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- The markets that deliver the highest NBA ratings for national games are shocking.
- The biggest markets and cities don’t even crack the Top 10.
- Be sure to check out more sports stories at BroBible here.
When you think about basketball cities you immediately think of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston. While those four may have the most die-hard NBA fans, that doesn’t exactly mean they’re tuning in for games that don’t feature their respective teams.
In terms of turning on ABC, TNT, or ESPN to watch random nationally televised games throughout the week it’s actually the smaller markets that watch most often.
When I say small markets, I mean small markets.
An NBA source shared a list of the Top 10 highest-rated markets for nationally televised NBA games this season with Basketball News and the list will undoubtedly surprise you.
- New Orleans
- San Francisco
- Memphis
- Raleigh-Durham
- Sacramento
- Los Angeles
- Atlanta
- Norfolk
- Birmingham
- Richmond
There isn’t a single NBA fan that would’ve been able to come up with this list of 10 cities.
New Orleans, Memphis, Raleigh-Durham, Norfolk, Birmingham, and Richmond all stand out, of course.
New Orleans and Memphis at least have NBA franchises, but the Grizzlies and Pelicans especially, don’t get too many nationally televised games throughout the regular season.
Memphis loves its basketball, there’s no question about that, but to see the city No. 3 on the list is still a shock.
New York is the largest market, Chicago is the third-largest market, and Philadelphia is the fourth-largest market, yet they’re nowhere to be seen among the Top 10.