When it comes to sport in the US it’s only football that outstrips basketball in popularity. But if you’re looking at passion in fans then basketball may well have the edge.
There are plenty of reasons for this including the larger than life – quite literally – players whose dramatic plays on court make it so captivating to watch. Then there’s the action itself. Fast and furious for all four quarters of a game, there’s always an attack and counter attack taking place.
Plus, for those fans lucky enough to get tickets for an NBA, the atmosphere in the enclosed arena can be even more electric than for the biggest of football or baseball games.
When it comes to the best cities for fans of the great game there are many candidates, but five stand head and shoulders above the others.
Los Angeles
Leading the way must surely be Los Angeles. For a start, the city boasts not just one but two NBA teams for fans to follow, the Clippers and the Lakers. Anyone who likes to back an underdog should follow the Clippers. They’ve made the playoffs countless times but never managed to carry off the title. The Lakers, on the other hand, have won an amazing 17 NBA championships over the years, most recently in 2020.
They’re also the team to follow if having a superstar or two in their ranks is what attracts you as a fan. Among the big names that have donned the Lakers shirt in the past are Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and, arguably the GOAT of the game, Magic Johnson, although he has put forward Bryant’s name for the title.
Boston
Boston also has a very strong claim in the title as the best city for basketball fans. After all, its NBA team the Celtics is the only one to have won more NBA championships than their West Coast rivals with 18 to their name. They’ve also had more than a few legendary names on the roster including Paul Pierce, Larry Bird and Bill Russell.
True die-hard fans will also point to the fact that the game itself was invented in Massachusetts by a lecturer called James Naismith at what is now known as Springfield College.
The college basketball scene continues to thrive in the city and there is also the famous high school tournament called the Boston Shootout where players like Kevin Durant and Patrick Ewing firs showed their future potential.
Las Vegas
With the increasingly high profile that is being achieved by women’s sport, Las Vegas is our next selection. Although the city is yet to have a men’s NBA team, the ace it has up its sleeve for fans is . . . the Las Vegas Aces. This team competes in the WNBA and its journey to Vegas has been a long one. Previously based in San Antonio they switched to Vegas in 2018.
The move’s proved to be a good one with them achieving the double in 2022 of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup and the WNBA Championship. The 2023 WNBA Championship was also theirs and they became first team to win two in a row since the LA Sparks achieved the same feat in 2001 and 2002.
Home games are played in the Michelob Ultra Arena in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. So any fans that want to try their luck in the casino after the game could sharpen up their own skills online if they try this.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is a city that puts almost as much emphasis on college basketball as it does on the professional league.
In the NBA its team, the 76ers, has a glittering array of ex-players ranging from Allen Iverson to Wilt Chamberlain and has won no less than three NBA championships in its history.
The city was also home to a young Kobe Bryant where he started to build his reputation as a high schooler in the Sonny Hill League. Moving up a level, there is also fierce rivalry between five colleges in the region, La Salle, Saint Joseph’s, Temple, Villanova and the University of Pennsylvania.
The city’s main college arena, The Palestra, has also hosted more NCAA tournaments than anywhere else in the US.
San Francisco
Last, but not least, let’s not forget that other great Californian city, San Francisco. The Golden State Warriors have won a total of seven NBA championships as well as coming first in a recent fan survey carried out by The Athletic.
A lot has surely to be connected with the presence of superstar Stephen Curry. The city is also home to a leading NCAA team the San Francisco Dons, winners of no less than two national championships.
Of course, there are many other contenders for basketball fans’ best cities. But, for us, these five are top of the tree.