How Popular is Basketball in the United States?
Photo taken by NBA.com
The National Basketball Association has amassed a lot of popularity over many decades. As a result, basketball has become one of the most watched sports in the United States of America. Of course, American football is still America’s favorite sport, but basketball is catching many people’s eyes.
Based on previous years of viewership, basketball is ranked third in the United States among top sports. Baseball and American football tend to bring in more viewers. Regarding record viewership since 2005, baseball’s most viewed game was Game Seven of the 2016 World Series, where the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Guardians 4–3. Around 40 million people viewed that game. Oddly enough, the most viewed game of the NBA was also in 2016. It was Game Seven of the NBA Finals where the Cleveland Cavaliers completed the 3–1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors. Around 31 million people watched that game.
However, in 2022 basketball has had higher viewership than baseball so far. Granted, the NBA Finals have concluded, and MLB’s World Series has not occurred yet.
Mary Schwalm/Associated Press
A positive sign for the NBA this year-round was that the average viewership of the NBA Finals matchup of the Boston Celtics vs. the Golden State Warriors was higher than last year’s finals of the Phoenix Suns vs. the Milwaukee Bucks. The 2022 NBA Finals had an average viewership of 12,402,000 viewers, 22 percent higher than last year’s matchup.
Getting away from just viewership, the NBA has become the leader in social media compared to other sports. The main NBA account recently eclipsed 70 million followers on Instagram, which is more than all other major American sports leagues combined. In 2021, the NBA added 18 million followers on all social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, which is also more than any other American sports league.
Amongst all major American sports leagues, the NBA was the most watched and involved on social media last year. With the shift towards more internet content and production, the NBA has been trailblazing the way for other sports.
2020 saw a strange drop in viewership for the NBA, having one of the least watched Finals in NBA history. This upward turn in the recent seasons has been promising. There are too many conflicting statistics and reports to definitively declare basketball as the second-most popular sport in the USA. However, in 2018, a poll stated that 11 percent of Americans claim basketball as their favorite sport, and nine percent claim baseball as their favorite sport.
The NBA’s product has been evolving at a fast pace, and the game has changed a lot over time. The chance to officially overtake baseball as the second most popular sport in the United States is evident and possible. However, as much as the league is progressing, there is still a substantial popularity gap between basketball and American football in the United States.
