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Basketball in the United States

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league that governs most levels of basketball in the United States. Basketball is the second most popular sport in the United States (counting amateur levels), after American football.[2][3][4] In terms of revenue, the NBA is the third most profitable sports league in the United States and the world, after the National Football League (NFL) and Major League Baseball (MLB).[5] Basketball was invented in 1891 by Canadian physical education teacher James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts.[6]

Basketball in the United States
Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls with head coach Phil Jackson in 1997; together, the duo won six NBA championships in the 1990s.
CountryUnited States
Governing bodyUSA Basketball
National team(s)United States
Registered players24.3 million[1]
Club competitions
List
International competitions

NBA

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The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the world's premier men's professional basketball league and one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. It contains 30 teams (29 teams in the U.S. and 1 in Canada) that play an 82-game season from October to June. After the regular season, eight teams from each conference compete in the playoffs for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy[7] The NBA gets high ratings on television.[8][9]

The Chicago Bulls drew the highest average home attendance in the 2023-24 edition of the NBA. These figures reflect the popularity of professional basketball as a spectator sport in the United States:

# NBA team Home games Average attendance[10]
1 Chicago Bulls 41 20,624
2 Dallas Mavericks 41 20,217
3 Philadelphia 76ers 41 20,041
4 Miami Heat 41 19,749
5 New York Knicks 41 19,728
6 Denver Nuggets 41 19,684
7 Toronto Raptors¹ 41 19,515
8 Cleveland Cavaliers 41 19,345
9 Boston Celtics 41 19,156
10 Los Angeles Clippers 41 18,945
11 Los Angeles Lakers 41 18,903
12 Orlando Magic 41 18,876
13 Portland Trail Blazers 41 18,326
14 Utah Jazz 41 18,206
15 Detroit Pistons 41 18,159
16 San Antonio Spurs 41 18,110
17 Golden State Warriors 41 18,064
18 Minnesota Timberwolves 41 18,024
19 Sacramento Kings 41 17,927
20 Milwaukee Bucks 41 17,640
21 Brooklyn Nets 41 17,568
22 Houston Rockets 41 17,562
23 Oklahoma City Thunder 41 17,451
24 New Orleans Pelicans 41 17,301
25 Phoenix Suns 41 17,071
26 Atlanta Hawks 41 16,985
27 Washington Wizards 41 16,898
28 Memphis Grizzlies 41 16,631
29 Indiana Pacers 41 16,525
30 Charlotte Hornets 41 16,448

¹ From Canada

Race and ethnicity

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Main article: Race and ethnicity in the NBA

The composition of race and ethnicity in the National Basketball Association (NBA) has changed throughout the league's history.[11][12][13][14]

By 2020, 81.1% of players in the NBA are Black (if mixed are also counted as black), 17.9% white, 12.5% mixed race (mostly half-black half-white), and 1.1% of other races.[15][16] The league has the highest percentage of Black players of any major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.[17] As of 2020, the NBA's viewership appears to be predominantly Black and Hispanic.[18]

National teams

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U.S. men's national basketball team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Since the 1992 Summer Olympics, NBA players have represented the United States in international competition and won numerous important tournaments. The Dream Team was the unofficial nickname of the United States men's basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics.[19] The Women's national team has won eight gold medals at the Olympics.[20][21]

High school basketball

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See also: List of U.S. high school basketball national player of the year awards

High school basketball is a popular activity.[22][23] The National Federation of State High School Associations featured 541,479 boys and 429,504 girls in basketball teams as of the 2014–15 season.[24]

Many high school basketball teams have intense local followings, especially in the Midwest and Upper South.[citation needed] Indiana has 10 of the 12 largest high school gyms in the United States,[25] and is famous for its basketball passion, known as Hoosier Hysteria.

College basketball

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See also: College basketball

College basketball is quite popular and draws TV high ratings.[26] Every March, a 68-team, six-round, single-elimination tournament (commonly called March Madness) determines the national champions of NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament men's college basketball.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33]

The North Carolina Tar Heels drew the highest average home attendance in the 2023-24 edition of college basketball. These top 30 figures reflect the popularity of college basketball as a spectator sport in the United States:

# College basketball team Home games Average attendance[34]
1 North Carolina Tar Heels 15 20,593
2 Syracuse Orange 16 20,288
3 Kentucky Wildcats 18 19,928
4 Tennessee Volunteers 16 19,664
5 Arkansas Razorbacks 18 19,106
6 Creighton Bluejays 16 17,269
7 Indiana Hoosiers 18 16,468
8 Marquette Golden Eagles 16 16,307
9 Kansas Jayhawks 16 16,300
10 BYU Cougars 18 15,689
11 Wisconsin Badgers 17 15,560
12 Illinois Fighting Illini 18 14,990
13 Purdue Boilermakers 16 14,876
14 Michigan State Spartans 18 14,797
15 Nebraska Cornhuskers 19 14,597
16 Arizona Wildcats 16 14,392
17 Virginia Cavaliers 17 13,992
18 Iowa State Cyclones 18 13,868
19 NC State Wolfpack 17 13,491
20 Dayton Flyers 15 13,407
21 South Carolina Gamecocks 17 13,397
22 Maryland Terrapins 17 13,283
23 New Mexico Lobos 16 13,042
24 Texas Tech Red Raiders 17 12,926
25 Connecticut Huskies 16 12,733
26 San Diego State Aztecs 15 12,370
27 Memphis Tigers 15 12,276
28 Louisville Cardinals 18 11,504
29 Michigan Wolverines 15 11,496
30 Alabama Crimson Tide 15 11,359

Women's basketball

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See also: Women's basketball

Women's Basketball Association was the first attempt at a professional women's basketball league in 1984.[35] The American Basketball League was one the first professional female leagues in the United States.[36]

The Women's National Basketball Association or WNBA is an organization governing a professional basketball league for women in the United States.[37] The WNBA was formed in 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association, and league play began in 1997.[38] The regular WNBA season is June to September (North American Spring and Summer). Most WNBA teams play at the same venue as their NBA counterparts.[39] The WNBA is the premier professional basketball league for women in the world.[40][41] Despite being the premier women's basketball league the WNBA struggles to attract a large mainstream audience.[42][43] Women's NCAA basketball is also popular, although less so than men's basketball.[44]

The women's national team has won eight Olympic gold medals and ten FIBA World Cups.

