The Miami Heat may not be on top of the NBA world like it once was, but that hasn’t deterred its fan base from supporting the team. Despite holding a 7-12 record thus far in the 2016-17 season, a study conducted by SmartAsset proves Heat fans are still the sixth most die-hard supporters in the NBA.
As a point of reference, the NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers were rated to have the 17th most loyal fans in the NBA, due in part to a “low dedication score.”
The SmartAsset study revealed that, over the last 11 years, the Heat has had the third-highest attendance in the league at 99.4 percent even, though Heat ticket prices were the sixth-highest in the league on average.
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“According to ESPN data, the Heat had strong attendance numbers from 2005 to 2010. The average attendance rate was lowest in 2010 at 90.5 percent, but it was typically in the mid- to high 90s.” SmartAsset spokesperson Asees Singh told Miami New Times.
Naturally, attendance was at its peak during the “Big Three” era, but the loyalty of the fan base has not wavered much since then.
This season, Miami is still seeing very impressive attendance records with an average of just over 19,000 fans showing up to American Airlines Arena in Miami per game. Those are impressive numbers considering the stadium holds 19,600 people and the average attendance around the league is just under 18,000 people per game.
Heat fans’ true loyalty will be tested moving forward as the franchise has lost out on all three of its former superstars in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh over the last three years.
Now that the team is moving forward with a new, younger set of pieces, anchored by Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside, it will be interesting to see if Heat fans continue their undying support through relative “down times” as compared to when the team was a lock for the Eastern Conference Finals for four consecutive years.
The five clubs that placed ahead of the Heat on the list were the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, and Portland Trail Blazers. However, the Heat’s sixth-place spot is perhaps more impressive than the aforementioned teams listed due to the fact that its franchise is much younger than any of the others.
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