The NBA came to London, but England is not yet ready

Driving through London traffic with the heat on to keep out the two-degree cold couldn’t have been a more fitting way to travel to the O2 Arena to see my first NBA game. After many years, it was a chance to finally see a game in person instead of on my laptop screen — either tirelessly refreshing a not-so-legal online stream (sorry, Adam Silver) or eventually getting League Pass to see what was happening in a less pixelated clarity.

A Finals rematch would have been nice, of course, but I couldn’t have cared less on the day. As long as it wasn’t the Philadelphia 76ers, anything would be a memorable experience.

As I waited outside the doors to section 108 of the arena, I started paying attention to those around me. It wasn’t hard to get the impression that many other fans in the arena were experiencing their first NBA game, as well. And then there were the folks were just wanted a night out. Those who visited the NBA gift shop were clad in bobbly woolly hats, odd Vince Carter-era Raptors jersey could be seen through the crowds, and flickers of French and German could be heard among the venders shouting “popcorn, anybody popcorn?”

It was good to see that fans from around Europe had made the trip to London. Although, as it’s their closest opportunity to see a game in person, the flight to England was more than worthwhile.

Once the doors opened and the early spectators filtered in, I soon realized that not many others were too interested in seeing the players warm up. I and a few others were quite content watching Cory Joseph and Luis Scola work on their mid-range game, while others were more keen on getting as much mustard as possible on their hot dogs or simply showing up just before the game started.

There were spectators geared up in new jerseys everywhere. Several black-and-white striped Shaquille O’Neal jerseys could be spotted, all Raptors supporters had chosen either Klye Lowry or DeMar DeRozan, while the majority saw this as an opportunity to breakout whatever jersey they had. And judging by what was on sale at the gift shop, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant jerseys were clearly the top choices.

During sporting events, there’s always going to be someone who thinks they know everything. The gent who’s a would-have-been-pro who suffered a career-ending knee injury, or the fellow who chose to pursue a job as a plumber but watches every game on League Pass – there are always a few experts in the crowd.

A few chatterboxes sitting behind me summed this up perfectly. From their game-time conversations of Stacey’s cat escaping to Kevin’s girl from work leaving him, they clearly had plenty to talk about during the only NBA game of the year. Then, as I heard one utter the name Jonas Valanciunas, I thought maybe they knew more than they were letting on. Though when he proceeded to say “oh yeah that geezer’s a 95 percent free throw shooter” it became apparent that he may be making up a few of his insightful stats.

And when he said “that Lowry, mate, he’s had a beast of game” on a night where Kyle Lowry shot a mere 5-of-20 from the floor, the analysis wasn’t exactly full of hot, or even accurate, takes.

To my left was a man who spent most of the evening playing Angry Birds and reading The Times on his iPad, and in front of me was a horde of fans (besides a man sporting an oversized Canadian flag) who were far more excited to jump up for free t-shirts and socks rather than big plays and actual basketball. Whenever free gifts came flying towards us, the crowds would roar.

When some formers NBA players were introduced on the court at halftime, the shortest player in history (Muggsy Bogues) was welcomed with a high seal of approval and applause from the spectators. Yet, when Gordon Ramsey received a louder cheer than Hakeem Olajuwon, it was a swift reminder that we were still in England.

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t the only person there just for the basketball. There were plenty of other fans there who were passionately routing for drama. AndI’m sure there were others who rolled their eyes whenever people dunking off trampolines were meant to be impressive, too.

As they game went on and the score drew ever closer, the atmosphere increased.

Reserved spectators stood up. The volume of the crowd increased. The man next to me even switched off his iPad for a spell. The draw of the game seemed to capture people’s full attention and the atmosphere was at its best after a moderate start.

As regulation came to a close, a stark and sad reality began to crystalize: The NBA should not establish a team in London (or probably anywhere else in Europe) just yet.

The Magic made a second-half surge and propelled the game toward overtime, though many spectators didn’t seem interested. Some left early. After the roars for the celebrities and free gifts, it took a clutch three-pointer from Victor Oladipo in the dying minutes to get a bigger reaction.

Then, for all the remaining fans enjoying NBA London, they were rewarded with a thrilling 106-103 overtime victory for the Raptors.

However, in the only game of the entire year that the country would host, with fans coming in from overseas to help, a host of unclaimed seats dotted the arena throughout the night. It was disappointing to see that the city couldn’t quite get together enough people for a once-off sporting event. Whether tickets were bought but the owners didn’t show up, or everything didn’t sell, it was a shame that there were spaces available and that people in attendance left early.

When avoiding slow traffic after the event is your priority instead of finishing a game that’s clearly heading for a gripping finish, why pay so much for a ticket? If your team is getting blown out by 30 points with five minutes, then that’s understandable. But as the groups of empty blue seats increased and fans left early, completely oblivious to the fact there was overtime, it’s safe to say the real fan base for the NBA here is limited.

The O2 was never going to be full of die-hard basketball fans who wanted to see every second unfold. For many, it was a night out with overpriced beer and basketball in the background, and that’s fine. But it’s just another reason why London isn’t ready to host a team.

The NFL is much further along the road towards expansion than the NBA. Football has been coming to London for years, and with far greater popularity. As the NFL’s amount of games continues to increase, the NBA is left behind at just one, further cementing which league has a stronger foothold in the country.

Yes, people have been forced into supporting the Jacksonville Jaguars simply because they’re the team who keep showing up each year, but it’s a following nonetheless.

The majority of Brits just don’t seem ready for the NBA yet. Maybe in the future, as the sport’s popularity in the country grows, this will change. Maybe loyal fans will get to experience the excitement of European expansion if Adam Silver keeps up this ambitious play.

In the meantime, the NBA needs to stay put. At least we have League Pass and Vines on Twitter to keep us happy.