughly $740 for four hats and jerseys, a nod to the championship-era pull. Parking is about $38, and San Francisco remains one of the priciest stops for fans (and anyone living there).
4. Minnesota Timberwolves, Target Center ($1,785.49)
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ surge has lifted demand, and prices, to about 24% above the league average. Tickets for four average $997, with merchandise topping $705. Plan around $65 for food and drinks and $19 for parking. Strong momentum plus a locked-in fan base? Recipe for making Target Center sit inside the top five.
5. Boston Celtics, TD Garden ($1,762.70)
The Boston Celtics land about 22% over the league average, with tickets taking the biggest share at $1,062 for four. Food and drinks add $70, merchandise averages $613. Parking near TD Garden is about $17, modest for a big market. On-court success and a diehard crowd keep this one of the more expensive nights out.
The Most Affordable NBA Games for Families in 2025
Want some good news? Not every NBA game costs a small fortune. Some cities still give fans the opportunity for a night out that’s accessible and family-friendly. The teams below land well under the league’s average family outing cost of $1,442.03.
1. New Orleans Pelicans, Smoothie King Center ($980)
The Pelicans are the most affordable option, about 32% below the league average. Four tickets run around $410, food and drinks add $60, and team merchandise for four hats and jerseys is about $480. Parking downtown is roughly $30, making this one of the best values anywhere.
2. Utah Jazz, Delta Center ($1,020)
The Utah Jazz rank second for affordability, roughly 29% cheaper than average. Plan for about $385 on tickets, $57 on food and drinks, and $545 on merchandise. Parking averages $31, keeping the total balanced across the board.
3. Washington Wizards, Capital One Arena ($1,100)
The Washington Wizards come in around 24% below the league average. Four tickets average $490, food and drinks add about $52, and merchandise lands near $545.Parking is a modest $13, one of the lowest figures across the league.
4. Houston Rockets, Toyota Center ($1,180)
The Houston Rockets sit about 18% below average. Tickets total roughly $490, food and drinks average $68, and team merchandise is about $610. Parking is just $11, among the cheapest in the NBA, proving big-market hoops doesn’t always mean big-market prices.
5. Memphis Grizzlies, FedExForum ($1,185)
The Memphis Grizzlies round out the top five at 18% under the league average. Tickets for four are around $540, food and drinks near $53, and merchandise about $545. Parking runs about $45, still well under what fans pay in major coastal markets.
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Methodology: How We Calculated NBA Game-Day Costs
This study ranks the most and least affordable NBA arenas for families based on the total game-day cost for a family of four. We combinedofficial sources with CPI-adjusted estimates to reflect 2025 prices.
Data Collection
- Ticket prices: Average game-day costs were scraped from Ticketmaster with automated tools. We analyzed more than 340,000 tickets across multiple seating sections for every NBA team.
- Food and drinks: Concession prices for soft drinks, beer, and hot dogs came from Statista, then were updated to 2025 using Consumer Price Index adjustments.
- Child ticket policy: Each arena’s admission policy for children was pulled from Ticketmaster’s official guidelines to estimate family totals accurately.
- Parking fees: Average costs near or at each arena were drawn from Action Network’s NBA Family Outing Cost dataset and adjusted for inflation.
- Team merchandise: Prices for four jerseys and four hats were taken from NBA Store Europe, reflecting common family purchases.
Data Processing
All data was cleaned and aggregated with Python to remove outliers and fill missing values. For each team, we summed tickets, food and drinks, merchandise, and parking to produce the total family outing figure.
Price Adjustment for 2025
We applied CPI-based inflation adjustments across applicable categories to standardize everything to the 2025-26 season.
Ranking
Teams were ordered by total estimated cost for a family of four, providing a clear snapshot of where NBA outings are most and least affordable in 2025.
