The Dallas Mavericks are the kings of the NBA attendance world, despite having no championships or MVPs during the past 10 seasons. The Mavericks rank first in occupancy and second in average attendance. The Chicago Bulls average the most fans per game, but are eighth in occupancy.
The Atlanta Hawks average the fewest fans per game and the Detroit Pistons average the lowest occupancy per game. While the Hawks appear to be trending downwards, the Pistons experienced a recent bump in occupancy.
From the 2015-16 season to the 2024-25 season, the Denver Nuggets have had the biggest increase in occupancy. The Nuggets’ three-time MVP Nikola Jokic has brought one championship to the Mile High City, and appears to also be bringing fans out to games. Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers experienced the biggest drop in occupancy from 2015 to 2025.
Introduction
This report delves into trends and figures about attendance at NBA games. It examines the past 10 years of NBA attendance, during which occupancy rates (how full the arenas were) were generally increasing. The obvious exception to this trend was the seasons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic when the number of fans attending games was reduced for safety reasons.
Although attendance dipped in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has surged in the past three seasons. Occupancy dropped below 92% in the 2021-22 season, but nearly reached 98% in the 2023-24 season. In general, occupancy was increasing leading up to the pandemic-affected seasons, so it appears the downturn in 2021-22 was an anomaly instead of a long-term trend.
As a team goes, so does its attendance, in general. Most of the teams that increased their occupancy from the 2015-16 season to the 2024-25 season also won more games in 2024-25 than they did in 2015-16. Meanwhile, most of the teams that saw the biggest drops in occupancy during that time had also won fewer games in 2024-25 than they did in 2015-16.
Star power also helps put fans in seats. The teams that averaged the most fans per game also tended to have more All-Stars than the teams at the bottom of the attendance standings. Teams with players who won MVPs during the past 10 years tended to see an increase in occupancy.
This report will unpack those trends and more.
Methodology
Attendance figures are all based on ESPN’s attendance numbers. They are for home, regular-season games only. They cover the 2015-16 season through the 2024-25 season, excluding the 2020-21 season during which COVID-19 restrictions kept attendance much lower than normal.
Attendance is defined as the official home attendance per game. Capacity is the official listed basketball capacity for each arena. Occupancy rate is the official attendance in relation to the arena’s capacity — in other words, how full the arena is on an average night.
Many of the teams had seasons where they had occupancy rates of more than 100%. This typically results from teams selling standing-room tickets, which are not counted in the official capacity. In other words, teams such as the Mavericks can sell more tickets than they have seats because some people are buying tickets without having reserved seats.
Five teams built new arenas during the past 10 seasons, and their occupancy rates are mathematically weighted to reflect that although their attendance might not have changed dramatically, their occupancy rates changed because their new arenas had new capacities. In fact, many of those teams ended up in the bottom half of the league in terms of occupancy. Those teams are:
- The Detroit Pistons
- The Golden State Warriors
- The Los Angeles Clippers
- The Milwaukee Bucks
- The Sacramento Kings
In addition to ESPN’s attendance figures, this study incorporates announcements from the NBA to corroborate the ESPN figures. This study also consulted Basketball-Reference.com and other NBA analysis sites for figures on team records, All-Star appearances, MVPs, and championships. When examining a city’s population, this study consulted the United States Census and the official website for the City of Toronto.
League-wide averages
Attendance and occupancy around the league werefairly steadygoing into the 2019-20 NBA season. Average attendance and occupancyhad tickedupward for three seasons in a row before a very slight downturn in the 2018-19 season.
Source for 2024-25: Sports Business Journal,Source for 2023-24: NBA,Source for 2022-23: NBA Communications,Source for 2021-22: Inside Hoops,Source for 2019-20: Inside Hoops,Source for 2018-19: NBA Communications,Source for 2017-18: NBA Communications,Source for 2016-17: NBA Communications,Source for 2015-16: NBA Communications
Attendance was slippingslightly during the 2019-20 season before the league suspended its games in March 2020 due to health concerns with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the 2020-21 season, there were strict restrictions on how many fans could attend games. This depletedattendance tolevels that could notreasonably becompared to any of the seasons around it, so that season islargely excludedfrom this study. According to ESPN, the Utah Jazz led the league in average home attendance that season with 4,450 fans per game.
