Warriors’ ‘Golden’ Win Streak Paying Off

Business is booming for Stephen Curry and the undefeated Golden State Warriors, both on the court and in the online marketplace.

The Warriors defeated the Indiana Pacers 131-123 on Tuesday to improve to 23-0 this season. Golden State has 27 consecutive regular-season wins dating back to last season, which is tied for the second-longest winning streak in NBA history. The Miami Heat, led at the time by LeBron James, won 27 straight games during the 2012-13 season.

The NBA record for longest consecutive win streak belongs to the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 straight games en route to an NBA championship. If the Warriors keep winning, they’ll have a chance to tie that mark on Christmas Day against none other than LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers – the same team Golden State defeated in last season’s NBA Finals. Golden State still has five games to go before their December 25 battle with “King James,” but ticket vendors are already salivating at the prospect of a championship rematch with historic implications.

The average ticket price for the Warriors-Cavaliers game stood at $792.03 on the secondary market as of Wednesday morning. That’s 38% more expensive than two weeks ago, when tickets to the game were selling for an average of $572.36, according to TiqIQ, a secondary market ticket aggregator.

And the tickets will only get more expensive if the Warriors stay unbeaten. “This would be the most expensive Christmas day game we’ve ever tracked if the prices stay at this level,” said Chris Matcovich, TiqIQ’s Director of Data and Operations.

At the center of the Warriors’ unstoppable run is Curry, the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player and an undeniable fan favorite. Curry has elevated his game to new heights this season, averaging a league-best 32 points per game, along with six assists and five rebounds per contest.

Curry’s routine dominance has had a perceptible effect on sales of his merchandise, which was already among the league’s best-selling gear entering the 2015-16 season. Sales of Curry’s jersey are up 500% since the season started on October 27, according to Fanatics.com, the largest online retailer of licensed sports merchandise. Curry is the league’s top-selling athlete in more than 40 states and the NBA’s top-selling player overall, a Fanatics spokesman said.

In all, tickets to Warriors home games are selling for an average of $343.90 on the secondary market this season – more than any other NBA team, and nearly $50 more than the nearest competitor, according to TiqIQ. The Los Angeles Lakers rank second with an average home ticket price of $296.05, thanks to public interest in Kobe Bryant’s retirement tour.

Golden State has 7/2 odds of breaking the NBA’s win-streak record and 3/2 odds of breaking the league’s record of 72 regular-season wins, according to Bovada, a leading online sportsbook. Setting either mark would only reinforce the notion that the Curry-led Warriors are one of the most dominant teams in NBA history.

But any one of the Warriors’ opponents thus far this season can attest to that.