Somehow, the Portland Trail Blazers are heading to the Western Conference Finals, and it's all the city can seem to focus on right now.
There's good reason for that. It's the closest the team has been to the NBA Finals in two decades, and they've gotten there under the most improbable circumstances, between last year's embarrassing first round exit, Jusuf Nurkic's broken leg, Damian Lillard's insane shot to beat the Thunder, that four-overtime victory in the second-round and CJ McCollum's Game 7 heroics in Denver.
Throw in the fact that their opponents this round are the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors, and the demand for tickets is through the roof.
According to ticket resale site Vivid Seats, the median list price for the Blazers' first home game in their series is the highest among all the remaining teams, at $586. That's over $200 more than the second-highest team, the Toronto Raptors.
Tickets for the Warriors' first home game of the series, tonight at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., are reselling for an average of $326, according to the site. The Milwaukee Bucks, who also haven't been to their Conference Finals in almost 20 years, are the cheapest of the bunch, going for $292.
Related: The Blazers Are Showing Road Games Against the Warriors Outdoors in the Rose Quarter.
The big demand for playoff seats in Portland is an appropriate bookend to a crazy-ass season that began with one of the most expensive regular season home games ever—LeBron James' debut as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The first game at Moda Center will be Game 3 this Saturday. If you want to get tickets through Ticketmaster, nosebleeds are currently starting at $275. Or you can always go to a bar.