The next season, attendancefailed toreach back up to itspreviousaverages of 94-95% before the pandemic. NBA arenas averaged just under 92%capacitythat season. Attendance, which was approaching an average of 18,000 fans per game before the pandemic, dipped below 17,200.
The following season saw a huge bump in attendance and occupancy. During the 2022-23 season, occupancy leapt from 91.8% to 96.7% as teams averaged about 900 more fans per game than thepreviousseason. According to a release from the NBA, that season set records for total attendance, average attendance, percentage of capacity and sellouts.
There were 791 sellouts during the 2022-23 season, well above thepreviousrecord of 760 set during the 2018-19 season. For the first time ever, according to the NBA, teams averaged more than 18,000 fans per game.
Progress continued the following season, when teams once again broke records for total attendance, average attendance, percentage of capacity and sellouts. Capacity climbed to 97.9%(which the NBA announced as 98%), attendance increased by almost 250 fans per game and there were 873 sellouts compared to 791 thepreviousseason.
Attendance leveled out for the 2024-25 season, dipping slightly butstill remaininghigher than the record-breaking 2022-23 season.
Team-by-team findings
The Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls boasted the most consistent fanbases over the past 10 seasons. Chicago led the league in attendance seven times during that stretch and averaged the highest attendance over the past decade, despite only making the playoffs one time during that stretch.
| Team | Average attendance, 2015-2025 (not counting 2020-21 season) | All-Stars since 2016 | MVPs since 2016 | Playoff appearances since 2016 | City population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bulls | 20,505 | 6 | 1 | 2,721,308 | ||
| Dallas Mavericks | 20,001 | 8 | 5 | 1,326,087 | ||
| Miami Heat | 19,679 | 9 | 8 | 487,014 | ||
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 19,506 | 8 | 6 | 365,379 | ||
| Toronto Raptors | 19,406 | 9 | 6 | 3,025,647 | ||
| Philadelphia 76ers | 19,402 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1,573,916 | |
| New York Knicks | 19,363 | 8 | 4 | 8,478,072 | Average playoff appearances for top 10: 6 | |
| Boston Celtics | 18,865 | 10 | 10 | 673,458 | Average All-Stars for top 10 teams: 8 | |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 18,865 | 9 | 5 | 3,878,704 | Average city population for top 10: 2,316,533 | |
| Portland Trail Blazers | 18,779 | 6 | 5 | 635,749 | ||
| Golden State Warriors | 18,745 | 10 | 7 | 827,526 | ||
| Utah Jazz | 18,547 | 5 | 6 | 217,783 | ||
| LA Clippers | 17,967 | 8 | 7 | 3,878,704 | ||
| San Antonio Spurs | 17,832 | 7 | 4 | 1,526,656 | ||
| Denver Nuggets | 17,698 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 729,019 | |
| Orlando Magic | 17,585 | 3 | 4 | 334,854 | ||
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 17,428 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 712,919 | |
| Houston Rockets | 17,326 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 2,390,125 | |
| Detroit Pistons | 17,086 | 4 | 3 | 645,705 | ||
| Milwaukee Bucks | 17,008 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 563,531 | |
| Washington Wizards | 16,973 | 6 | 3 | 702,250 | ||
| Sacramento Kings | 16,967 | 4 | 1 | 535,798 | ||
| Charlotte Hornets | 16,780 | 4 | 1 | 943,476 | ||
| Phoenix Suns | 16,673 | 6 | 3 | 1,673,164 | ||
| New Orleans Pelicans | 16,478 | 8 | 3 | 362,701 | ||
| Brooklyn Nets | 16,383 | 5 | 5 | 8,478,072 | Average playoff appearances for bottom 10: 4 | |
| Memphis Grizzlies | 16,325 | 5 | 6 | 610,919 | Average All-Stars for bottom 10 teams: 6 | |
| Indiana Pacers | 16,243 | 9 | 7 | 891,484 | Average city population for bottom 10: 1,514,651 | |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 16,230 | 6 | 5 | 428,579 | ||
| Atlanta Hawks | 16,216 | 7 | 4 | 520,070 |
Sources: Statmuse, Basketball Reference
The Mavericks led the league in occupancy five times and led the way overall during the decade, averaging 104.2%. As mentioned earlier, several teams average over 100% capacity due to standing-room tickets and luxury boxes, which are not reflected in arenas’ official capacity. The Mavericks never ranked lower than fourth in occupancy.
