Philly’s a better basketball town than New York, WalletHub claims
Your Philadelphia 76ers may have lost to the New York Knicks, 4-2, in the opening round of the NBA playoffs, but at least when it comes to basketball hotbeds, the greater Philadelphia region has Gotham beat.
Philadelphia, New York region among top-ten for basketball fans
WalletHub graded and ranked 295 basketball cities based on "the most favorable conditions for basketball fandom,” according to the firm’s Best and Worst Cities for Basketball Fans survey.
"We then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample."
The Philadelphia region, given its rich Big Five collegiate basketball history and historical fandom of the 76ers, ranked sixth overall. New York ranked 10th.
Here is WalletHub’s overall top-ten "Best and Worst Cities for Basketball Fans":
San Fransisco
Salt Lake City
Philadelphia
Washington, DC
New York
"Basketball is one of the most beloved sports in the U.S., and while you can enjoy watching it from anywhere, there’s something truly special about living in one of the best cities for basketball fans," said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe, in a statement that accompanied the survey's findings. "Being able to see top teams in huge arenas with hordes of dedicated fans is an incredible experience.
"The best cities also promote basketball not just at the professional level, but at the collegiate level, too."
Philadelphia 76ers among best teams; 76ers, Knicks somehow have 'least engaged' NBA fans
In somewhat contradictory findings, WalletHub ranked the 76ers as the third-best performing NBA Team, trailing first-place Phoenix and second-place Milwaukee. The Knicks did not make the top five.
Interestingly, fanbases of both the Knicks and Sixers ranked as the "least engaged" of all NBA fans.
In this category, Philadelphia ranked 25th, while New York ranked last.
Perhaps Philadelphia's ranking is due to a series of premature playoff exits, as the Sixers haven't went past the second round in the playoffs since the Allen Iverson-led 2001 team lost to a juggernaut Lakers squad in the Finals.
WalletHub didn't spell out the apparent malaise gripping New York Knicks fans.
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Damon C. Williams covers trending and regional developments for PhillyBurbs.com. Support our journalism with a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Philadelphia region more of a basketball hotbed then New York
