NBA: Top 5 teams with highest average attendances for the 2013-14 season

The importance of fan support at home and away arenas or grounds is hugely underrated not only in football or basketball but in many other sports as well. Teams always look forward to heading back to their home courts or their home ground where they feel more comfortable to face their opponents, rather than hostile away grounds or road arenas. When it comes to the NBA, the arenas across the country might not stand a chance to compete against the seating numbers of the football grounds of Europe or anywhere else in the world. But being one of the most followed basketball leagues in the world by a big margin, the teams in the NBA do compete for average attendances in a given season. Not suprisingly, it’s often the team’s performance during the season that plays a major role on the number of fans the arena welcomes during games. So here are the franchises that are top 5 in the average attendances category for the just concluded season of 2013-14:

#5 Moda Center - Portland Trail Blazers

Average Attendance – 19,746

The major turnaround in the team’s performance this season after a disappointing 2012-13 campaign saw the crowd turning up in huge numbers to support their team the Trail Blazers. The Moda Center, formerly known as the Rose Garden, is primarily the home court of the Blazers with a maximum capacity of 19,980.

Given the team’s record breaking performance this Playoffs, where the team progressed into the Conference Semifinals round after a drought of 14 years, it was no surprise that the average attendance numbers suggest that close to every game was a sellout.

With the team revamping in the off-season to stregthen its weaknessess – mainly a non-productive bench – expect this franchise to be among the top 5 teams for average attendance next season as well.

#4 AmericanAirlines Arena - Miami Heat

Average Attendance – 19,781

Being the defending champions this past season it was almost a given that Miami Heat would feature among the Top 5 teams for average attendances. However, it was their slight shortage of overall capacity during a basketball game that has pushed them down to fourth on this list.

Had the Heat had an overall capacity of more than 19,600, the team would have probably been at the top of the list of average attendances. The AmericanAirlines Arena is a sports and entertainment arena located in Downtown Miami, Florida along Biscayne Bay.

The chances of seeing a similar attendance figure seem less with the departure of LeBron James to his home town franchise the Cleveland Cavaliers during the ongoing off-season. Although the team still has a similar core sans James, it would be no surprise to see the level of noise and excitement go down this season.

#3 Madison Square Garden - New York Knicks

Average attendance – 19,812

Also known as the Mecca of Basketball, the Madison Square Garden, home of the NBA’s New York Knicks and NHL’s New York Rangers, is an indoor sports complex located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City.

Whether their Knicks are winning or not, the intelligent educated basketball fans of New York come to “the Garden” every night to appreciate the game. These fans are highly capable of booing their own team and cheering the opponent if their team is playing a terrible brand of basketball.

So you can count on the New York Knicks to have a high average attendace for the season irrespective of the team’s performance in the regular season. The re-signing of Carmelo Anthony with their franchise should see a further hike in the attendance this coming season.

#2 American Airlines Center - Dallas Mavericks

Average attendance – 19,950

According to the Guiness Book of Records, the American Airlines Arena opened in downtown Dallas on the 27th of July 2001, serving as a home court or arena for the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and NHL’s Dallas Stars. While hosting home games for the Mavericks the arena has a maximum capacity of 21,146.

The Mavericks weren’t title contenders this season but it has been just three years since the franchise won its first ever NBA Championship, and this year’s successful late season push for the Playoffs certainly seemed to attract a lot of crowds, as the attendance records suggest.

With franchise player Dirk Nowitzki signing a contract extension with the team, Tyson Chandler returning to the franchise after winning a title with them in 2011 and the arrival of young talented Chandler Parsons, attendance numbers are sure to remain as high if not higher the coming next season.

#1 United Center - Chicago Bulls

Average Attendance – 21,716

For the second season in a row the Chicago Bulls played close to an entire season without superstar and former MVP Derrick Rose due to multiple injuries. Still, the team’s fanbase doesn’t seem to be taking a hit as the franchise’s home court – the United Center – recorded the highest average attendance for the season in the NBA over the course of 41 home games for the Bulls.

The indoor sports arena, which was built by the owners of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, hosts close to 80 games around the year as the home court for the Bulls and Blackhawks since it opened for business on 18th of August 1994.

The arena has a maximum seating capacity of 23,129 when it hosts basketball games and the average attendance doesn’t seem all that far. Expect that attendance average to escalate to full capacity this coming season with the Bulls becoming legitimate NBA title contenders after grabbing Pau Gasol in free agency and Rose being declared 100% fit to play.