| Team | Average occupancy | All-Stars since 2016 | MVPs since 2016 | Playoff appearances since 2016 | City population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Mavericks | 104.2 | 8 | 5 | 1,326,087 | ||
| Boston Celtics | 101.3 | 10 | 10 | 673,458 | ||
| Utah Jazz | 101.3 | 5 | 6 | 217,783 | ||
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 100.4 | 8 | 6 | 365,379 | ||
| Miami Heat | 100.4 | 9 | 8 | 487,014 | ||
| Golden State Warriors | 100 | 10 | 7 | 827,526 | ||
| Los Angeles Lakers | 99.3 | 9 | 5 | 3,878,704 | Average playoff appearances for top 10: 6 | |
| Chicago Bulls | 98 | 6 | 1 | 2,721,308 | Average All-Stars for top 10: 8 | |
| Toronto Raptors | 98 | 9 | 6 | 3,025,647 | Average city population for top 10: 1,388,561 | |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 97.7 | 8 | 3 | 362,701 | ||
| New York Knicks | 97.7 | 8 | 4 | 8,478,072 | ||
| Phoenix Suns | 97.7 | 6 | 3 | 1,673,164 | ||
| Portland Trail Blazers | 97.7 | 6 | 5 | 635,749 | ||
| San Antonio Spurs | 97.2 | 7 | 4 | 1,526,656 | ||
| Philadelphia 76ers | 97 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1,573,916 | |
| Sacramento Kings | 96.5 | 4 | 1 | 535,798 | ||
| Houston Rockets | 96 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 2,390,125 | |
| Oklahoma City Thunder | 95.7 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 712,919 | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 95.5 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 563,531 | |
| Atlanta Hawks | 95.1 | 7 | 4 | 520,070 | ||
| LA Clippers | 95 | 8 | 7 | 3,878,704 | ||
| Orlando Magic | 93.3 | 3 | 4 | 334,854 | ||
| Brooklyn Nets | 92.4 | 5 | 5 | 8,478,072 | ||
| Memphis Grizzlies | 91.7 | 5 | 6 | 610,919 | ||
| Denver Nuggets | 90.7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 729,019 | |
| Indiana Pacers | 90.1 | 9 | 7 | 891,484 | ||
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 90 | 6 | 5 | 428,579 | ||
| Charlotte Hornets | 88 | 4 | 1 | 943,476 | Average playoff appearances for bottom 10: 5 | |
| Washington Wizards | 83.5 | 6 | 3 | 702,250 | Average All-Stars for bottom 10: 6 | |
| Detroit Pistons | 82.6 | 4 | 3 | 645,705 |
Average city population for bottom 10: 1,764,306
|
Sources: Statmuse, Basketball Reference, NBA Hoops Online
| Season | Attendance leader | Bulls rank (if not first) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Chicago Bulls | |
| 2023-24 | Chicago Bulls | |
| 2022-23 | Chicago Bulls | |
| 2021-22 | Chicago Bulls | |
| 2020-21 | N/A | |
| 2019-20 | Philadelphia 76ers | 17th |
| 2018-19 | Philadelphia 76ers | Second |
| 2017-18 | Chicago Bulls | |
| 2016-17 | Chicago Bulls | |
| 2015-16 | Chicago Bulls |
| Season | Occupancy leader | Mavs rank (if not first) |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Dallas Mavericks | |
| 2023-24 | Dallas Mavericks | |
| 2022-23 | Dallas Mavericks | |
| 2021-22 | Philadelphia 76ers | Third |
| 2020-21 | N/A | |
| 2019-20 | Dallas Mavericks | |
| 2018-19 | Dallas Mavericks | |
| 2017-18 | Cleveland Cavaliers | Second |
| 2016-17 | Utah Jazz | Fourth |
| 2015-16 | Utah Jazz | Fourth |
While the Bulls averaged more fans per game than the Mavericks, the two arenas make the difference when it comes to occupancy. The United Center, where the Bulls play their home games, is the largest NBA arena in terms of capacity (20,917), making it harder to fill even with a loyal fanbase. The Bulls ranked eighth in occupancy during the 10-year stretch. The Mavericks’ arena, the American Airlines Center, has an official capacity of 19,200, which ranks it 11th in the league — and therefore makes it easier to fill.
