LOS ANGELES -- Tickets to the NBA All-Star Game are the most expensive in at least a decade.
The average price paid for a ticket to Sunday's festivities at Staples Center in Los Angeles on the resale market has topped $1,800 each ($1,959 on StubHub, $1,895 on Vivid Seats).
The most expensive sale was a pair of tickets that sold on StubHub on Friday. The seats are behind the basket and were bought for $29,510, including fees.
This year's game obliterates the high set by the 2011 All-Star Game, which hovered around $1,100 each and was also in Los Angeles.
Part of the reason for the high price is that the NBA, which used to allow the local markets to control inventory for the game, now controls it directly and takes more seats to give to sponsors and partners. Bigger cities such as Los Angeles command more requests from the league's business partners.
