Loyalty has been a big theme in the NBA, even if that concept for players is now viewed a little differently. We always talk about players like Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki, who stayed on the same team. Just like there are loyal players, there are also loyal fans, who stick to one team rather than watch different teams.
A recent study by Pickswise has revealed just how loyal the fans of each team are. The study features data going back 9 years into the past, and it appears as though the Dallas Mavericks have the most loyal fans with a 104.34 fan attendance percentage. Pickswise also provided some extra details about the data itself. Below that is the data itself.
Data sourced from ESPN.com. Stadiums can go over 100% for certain matches when standing capacity is utilized. Figures also take into account all stadium moves in the last 10 years and temporary moves before relevant teams switched cities.
Pickswise also made some interesting observations when analyzing the data, which was featured in their press release. For example, they revealed that LeBron James helps drives attendance, using the Cleveland Cavaliers as an example.
According to a recent study by Pickswise, the Dallas Mavericks remain the team to beat when it comes to most loyal fanbases as the American Airlines Centre was on average 104.34% full over the last 10 years.
The Motor City remains one of the worst places to watch sports in the country as Detroit’s big four championship drought is currently 13years long, with none of the sides looking likely to end that any time soon, so it’s unsurprising to see the Pistons rock bottom of this list
with an average of 73.30% attendance in the last nine seasons.
The Lebron James Effect - The 36-year-old superstar is a huge attraction, which is best highlighted by how Cleveland Cavaliers’ average attendance rose from 84.3% to 100% in the first season back at his hometown team, before dropping to 91.7% within two seasons after he left - the team averaged a full house during his entire second stint there.
The Dallas Mavericks clearly have a dedicated following, while the Detroit Pistons seem to be a team that needs to find ways to up their attendance. Perhaps with the arrival of Cade Cunningham, their fortunes will change for the better.
It remains to be seen if there will be changes to this data in future seasons, or whether loyalty among fanbases stays the same. Perhaps the future generation of players will be able to influence this data by making their own mark on the league and driving fan attendance for their franchises.
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