All about Chinese basketball fans – Tencent Sports data

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Tencent Sports, the biggest NBA coverage provider in China, on Monday released various data on the country's NBA fans based on the information the company has collected via multiple programs they presented.

Which team(s) receive the most attention?

Golden State Warriors players show off their championship rings. /VCG Photo

The top five most popular teams are: the Golden State Warriors, the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It's totally understandable. The Warriors made it to the NBA Finals the past four seasons and won three of them. The team is on their way to their third consecutive title and will probably establish another dynasty in the league.

Houston Rockets players during a game. /VCG Photo

If the Warriors are Goliath, the Rockets must be David, who took on their bigger, stronger adversary. Chinese fans have long been familiar with the Rockets, when Yao Ming joined the team in 2002. For many Chinese fans, the Rockets are considered the "home team."

If there was any team that could surpass the Rockets in popularity, it would have been the Lakers during Kobe Bryant's time – that's how much Kobe means to Chinese basketball fans.

Now that LeBron James arrived in LA, it's no surprise at all that the purple and gold are still a favorite.

The Cavaliers were a small-city team, attracting little attention, except when James was there. The story of "the chosen one" helping his hometown team claim their first major professional sports championship is the stuff of legends.

As another small-city team, the Thunder are known in China mostly for Russell Westbrook, and his dominance in terms of triple-doubles. After Kevin Durant left in the summer of 2016, Westbrook's story has been elevated to that of a lone fighter.

Female NBA fans are no longer a rarity

Female Chinese fans interact with Basketball Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady (L). /VCG Photo

According to Tencent Sports, 16.3 percent of the fans surveyed were female. Though that may seem small compared to the 82.4 percent of male fans, it still means that for every five male fans, there's about one female basketball fan.

However, men spent more money watching NBA games on Tencent Sports. Of those who bought the company's sports event membership, 91.1 percent were men while only 8.2 percent were women.

Which city has the most NBA fans?

Chinese fans at the 2017 NBA China Game in Shenzhen. /VCG Photo

From No.1 to No.20: Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Dongguan, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Xi'an, Foshan, Tianjin, Changsha, Nanjing, Ningbo, Jinhua, Wenzhou, and Hefei.

The top four are not surprising as they are China's four major cities. The other two are the country's municipalities, Tianjin and Chongqing.

Eight cities will host the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup games in China from August 31 to September 15, and all of them – Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Wuhan, Foshan, and Nanjing – made it onto the list.