Forbes Magazine has ranked the the best fans in the NBA. Here's the Top 5:
1. Lakers
2. Celtics
3. Cavaliers
4. Bulls
5t. Hornets
5t. Spurs
2. Celtics
3. Cavaliers
4. Bulls
5t. Hornets
5t. Spurs
Befuddled? Dazed and confused? Here's the explanation:
We ranked teams based on average regular-season home game attendance as
a percentage of arena capacity; regular-season local television viewers
as a percentage of the team’s metro area population; and team
merchandise sales.
Judged by those measures, Lakers fans showed their team the most love. Fans filled the Staples Center to its 18,977-seat capacity for every home game the past two years. They had a league-high 98 percent renewal rate for season ticket holders for the current season. On top of that, an average 267,000 households in the L.A. area tuned into Lakers games last season on television stations KCAL 9 and FS West. Fans also bought enough Lakers gear to make it the top-selling merchandise last season. Kobe Bryant jerseys were the most popular in the league, and Pau Gasol’s jerseys ranked ninth.
Judged by those measures, Lakers fans showed their team the most love. Fans filled the Staples Center to its 18,977-seat capacity for every home game the past two years. They had a league-high 98 percent renewal rate for season ticket holders for the current season. On top of that, an average 267,000 households in the L.A. area tuned into Lakers games last season on television stations KCAL 9 and FS West. Fans also bought enough Lakers gear to make it the top-selling merchandise last season. Kobe Bryant jerseys were the most popular in the league, and Pau Gasol’s jerseys ranked ninth.
Let me explain exactly how Forbes screwed this up. They failed to account for two critical elements:
- The "show up late, leave early" quotient
- Basketball IQ
Lakers fans score extremely high in the first category, and extremely low in the second category. When you add these critical statistics to the Forbes formula, Lakers fans finish 22nd in the league.