NBA Average Attendance, 1981 to 2026

NBA teams averaged a record 18,330 fans per home game in 2023-24, nearly double the 9,727 of 1980-81, before easing to 18,111 in 2025-26.

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What the data shows

NBA average per game: 9,727 in 1981, 18,111 in 2026 (1.9× higher). It peaked at 18,330 in 2024.

About this chart

The average NBA home crowd has nearly doubled since the early 1980s. In 1980-81 the league averaged 9,727 fans per game, and the 2023-24 season set the series record at 18,330. It slipped to 18,153 in 2024-25 and 18,111 in 2025-26 across 30 teams. Averages passed 18,000 for the first time in 2023, at 18,008.

The big break in the line is 2020-21, when most arenas were closed to fans and the league averaged just 1,374 per game. It recovered to 16,963 in 2021-22. Before that, the 2018-19 season averaged 17,853, then 17,788 in 2019-20 before the COVID shutdown. Figures are the league average of each team's home attendance per game, regular season only, and years before 1981 are left out because the source data is inconsistent.

The data

Source: Basketball-Reference.com, NBA season summary pages (leagues/NBA_<year>.html), 'League Average' row of the team Attend./G column (average home attendance per game across all teams). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Column = year the season ends (2026 = 2025-26). Average of each team's home attendance per game, regular season only. Pre-1981 values on Basketball-Reference are incomplete/inconsistent and are omitted. 1999 (50-game lockout season) and 2012 (66-game season) have fewer games; 2020 (2019-20) includes only games before the COVID shutdown; 2021 (2020-21) was played with few or no fans (1,374 per game).

NBA Average Attendance, Avg. regular-season crowd per home game, 1981-2026, 1981–2026
Date	NBA average per game
1981	9,727
1982	10,158
1983	9,799
1984	10,449
1985	11,301
1986	11,879
1987	12,788
1988	13,295
1989	14,201
1990	15,716
1991	15,242
1992	15,610
1993	15,999
1994	16,274
1995	16,736
1996	17,286
1997	17,073
1998	17,226
1999	16,910
2000	16,864
2001	16,777
2002	16,973
2003	16,883
2004	17,046
2005	17,314
2006	17,571
2007	17,760
2008	17,395
2009	17,520
2010	17,162
2011	17,321
2012	17,274
2013	17,346
2014	17,407
2015	17,814
2016	17,866
2017	17,880
2018	17,989
2019	17,853
2020	17,788
2021	1,374
2022	16,963
2023	18,008
2024	18,330
2025	18,153
2026	18,111

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Frequently asked questions

What is the average NBA attendance per game?

NBA teams averaged 18,111 fans per home game in the 2025-26 season across 30 teams. That is slightly below the record of 18,330 set in 2023-24.

What year had the highest NBA attendance?

The 2023-24 season had the highest average in this data, at 18,330 fans per game. Averages first passed 18,000 in 2023.

How much did NBA attendance fall in 2020-21?

It fell to an average of 1,374 per game in 2020-21, because most arenas were closed to fans. The 2021-22 season rebounded to 16,963 per game, and 2018-19 had averaged 17,853.

Where does this data come from?

Basketball-Reference.com, NBA season summary pages (leagues/NBA_<year>.html), 'League Average' row of the team Attend./G column (average home attendance per game across all teams). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Column = year the season ends (2026 = 2025-26). Average of each team's home attendance per game, regular season only. Pre-1981 values on Basketball-Reference are incomplete/inconsistent and are omitted. 1999 (50-game lockout season) and 2012 (66-game season) have fewer games; 2020 (2019-20) includes only games before the COVID shutdown; 2021 (2020-21) was played with few or no fans (1,374 per game). You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

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