LeBron James turns 76ers-Celtics into the hottest NBA preseason ticket ever

LeBron James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers, and it took less than an hour for the ticket market to erupt. And that’s just for the NBA preseason. 

The get-in price for Philadelphia’s only preseason home game available on SeatGeek, Oct. 16 against the Boston Celtics at Xfinity Mobile Arena, has climbed from $107 at the time of James’ announcement to as high as $540.

The matchup is currently one of only two 76ers preseason games available on SeatGeek, as Philadelphia’s 2026-27 regular-season schedule has not yet been released.

LeBron’s announcement sparks immediate demand for 76ers tickets

The Sixers will first visit the Boston Celtics on Saturday, Oct. 10, before hosting their Eastern Conference rival in Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 16.

The home matchup gives 76ers fans their first currently available opportunity to buy tickets for a game that could feature James in a Philadelphia uniform.

According to SeatGeek marketplace data, the Oct. 16 get-in price stood at $107 at the time of the announcement. It increased to $471 approximately 20 minutes later before reaching $540 in a little under an hour.

Is LeBron creating the most in-demand NBA preseason game ever?

The early demand for LeBron James’ first potential home appearance has already pushed the Oct. 16 Celtics-76ers matchup beyond the previous NBA preseason record for get-in price in SeatGeek’s database.

Before James joined Philadelphia, the record belonged to the Sacramento Kings’ Oct. 5, 2018 preseason game against the Golden State Warriors in Seattle. That game reached a peak get-in price of $410.

The matchup had far more meaning than a typical exhibition. It was the first NBA game played in Seattle since the SuperSonics relocated in 2008 and the final event ever held at KeyArena before the building was transformed into Climate Pledge Arena. It also brought Kevin Durant back to the arena where he began his NBA career with the Sonics.

Those circumstances helped turn a preseason game into a major Seattle basketball event. Eight years later, James’ arrival in Philadelphia and Jaylen Brown facing his former team at his new home could top that mark. 

When can I buy 76ers regular-season tickets to see LeBron?

The NBA has not released the Philadelphia 76ers’ 2026-27 regular-season schedule yet, so fans cannot see the full list of opponents, dates and home games.

The complete NBA schedule has arrived in mid-August in each of the past three years:

Once the schedule is released and listings go live, SeatGeek will have tickets for all 76ers regular-season games available for fans. Until then, the Oct. 10 preseason game in Boston and the Oct. 16 preseason game in Philadelphia are the only opportunities to target tickets for the beginning of the LeBron era.

But to show just how much pull LeBron still has, Philadelphia turned a preseason game into one of the hottest tickets on the October calendar in less than an hour.