Source: NBA
The United Center became the largest arena in the league when the Detroit Pistons moved from the Palace of Auburn Hills to Little Caesars Arena starting in the 2017-18 season. The Palace was the largest arena by capacity, and Little Caesars Arena currently ranks third. These large arenas — combined with the mediocre teams the Pistons have fielded over most of the past decade — contribute to the fact that the Pistons ranked last in occupancy during this 10-year stretch with just 82.6%.
While teams such as the Mavericks, Bulls and the Golden State Warriors (who report exactly a 100% capacity every season) were consistent during this time period, several other teams fluctuated wildly. The biggest riser in occupancy was the Denver Nuggets. During the 2015-16 season, the Nuggets finished 10th in the Western Conference with a 33-49 record. Their rookie center Nikola Jokic played 21.7 minutes per night and was a pleasant surprise, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting.
Ten years later, Jokic is one of the top players in the league. He has won three MVP awards and led the Nuggets to their first-ever NBA championship in 2023.
During that 2015-16 season, the Nuggets ranked dead last in average attendance and occupancy, filling just over 72% of Ball Arena on average. During the 2024-25 season, the Nuggets ranked fourth in occupancy, averaging more than 101% capacity per game. That’s a 29% boost, more than any other team in the league. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers were close behind by increasing their occupancy by more than 20% between the two seasons.
| Teams | Change in average occupancy percentage | Wins -/+ in 2024-25 season compared to 2015-16 season | MVP in the past 10 years? | Title in the past 10 years? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Nuggets | 29.2 | 17 | 3x | Y |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 25.9 | 20 | ||
| Philadelphia 76ers | 24.8 | 14 | 1x | |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 19.5 | 15 | 2x | Y |
| Detroit Pistons | 19 | 0 | ||
| Brooklyn Nets | 12.8 | 5 | ||
| Orlando Magic | 5.6 | 6 | ||
| Boston Celtics | 4.8 | 13 | Y | |
| Toronto Raptors | 1.5 | -26 | Y | |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 0.1 | -9 | ||
| Golden State Warriors | 0 | -25 | 1x | Y |
| Miami Heat | -0.1 | -11 | ||
| New York Knicks | -0.1 | 19 | ||
| Memphis Grizzlies | -0.2 | 6 | ||
| Phoenix Suns | -0.2 | 13 | ||
| Dallas Mavericks | -0.3 | -3 | ||
| Indiana Pacers | -0.7 | 5 | ||
| Oklahoma City Thunder | -1.3 | 13 | 2x | Y |
| Los Angeles Lakers | -1.4 | 33 | Y | |
| Charlotte Hornets | -1.7 | -29 | ||
| Atlanta Hawks | -2.3 | -8 | ||
| Houston Rockets | -2.8 | 11 | 1x | |
| Sacramento Kings | -5.5 | 7 | ||
| Cleveland Cavaliers | -5.8 | 7 | Y | |
| Washington Wizards | -7.4 | -23 | ||
| Chicago Bulls | -8 | -3 | ||
| San Antonio Spurs | -8 | -33 | ||
| LA Clippers | -9 | -3 | ||
| Utah Jazz | -9 | -23 | ||
| Portland Trail Blazers | -9.4 | -8 |
Change in average occupancy between 2015-16 season and 2024-25 season
Source for everything but occupancy rates: Basketball-reference.com
Winning, in general, helps teams fill their stadiums. Teams in the top 10 of attendance and occupancy average more playoff appearances over the past decade than teams in the bottom 10 of attendance and occupancy. It would be an even more noticeable gap if the Bulls, who are in the top 10 of attendance and occupancy, had been to the playoffs more than once in the past 10 years.
