Why is the NBA So Popular Around the World?

With a hip slogan that assertively states, "I Love This Game!" the National Basketball Association (NBA) has a very high standard to meet. While the league obviously presumes its fans' eternal affection for the game of professional basketball, a relevant question remains is the NBA as well-liked as in previous years?

The league attendance numbers answer that it is. By most measures, the 2005-06 season was a rousing success. The NBA finished the season with the highest average attendance in history and the best total attendance, surpassing the previous records established in 2004-05. The average attendance of 17,558 fans per game bested the 2004-05 record of 17,314 fans per game, and the 1995-96 average of 17,252. The most official recent total attendance record of 21,595,804 eclipsed the prior record of 21,296,497 established in 2004-05, and the 1995-96 total of 20,513,218 fans buying tickets to regular season games. Overall, NBA coliseums were filled to 91.4 percent capacity.

NBA Commissioner David Stern, when asked about the league's accretion in popularity said: "Our attendance record shows the extraordinary connection that exists between players and fans, and we are thankful for our fans continued support and passion for the game."

Rated as the most influential commissioner of any major U.S. sport, Stern garnered the #1 place on the 2006 Sporting News "The Power 100" survey.

The sport of basketball has exploded in popularity around the globe during the last two decades. The NBA now has 11 offices in cities outside the United States, and during the 2005-06 season distributed programming to 215 countries and territories in 43 languages, according to NBA.com. League games presently reach 3.1 billion viewers globally, and branded products are sold in more than 100 countries on six continents. The second-largest market after the United States is China.

Reflecting the globalization of the sport, opening night team rosters for the 2006-07 season featured a league history best 83 international players from 37 countries and territories, marginally surpassing last season's 82. Twenty-eight of the 30 teams employ at least one international player. With a total league roster of 440, international players account for a full 19 percent.

So, it looks like that the NBA is moving smartly in the right direction as the league continues to gain more fans around the world, drawing young hopefuls from all corners of the planet. One would hardly be faulted for predicting that the number of foreign-born players will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. Along with more participants from different countries will naturally come more national interest from the people in those places.

In answer to the inquiry posed in the article title, as it turns out a multitude of fans all around the globe would indeed say, "I love this game!"

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Matt Paolini is a Seattle, WA-based consultant for the Citybook Online Yellow Pages. He specializes in city-related business research.