Stand Up and Cheer

I was curious as to how the Thunder are doing attendance-wise this NBA season. They have now been in Oklahoma City for almost two and a half years, and the subjective consensus has been that the city has embraced them and made the organization part of the community. Certainly the team has put forth ample effort to reach out, as numerous stories over the holidays have shown.

I put together a little table to make it easier to see how the home town crowd is doing in support of its young team. So far this year, results have been promising.

Table after the jump:

(click to enlarge)

Source: ESPN.com

You can see the entire set of data for all teams by following this link.

A few things to note:

• The Thunder are doing quite well for themselves, sitting at #12 on this list. They are almost at seating capacity every night, an excellent measure for a new team in a small market.
• Some of the teams are actually above 100% average attendance as a function of total capacity. I am guessing this is because the arenas allow for standing room only sections, which may not show up in total seating numbers.
• With the strange exception of the Cavaliers in the top 5, most of the other teams are well known for having strong home crowds. I wonder if that attendance is so high because the team required season ticket renewal before The Decision. What is more clear though is that nobody else wants to see them.
• The true test of a team's draw is how the attendance measures while on the road. Do opposing fans find the visitor interesting enough to watch? The Thunder have a strong showing at 91.0%, meaning the hostile road environment still has an interest in watching Durant, Westbrook, and the gang come to town. The only team with a 100% road draw is currently the Miami Heat. That makes sense.