Hours before the NBA Finals tipped off Thursday night, the Warriors already had claimed their first victory.
According to WalletHub, a survey of nearly 300 basketball markets (broken down into large, midsize and small cities), Oakland ranks third among large cities. Cleveland ranks eighth.
What inspired the project? WalletHub noted that American basketball “has a fanbase that exceeds the population of Spain.” Beyond that, the average value of an NBA franchise is currently $1.65 billion.
The rankings were based on 21 “key metrics.” A sampling of criteria for large cities:
* Number of NBA teams
* Number of NBA championships (hang on, there soon may be an update in Oakland)
* Number of hall of fame coaches (Believe it or not, P.