The United States is a strange old country when it comes to sports. Rather than jumping on the football – or soccer to those stateside – bandwagon, they instead have their favorites. American Football, basketball, and ice hockey reign supreme in the land of the free, and as we have seen at the recent Olympic Games, the Stars and Stripes certainly excel at their favorites. They’ve seen some stunning victories, with a star-studded team featuring LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant helping their country to a thrilling semifinal victory against Nikola Jokic’s Serbia.
Back in the NBA – the league that their dream team calls home – there are plenty of teams, all of which have had varying levels of success. But which of the 30 have the best fanbases? Let’s find out.
Los Angeles Lakers
With 17 Larry O’Brien Championship trophies to their name, the Los Angeles Lakers were the most successful team in NBA history, up until last term anyway. Over the years, the California outfit has had some of the greatest players in history pull on their famous yellow jersey, including the likes of Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, and the late great Kobe Bryant, to name a few.
In modern times, the man leading the charge is arguably the GOAT, LeBron James. The former Cleveland Cavalier is the top points scorer in the history of the NBA and he has four championships to his name, leading the Lakers to their most recent one back in 2021. Many thought that the King had slowed down somewhat in recent times and that’s unsurprising considering the fact that basketball is one of the toughest sports physically, but if the Olympics are anything to go by, the 39-year-old remains as dominant as ever.
Next season, LeBron will line up alongside his son Bronny, with the younger of that duo being selected by the Lakers with the 55th overall pick. The pair will become the first father-son duo to ever feature alongside each other in the NBA, but that hasn’t impressed the bookies. The latest basketball lines and futures make the Crypto.com Arena side a +2200 ninth favorite for the championship next season, and their star man will have to be at his very best if he is to eke out one last title during the twilight of his career.
Boston Celtics
Unlike the Lakers, one team that is much fancied next term is the Boston Celtics. The TD Garden side will head into the 2024/25 season as the +300 favorites to retain the championship they won so impressively last season, becoming a record-breaking 18-time champion in the process.
They topped the regular season standings comfortably, finishing seven wins clear of the next-best team. The fearsome double act of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown then led them through an epic postseason, culminating with a resounding 4-1 NBA Finals victory against Luka Doncic and his Dallas Mavericks.
When you’re the most successful team in history, chances are you’ll also be a Titan of fan support, and that is certainly the case with the Celtics. From the dynasty built by Bill Russell in the 1950s and ’60s to the Larry Bird era in the 1980s, the Beantown side has cultivated a winning culture that resonates deeply with their fans. The aforementioned TD Garden is a cauldron of noise and that “Celtics Pride” is on full display each and every week.
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls experienced a meteoric rise in the 1990s, largely due to the presence of Michael Jordan. The maverick MJ is widely considered the greatest player that’s ever lived, despite LeBron James’ ongoing longevity and point-scoring heroics. Throughout the 1990s, he led the Windy City side to a three-peat of championships, before taking a couple of years off to take up baseball. Then, as if he hadn’t already secured icon status, he returned to the Bulls to complete another threepeat between 1997 and 1999.
Back when Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman were firing on all cylinders, the United Center the Bulls call home was one of the toughest places for any opposing team to visit, and that remains the case in 2024, despite their current team being a million miles away from their greatness of old. Nowadays, the arena is more of a shrine to yesteryear, but “Benny the Bull” still does his best to fire up those in attendance.
While recent years have seen the team struggle to replicate past successes, the loyalty of Bulls fans remains unwavering, driven by their memories of Jordan’s heroics and hope for future triumphs. Chicago has reached the postseason just once in the last seven years, and if they are to remain one of the best-supported teams in the league, they will have to reward their supporters with some success in the not-so-distant future.
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