The demand for the tickets for games of NBA's Los Angeles Lakers in the coming 2018-19 season has skyrocketed by a stunning 427 percent compared with last season, according to the world's largest event marketplace StubNub.

In its second annual NBA Season Preview, StubNub said that the Lakers' first home game against the Houston Rockets on October 20 is the most in-demand of the season. Even when they are playing in away games, the team can still bring a huge rise of 374 percent in ticket sales.

Though the Lakers have always been a popular choice with their glorious history, the second largest basketball market in the US and generation by generation of star players, this time LeBron James will take the credit.

"The overwhelming demand for Lakers tickets is a testament to the value of star power on a team, with fans excited to see LeBron in his new home. It's not often that we see this large of a spike in demand for a team that already led sales the season before. There are only a handful of athletes in the world who can make an impact on ticket demand like LeBron can," said Scott Jablonski, StubHub's general manager of NHL, NFL and NBA.

From StubNub's top 10 most in-demand NBA games in the new season, James' debut at the Staples Center on October 20 takes the lead with an average ticket price of 934 US dollars, followed by 713 dollars for the Christmas game in which he will lead the team to challenge the Golden State Warriors. As a matter of fact, seven of the top 10 games will include the Lakers which in four of them will play as the visiting team.

The business effect of James does not stop on ticket sales. According to StubNub, since he joined the team on July 2, over 12,000 jerseys of the Lakers have been sold, which is almost 200 per day. As for sneakers, the sales of LeBron 15 signature shoe has already doubled the number of Kyrie Irving's Kyrie 4 on eBay.

"At eBay, we most recently saw teams in the East drive the most sales for all NBA merchandise from June through August 2018. LeBron's move to Los Angeles certainly ignites iconic rivalries, and we look forward to seeing which coast moves the needle across fan sales at tip-off," said Sam Bright, eBay vice president of Soft Goods, North America.