I just came home from the EuroBasket Finals in Riga, Latvia. The basketball was incredible, the venue great and people friendly, but the thing that made the biggest impression on me?
The fans.
We are talking about national teams here, the lifeblood of many nations and the glue of national identities across Europe – so we can’t quite compare this experience to the NBA.
But that won’t stop me from trying. Or at least take inspiration.
Because what I saw in that arena was not only inspirational, it was touching.
First in the very entertaining Greece versus Finland bronze game, which went down to the last second and left Giannis Antetukuompo in tears, and then in the final, where Türkiye lost control of the game and Germany’s experience triumphed to the shock of the extremely loud Türkiye fans.
In the first game, Greek fans were so loud that I couldn’t talk to my seatmate. They were singing to each other and trying to drown out the Finnish fans, who had shown up in large numbers too. Both countries in blue and white, but very much representing the North and South of Europe.
Later, Türkiye fans colored the arena red and white, booed and whistled louder than they cheered, which they did extremely loudly too. Flags were waved from all over the arena, and the German fans could barely get a word in, or a chant, if you will. It was a beautiful experience, even for the losing teams and their fans.
The playoff experience in the NBA is similar, you may counter – but the answer is not quite. EuroBasket is personal, not business, to players and fans. That means a passion and emotion we don’t see in the NBA (outside of things like the Luka trade situation, perhaps).
But that doesn’t mean NBA teams can’t try to replicate the best of this culture.
That seems to be exactly what San Antonio French sensation Victor Wembanyama has been thinking. Earlier this month, he sent out a call to arms of sorts for San Antonio Spurs fans:
“We’re creating a new supporter section in the Frost Bank Center. And hopefully we can gather the craziest and the loudest fans in the whole community. Hopefully this gives them the chance to express how much they’re into it and also give us that extra edge and help us win games at home.
This is why we need the craziest fans to show up September fourteenth for a tryout,” he said in the video shared on social media.
Wemby apparently took inspiration from the fan culture of his hometown football (soccer) team PSG (Paris Saint-Germain), which is similar to many European basketball clubs in culture when it comes to huge supporter sections. There’s Greek team Olympiacos, whose fans sold out the tickets for the derby against Panathinaikos which will take place next March, 2026 – in less than 24 hours. Panathinaikos is the club, which, by the way, Luka Doncic famously called the loudest and most hostile atmosphere he’s ever played in. And then there’s the Serbian teams Crvena Zvezda and Partizan, with famously passionate support culture, among many more.
These are just some of the places with longstanding traditions and ways of facilitating a passionate fan culture and specific fan sections in their arenas that NBA teams could take inspiration from.
In an exhilarating way for a European, Wemby’s call to arms is bringing the future to the NBA. There’s no need or reason to hold on to a culture of calm mild-mannered fans, where watching a sports game can be akin to going to the movies.
In creating a special section for the loudest, most dedicated fans, perhaps at a lower price, you make an investment that will pay itself off in multiple ways. For NBA teams, there’s actually a huge potential here to sell more tickets when passionate fans are setting the mood, and to create more dedicated fans along the way. Plus, may I add, perhaps creating some goodwill in the community (Dallas Mavericks, I’m looking at you).
The future of basketball fan culture in the NBA is here, and just like on the basketball court, Wemby is a torchbearer.
It is not a matter of if this happens or if it will work in the NBA and American culture, it is a matter of when. So NBA teams should probably get going right about now, if they want to reap the benefits of this new lucrative and potentially very profitable idea. Intangible assets, like goodwill, loyalty, passion and dedication, can be extremely valuable to any brand. And here’s the chance to be a first-mover.
