NBA is undoubtedly one of, if not the most-followed international sports league in the Philippines, but which teams have the most Filipino fans?
Ask just about any Filipino sports fan which NBA team is their favorite, and they will almost certainly have an answer. The NBA fans in the Philippines come in millions — literally. NBA Philippines’ Facebook page alone has six million followers. But this does not come as news. In any given season, Filipino fans take any chance they can get to discuss the latest win or loss and come the Playoffs, the buzz gets even louder.
What can we say? Passion for basketball runs high in the Philippines. But, there are certain NBA teams that have more Filipino fans than others. In the midst of the 2022-2023 season, NBA Philippines revealed which teams accumulated the most significant sales in merchandise and viewership. Can you guess which ones cracked the top three?
Hint: Although these teams were the top three last season, they have consistently been a part of the top teams in the Philippines for years now.
#3: Dallas Mavericks
The NBA team with the third-most fans in the Philippines is the Dallas Mavericks. If you followed the 2023 FIBA World Cup, this shouldn’t come as a shock to you, considering how many Filipinos eagerly anticipated the arrival of their star player, Luka Doncic, and cheered him on.
After the 2022-2023 season concluded, the Mavericks sold the third-most merchandise in the NBA Philippines Store. Luka Doncic also sold the third-most NBA jerseys. Three seems to be the magic number for the Mavs here in the Philippines.
Even former Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t believe how many fans he encountered while he was in Manila recently. “I knew the Philippines loved their basketball but I didn’t know it was this crazy, I mean everybody loves hoops, loves Mavericks, loves the NBA,” he said.
The Dallas Mavericks have long been high on the list of teams beloved by Filipino hoops fans, usually always within the top five. But after ‘Luka Magic’ came to Manila and dazzled the local crowds, who knows? Maybe this season, they’ll be able to climb the ranks and take on the two biggest teams in the Philippines.
#2: Los Angeles Lakers
If the Dallas Mavericks making the top three on this list surprised you, surely, the Los Angeles Lakers shouldn’t. Almost everyone knows that the Lakers are so loved by NBA fans in the Philippines. If anything, you might have been surprised that they aren’t in the top place.
At the end of last season, star player LeBron James sold the second-most NBA jerseys in the Philippines’ stores, while the Los Angeles Lakers also sold the second-most merchandise among all the other teams. And, apart from just sales, a huge number of the fans who subscribe to the NBA on different channels tune into Lakers games specifically.
The Lakers truly have a very loyal fanbase in the Philippines. In fact, the Lakers Nation Philippines Facebook page has over half a million followers.
But the love for this team truly became apparent, even to NBA players themselves, when Filipino fans flocked to the Mall of Asia Arena to watch Team USA’s games, and rising Lakers star Austin Reaves received the most adoration among all the players.
#1: Golden State Warriors
Finally, topping the list is none other than the Golden State Warriors.
Much like the Lakers, the Warriors have long been NBA fan-favorites in the Philippines. In fact, in 2016, the team gave their Filipino fans a shoutout. On their social media, they shared a photo that read, “Dalawang milyong Facebook fans sa ‘Pinas! Maraming salamat po, #DubNation!”
According to this post from seven years ago, two million of all the Golden State Warriors’ Facebook followers were from the Philippines. If this was indeed the case, this may not even account for the other millions of Filipinos around the world who support the Warriors too. And, this was back in 2016. Surely, this number must have grown over the years.
At the end of the 2022-2023 season, as you might expect, the NBA Philippines Store sold the most merchandise for the Golden State Warriors, and topping their jersey sales was Stephen Curry. And as one of the biggest franchises in the NBA, which always remains among the top ones among fans in the Philippines, this is likely to remain unchanged in coming seasons.
Banner image from Golden State Warriors on Facebook.
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