Of the 10 teams that have seen their occupancy increase since the 2015-16 season, four of them have won championships in that stretch. The only championship-winning team that has significantly slipped in terms of occupancy, the Cleveland Cavaliers, won their title in that 2015-16 season and two years later, their star LeBron James left for the Lakers.
Winning appears to be a bigger factor than a city’s population. Interestingly, the cities in the top 10 of occupancy had a lower average population than cities in the bottom 10 of occupancy. Cities in the top 10 of attendance had a slightly higher average population than cities in the bottom 10.
Star power also appears to make a difference. The four teams that saw the biggest jump in occupancy — the Denver Nuggets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Milwaukee Bucks — have accounted for six of the past 10 league MVPs.
Teams that consistently ranked highly in attendance and occupancy include many of the teams you might expect:
- The Boston Celtics (second in occupancy) and Los Angeles Lakers (seventh in occupancy), the two winningest and most recognizable franchises in the sport. The Celtics are the only team in the NBA to have gone to the playoffs in each of the past 10 seasons.
- The Cleveland Cavaliers (fourth in occupancy), which had the most recognizable and marketable player in the current era, LeBron James (though he left the team in 2018 for the Lakers).
- The Golden State Warriors (sixth in occupancy), the winningest franchise of the current era.
- The Chicago Bulls (eighth in occupancy), which are in one of the nation’s biggest cities and which are still fewer than 30 years removed from having the most recognizable and marketable player in the sport’s history, Michael Jordan.
Teams that consistently ranked at the bottom in terms of attendance and occupancy included teams in smaller markets with less success and fewer stars:
The Detroit Pistons (worst occupancy) tied for the second-fewest All-Stars in the past decade (four) and did not have much success in the win column during that stretch. They also played in the league’s biggest arena in terms of capacity, the Palace of Auburn Hills, until the 2017-18 season when they moved to the third-biggest arena, Little Caesars Arena.
The Orlando Magic (ninth-worst occupancy) are in the second-smallest NBA city and had the fewest All-Star selections (three) over the past decade.
They also included teams that are clearly the second-most popular in their markets — the Los Angeles Clippers (10th-worst occupancy), who live in the shadow of the Lakers, and the Brooklyn Nets (eighth-worst occupancy), who are a distant second to the New York Knicks in terms of popularity.
*Toronto’s estimate is 2023
Sources: U.S. Census, Toronto’s official website
There are a few outliers at both the top and bottom of the list:
- Despite being in the NBA’s smallest city and not having just five All-Stars in the past decade, the Utah Jazz ranked third in occupancy.
- Despite being in the fourth-smallest NBA city and having very few playoff appearances in the past decade, the New Orleans Pelicans ranked 10th in occupancy.
- The Indiana Pacers play in the league’s 10th-largest city, Indianapolis, and have had nine All-Star selections over the past decade, tied for second-most. Yet the Pacers rank near the bottom in terms of attendance (third worst) and occupancy (fifth worst).
- The Denver Nuggets had the fifth-worst occupancy, but as covered earlier, this stems from very low occupancy before the team’s ascent to a championship.
There are so many factors in determining how well an NBA team will fill its stadium. But it appears that, in general, one factor rises above the rest: winning. Most of the teams that made the biggest jumps in occupancy over the past 10 seasons won more games recently than they did 10 years ago, and several of those teams have won championships in recent years. While it appears some teams — namely the Chicago Bulls and Dallas Mavericks — have loyal fanbases that come out in good seasons and bad seasons, most teams tend to fill their arenas thanks to a victorious on-court product.