LeBron James and Jay-Z aren't the only fans flocking to see Zion Williamson.
Duke's freshman sensation has set the online ticket resale market on fire, with fans paying big money, and driving hundreds of miles, to watch the 6-7, 285-pound Williamson in the flesh. With the Blue Devils hosting the rival North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium Wednesday night (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET), ticket prices are off the charts.
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The most expensive ticket sold by Vivid to Wednesday night's game? Try $10,652, nearly double the $5,400 price for the steepest ticket to last season's game. As of Tuesday, the cheapest ticket cost $2,990. The most expensive ticket left: $6,452.
Sales traffic to Duke basketball's ticket page at Vivid Seats is up 82 percent for the 2018-2019 season, reports Vivid's Stephen Spiewak. Moreover, Duke fans are traveling a median distance of 469 miles to watch the 18-year-old Williamson.
Vivid's ticket sales for this season's Duke-UNC games are more than double the previous three seasons.
The so-called "Zion Effect" is also in full swing at national ticket reseller SeatGeek. Duke has been the hottest ticket in college basketball this season, said Nate Rattner of SeatGeek, selling out every game.
Thanks largely to Williamson, ticket price are up an average of 178 percent at SeatGeek when Duke is the visiting team.
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When Duke traveled to Charlottesville, Va., on Feb. 9 to play Virginia, game tickets resold for an average of $305. That was the most expensive home ticket for the Cavaliers since SeatGeek started tracking secondary ticket sales in 2010.
King James himself was in attendance that day to watch Duke's 81-71 win over the Cavaliers. Previously, rapper Jay-Z made a pilgrimage to Pittsburgh to watch the Blue Devils beat the Panthers.
Williamson called it a "dream come true" to see the entertainer in attendance at one of his games.
Williamson (who boasts 2.4 million followers on Instagram) is also a big draw at home in Durham, N.C. The average resale price for Duke's home games at Cameron is $264 on SeatGeek. That makes Duke the most "in-demand" of any men's college basketball team, Rattner said.
Williamson, who's averaging 22.4 points per game and 9.2 rebounds, might not even be the best player on the Blue Devils. That could be RJ Barrett, who's averaging 22.7 points per game. But his NFL linebacker physique, combined with his freakish athletic skills, make him the most fascinating young player in basketball.
ESPN analyst Jay Bilas predicted this past fall that Williamson would become the type of crossover star that draws TV viewers to college basketball the way that James does to the NBA or Patrick Mahomes does to the NFL.
"When he takes the stage ... he’s not going to give it up. He’s going to be 'SportsCenter' Top 10 every game. People will get to the game early to watch him in warmups. He’s ridiculous. I’ve never seen an athlete like him," Bilas said.
DECOURCY: Williamson is one and only candidate for player of the year
Bilas was proven correct.
Williamson is almost certain to be the No. 1 pick at the 2019 NBA Draft on June 20. NBA observers are already dreaming about Williamson competing in the Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Weekend in 2020.
As Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports wrote about Williamson's first taste of the Duke-North Carolina rivalry Wednesday night: It's the only thing in college basketball that's bigger than he is.