Golden State Warriors fans are ranked atop the NBA category in this year’s Fandom 250, the ultimate ranking of fanbases worldwide.
Every year, the Fandom 250 seeks to rank the best fanbases in the world. Our editorial team evaluates and compares the fans of not only sports franchises, movies and television shows, but also individual actors, athletes and even internet celebrities — ranking them both against each other and within their categories.
This year, the fans of the Golden State Warriors were the winners of the Fandom 250 NBA category, with Dub Nation ranking 16th overall on the full Fandom 250 as well.
Fandom 250: Full ranking of 250 fanbases
Why Warriors fans?
Golden State Warriors fans are everywhere. From lifelong fans to recent adopters, from Oakland all the way back around to China, Dub Nation is loud and loyal and legion.
In fact, historically, Warriors fans have been called the loudest, most loyal, most obsessive fanbase in basketball. And that was before the 2015-16 season, when a 24-0 start and 73-win season saw newly-minted Warriors fans around the country turn every away game into an environment resembling something like Roarcle itself. After that 3-1 fiasco and the arrival of Kevin Durant, through a successful 2017 championship run to the beginning of a title defense against a league re-shaped to stop it, global fanaticism for the Warriors has distilled into pure, concentrated fandom.
When you think of the best, most notorious fans in professional basketball — the fanbases that transcend regional allegiances, that are a character all their own in their team’s mythology — you probably think of Lakers and Celtics fans. Teams that reached such greatness in such precise moments as to cement lifelong allegiances in NBA fans watching at home in Washington, or Iowa, or Georgia. Those fandoms are forever fortified by their legacy, but a fanbase is at its best when it’s creating that legacy.
The Warriors fandom is prime form, actively forging what will last long past this era of players. Just as the team on the court occupies a vast amount of real estate in the minds of basketball fans and analysts, so too are Warriors fans a fascination for the league. You can’t discuss whether the Warriors are good for basketball, whether they are fun, whether they are entertaining, without confronting the sheer number of people who continue to tune in, continue to buy jerseys, continue to rep and love and tweet about the Warriors all year long.
Indeed, Warriors fans have it all. They have hard-earned bona fides from years of cheering their way through bad, occasionally horrific, times. They have an established reputation as a scary loud, insanely passionate home crowd. They have pure numbers and a presence in every state, near every city. They have a team so good they’re impossible to avoid or ignore.
Other NBA fans may have owned moments in 2017, but Warriors fans were an inescapable, undeniable presence for all of it and that’s why they are our No. 1 NBA fandom.
Fandom 250: Full ranking of 250 fanbases
Full Category List:
- Golden State Warriors
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Boston Celtics
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- New York Knicks
- San Antonio Spurs
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Chicago Bulls
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Toronto Raptors
To see where these 12 NBA fanbases rank amongst the other fandoms on the list, check out the full Fandom 250 list.
What is the FanSided Fandom 250?
The Fandom 250 is the ultimate ranking of fandoms. From sports teams and movie franchises to Instagram celebrities and brands, if something has an avid, sometimes rabid, fanbase, FanSided wants to honor those fans and — in the spirit of healthy competition — rank ‘em.
The Fandom 250 is divided into 16 categories:Â NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, Soccer, NCAA, Sports Figures, Celebrities, Music, Movies, TV Shows, Comics, Gaming, Brands, Internet Famous and Other. All 250 qualifying fandoms will be ranked both within their categories and against the field, so fans can see how the object of their devotion stacks up against its peers and in the fan landscape at large.