10 biggest celebrity fans in NBA history
The NBA, which has been around since the 1940s, has celebrity fans galore. Many of these celebrities grew up watching their hometown teams and have been spotted sitting courtside in NBA games on numerous occasions.
Every NBA franchise holds bragging rights about their celebrity fans, whose presence increases the fame and glamor of the NBA.
Top ten celebrity fans in the NBA
From Hollywood stars in Los Angeles and New York to tech tycoons and billionaires in San Francisco, everyone rejoices when their NBA team wins a game.
However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019-20 NBA season concluded in the Orlando bubble without any fans in attendance. Nevertheless, let us have a look at ten celebrities who are die-hard fans of NBA teams.
#1 Jack Nicholson - LA Lakers
There is probably no other name that deserved to be on top of this list other than Jack Nicholson.
Nicholson has been a season ticket holder for the LA Lakers since 1970 and has been spotted courtside wearing the franchise's famous purple and gold jersey on numerous occasions.
He has been supporting the LA Lakers since Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ran the Showtime Lakers at the Forum.
Nicholson has been present during most of the franchise's big moments. He has seen Magic Johnson win five rings, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal doing the three-peat and most recently LeBron James winning the LA Lakers' 17th title.
#2 Spike Lee - New York Knicks
One of the downsides of being a die-hard fan is that you have to defend your team even during losses. Such misfortune has befallen Spike Lee, who has been a New York Knicks superfan for more than 50 years.
He hasn't seen his favorite team win a title since 1973 but is regarded as one of the franchise's biggest supporters.
If you're ever-present in Madison Square Garden or watching the Knicks on television, you are undoubtedly going to spot Spike Lee cheering for his New York City team.
#3 Barack Obama - Chicago Bulls
If you are the President of the United States of America, you rarely have the luxury to attend or watch basketball games. However, former President Barack Obama grew up watching the NBA and found a way to attend games whenever he got the chance.
A former Chicago resident, Obama has been a senator who has represented Illinois and is also a hardcore Chicago Bulls fan in the NBA.
Barack Obama, who has said on several occasions that he wants LeBron James to join his hometown NBA team Chicago Bulls, was often seen playing basketball in the White House court.
An entire book - The Audacity of Hoop: Basketball and the Age of Obama - was written to describe Barcak Obama's love for the game and how it influenced his life.
#4 Drake - Toronto Raptors
There isn't a doubt in anyone's mind that the biggest fan of the Toronto Raptors is Canadian rapper Drake.
He has supported the Raptors for many years and has a good relationship with the franchise's head coach Nick Nurse and the players. Drake has Toronto Raptors merchandise filled in his Toronto mansion, along with his own 2019 NBA championship ring.
Drake designed the team's "We The North" jerseys and has such a good relationship with the franchise that the team hired the rapper in 2013 as their global ambassador and renamed their practice facility the 'OVO Athletic Centre' in honor of the record label Drake runs.