References

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  1. ^ Number of participants in basketball in the United States from 2006 to 2018 Statista
  2. ^ "Major League Baseball still leads the NBA when it comes to popularity – Business Insider". Uk.businessinsider.com. 24 February 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Sports – Pro Football is Still America's Favorite Sport". Theharrispoll.com. 26 January 2016. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Harris Poll – NFL still most popular; MLB 2nd". Espn.com. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  5. ^ "The Harris Poll". Harrisinteractive.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  6. ^ Catalina Logan. "The Effects of the Game of Basketball on America". Livestrong.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  7. ^ Thomas, Vince (10 March 2010). "Basketball's Forgotten (Black) History". Theroot.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Hoop Dreams: Multicultural Diversity in NBA Viewership". Nielsen.com. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  9. ^ "TV audience for NBA Finals was more diverse than a decade ago". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  10. ^ https://www.espn.com/nba/attendance/_/year/2024
  11. ^ Howard Nixon II (24 July 2015). Sport in a Changing World. p. 81. ISBN 9781317383789. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  12. ^ "Where have all the white American NBA players gone?". Chicago Sun-Times. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  13. ^ Spears, Marc J. (25 October 2016). "Where are all the white American NBA players? — Andscape". Andscape. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  14. ^ Touré (14 June 2012). "Will There Ever Be Another Black America's Team?". Time – via ideas.time.com.
  15. ^ "What Percentage of NBA players are Black (2019-20 season)?". 16 June 2020.
  16. ^ "Adam Silver: NBA's return-to-play plan 'may not be for everyone' | Pelicans | nola.com". 16 June 2020.
  17. ^ Landrum Jr., Jonathan (11 February 2012). "First Black NBA Player Gets Honor at Hawks Game". Archived from the original on 15 January 2014.
  18. ^ "• NBA interest in the U.S. by ethnicity 2020 | Statista".
  19. ^ Sean Gregory (13 August 2016). "Rio 2016 Olympics: Team USA Basketball Has A Problem". Time. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  20. ^ Macguire, Eoghan (20 August 2016). "Olympics: US wins women's basketball gold.com". CNN. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  21. ^ Schreiber, Jay (20 August 2016). "Women's Basketball USA – Spain Result". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Hidden demographics of youth sports – ESPN The Magazine". Espn.com. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  23. ^ "Why Is Girls Basketball Participation Declining?". Forbes.com. 17 January 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  24. ^ "2014–15 NFHS participation survey" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  25. ^ "largest Indiana high school gymnasiums". Indianahsbasketball.homestead.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  26. ^ Simon Rice (17 March 2016). "March Madness: With even Barack Obama involved, why are college sports so popular in the United States?". The Independent. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  27. ^ "Ten years in, the NBA's one-and-done rule is no less controversial". Espn.co.uk. 16 June 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  28. ^ Patterson, Chip (28 January 2014). "College basketball sliding in Harris Poll of sport popularity". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  29. ^ "More on college hoops and popularity – Men's College Basketball Blog". ESPN. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  30. ^ "9 reasons college basketball is better than the NBA | For The Win". Ftw.usatoday.com. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  31. ^ Sean Gregory (14 March 2015). "March Madness: College Basketball Struggles During Regular Season". Time. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  32. ^ David Hein. "A European's view of US college basketball's March Madness | David Hein | Opinion". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  33. ^ Jones, Gordie (13 March 2015). "The state of college basketball? Dismal". Myajc.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  34. ^ http://fs.ncaa.org.s3.amazonaws.com/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/Attend.pdf
  35. ^ Ostler, By Scott. "'We were pioneers': Long before WNBA, San Francisco had trailblazing pro team". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  36. ^ Gentry, Dorothy J. (12 May 2021). "The American Basketball League Helped Pave the Way for the WNBA". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  37. ^ Sandomir, Richard (28 May 2016). "After Two Decades WNBA Still Struggling For Relevance". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  38. ^ Frank Hoffmann; Robert P Batchelor; Martin J Manning (23 May 2016). Basketball in America: From the Playgrounds to Jordan's Game and Beyond. p. 249. ISBN 9781135419936. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  39. ^ "COLUMN: In 20th season, WNBA still struggling | The Daily Courier | Prescott, AZ". Dcourier.com. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  40. ^ Tingley, Kim (2 September 2019). "The W.N.B.A. Is Putting On Some of the Best Pro Basketball in America (Published 2019)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  41. ^ Fagan, Kate (31 March 2016). "Fagan on why lower rims in women's basketball is flawed". Espn.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  42. ^ Levin, Josh (20 October 2009). "How to fix the WNBA". Slate.com. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  43. ^ "Adam Silver can save the WNBA | For The Win". Ftw.usatoday.com. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  44. ^ "Women's College Basketball Taking It To New Heights". EBONY. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
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