Top Raptors Game 1 ticket went for almost $23K, StubHub says

Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri speaks at an NBA Cares event at the Jimmie Simpson Community Centre in Toronto on Friday May 31, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO -- An online ticket-resale site says Game 1 of the NBA Finals was its third-best selling NBA Finals ever.

Ebay-owned StubHub says sales via its site outpaced those in 2016 and 2017, when the Golden State Warriors played the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The most expensive ticket for the Toronto Raptors matchup with the Warriors on Thursday was $23,896.

So far, the top price for Sunday's Game 2 is a mere $10,000.

StubHub says the 2019 playoffs have already outsold last year's finals by 57 per cent.

It says tickets for Toronto home games account for 70 per cent of its NBA Finals total sales to date.

"Toronto fans are unbelievably driven to experience this historic NBA Finals appearance, which is evident by the demand experienced for the first ever NBA Finals game in Toronto Raptors' and Canadian history," Paul Nowosad, general manager of StubHub Canada, said in a statement. "We anticipate that Sunday's game will see similar or potentially even stronger demand."