SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The much anticipated first match-up between the LeBron James led Lakers and the Golden State Warriors will be at SAP Center in San Jose on Oct. 12. Even though it's a pre-season game, fans will need to shell out some big bucks. Single tickets already have taken a jump, topping $600 on some reseller sites.
South Bay Warriors fans are not sharing the enthusiasm that Lakers fans are feeling with King James heading to the West Coast. "I don't think the Lakers will have the capacity to beat the Warriors," said San Jose resident and Warriors fan Gabriel Covarrubias. "It all just depends on who else... free agency is still going. All depends on who else decides to join the team."
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Warriors center JaVale McGee already made the jump, following LeBron James. After two championship seasons in Oakland, McGee posted on Twitter, "Thank you Dub Nation for two amazing years... Lakers fans, I am thrilled to begin this new chapter with such an elite organization."
The move by LeBron to Los Angeles gives the Western Conference another title contender. "I think the competition was already pretty strong when you talk about the Western Conference with Houston Rockets and how well they were," said Campbell resident Kevin Breit. "Talk about Paul George and some of the beset players already being in the Western Conference. I think it adds another team, and it's definitely going to make things tougher." Breit has worked 17 years as a bartender at Warriors games.
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It does create the potential for a second sports rivalry, pitting the Bay Area against the Southland as exists now in baseball between the Giants and the Dodgers. On that note, Warriors fan Debbie O'Brien from Menlo Park told ABC7 News, "the Warriors are going to step up their game and be competitive with additional West Coast conference team." Does Steph Curry have anything to worry about? "Not at all," she said, "I think with KD (Kevin Durant) signing, Steph, we've got Steve Kerr again signed. I think it's exciting."