Mavericks raise season ticket prices after Luka Doncic trade

Three days after their former star turned 26, the Mavericks informed season ticket holders that prices for the 2025-26 season would be going up, by an average of 8.6%. This follows a series of protests from fans responding to the trade of Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, including a mock funeral outside the arena and multiple fan ejections, including two men kicked out of a game for displaying a "Fire Nico" sign about Mavericks GM Nico Harrison.

In their statement, the Mavericks claimed that the price hike was due to "ongoing investments in team and fan engagement," a vague explanation that included a reference to "a fan experience with upgrades and access to in-game entertainment and member benefits."

In other words, the team wanted to raise prices, but they can't point to a specific reason tickets should be more expensive. The main "ongoing investment" that the Mavericks were unwilling to make was a supermax extension for Doncic, who was voted to the All-NBA first team for the last five seasons.

It's at least the third straight season the Mavericks have hiked ticket prices. After the team missed the 2022-23 playoffs, the team raised prices by up to 10%. Last summer, those prices went up even more dramatically, with season ticket holders reporting increases of 20% or more. Meanwhile, the NBA just signed a new TV deal that will pay each team over $2.5B over the next 11 years.

The timing of the price hike couldn't be worse. The Lakers have won six games in a row and are 10-2 since trading for Doncic. Dallas got All-Star Anthony Davis back in the deal, but lost him to injury in his first game with the team. Davis turns 32 and Kyrie Irving turns 33 this month, and neither has a clean medical history.

The Mavericks didn't want to spend money on Doncic. Yet even with no clear explanation of what more their fans are getting — last year they also vaguely promised "new benefits and incentives" — they want them to pay more to see a significantly worse basketball team. 

We'll have to wait to see how this price hike turns out, but it certainly doesn't look like a good move right now. Just like the Doncic trade.