Chicago Bulls & LA Lakers: NBA Popularity Battle

With the NBA playoffs starting this Saturday, Americans do know their basketball teams, but that doesn't mean they like them all. Team competition is shaping the perception of the NBA in the United States, a survey by Statista Consumer Insights has shown. Out of 1,240 U.S. respondents surveyed in August, between 80 and 65 percent knew teams like the Chicago Bulls, the LA Lakers, the Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat.

This doesn't mean they support any of these teams, however. Just short of a quarter of Americans said they liked the former two teams - which went head to head for name recognition and popularity. Only between 13 and 16 percent felt connected to the Boston Celtics or New York Knicks, showing that many Americans likely have their favorite NBA team and stick by them. Only 6 percent each said they liked the Orlando Magic or the Phoenix Suns.

In other markets, for example Germany, the stiff competition between teams has not made inroads yet. Here, knowing a team and liking it were not that far apart when looking at all respondents.