This past weekend, the NBA's All-Star Weekend returned to the Big Apple. Many consider New York, with its myriads of basketball traditions, to be America's true basketball "mecca." With one of the most storied (and long-suffering) NBA franchises, a thriving youth ball scene, an iconic arena and a star-studded fanbase, NYC may well be the most famous basketball city in America.
But what about the country's other great basketball areas, such as Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas and California?
I decided to take a look at many factors that might define a great basketball state (I elected to use states eliminate the difficulties of measuring a city and its subjectively-defined surrounding areas). Such factors included having a Hall of Fame player born in the state, having a Hall of Fame player attend high school in the state, having a Hall of Fame player attend college in the state, having a Hall of Famer spend at least five seasons playing for a team in that state, having an All Star player born in the state, having an All Star player attend high school in the state, having an All Star player attend college in the state, having NBA teams located within the state win a championship, having college teams located within the state win a championship, having college teams located within the state reach the Final Four, having an NBA team located within the state, having a college Division 1 team located within the state, and having an NBA player born in the state (since 1980 - data before that got a bit fuzzy). I narrowed the states selected to 10 of the more highly-respected states in terms of basketball, including California, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Indiana and Texas.
So, without further ado, here's a chart showing the states ranked by the above categories:
But what about the country's other great basketball areas, such as Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas and California?
I decided to take a look at many factors that might define a great basketball state (I elected to use states eliminate the difficulties of measuring a city and its subjectively-defined surrounding areas). Such factors included having a Hall of Fame player born in the state, having a Hall of Fame player attend high school in the state, having a Hall of Fame player attend college in the state, having a Hall of Famer spend at least five seasons playing for a team in that state, having an All Star player born in the state, having an All Star player attend high school in the state, having an All Star player attend college in the state, having NBA teams located within the state win a championship, having college teams located within the state win a championship, having college teams located within the state reach the Final Four, having an NBA team located within the state, having a college Division 1 team located within the state, and having an NBA player born in the state (since 1980 - data before that got a bit fuzzy). I narrowed the states selected to 10 of the more highly-respected states in terms of basketball, including California, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Indiana and Texas.
So, without further ado, here's a chart showing the states ranked by the above categories:
However, the above chart values all of the categories listed equally. I felt that having a championship team and how many Hall of Famers were born in a state are better indicators than how many NBA players were born in a state. Therefore, the chart below weights the categories differently, with won championships weighted the most heavily and the number of NBA players born weighted the least heavily. Here's that chart:
In the above chart, California blows its counterparts out of the water, primarily due to its sheer size and population. California has a lot of college teams and a lot of NBA teams, which means a lot of championships and a lot of players. North Carolina also makes a strong appearance, even beating out the much more populous New York, primarily due to its numerous Final Four appearances and college championships from Duke and UNC. However, to create a more equal playing field, let's adjust for population. To create the chart below, I divided each state's values by its population, and came up with this:
Well, well. Looks like we have a clear winner. Kentucky, a relatively sparsely populated state with just over four million inhabitants, outshines all other states after adjusting for population. Kentucky's ABA team, the Kentucky Colonels, actually took home hardware in 1975, but Kentucky's college basketball success relative to the state's size is what's really remarkable. Both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville have been perennial contenders for the Big Dance, and it shows here. Moreover, Kentucky has had a surprising crop of talented NBA players born and bred in the Bluegrass State - Hall of Famers from Kentucky include Dave Cowens, Wes Unseld and Joe Fulks.
Aside from Kentucky, Massachusetts, Kansas and North Carolina, all relatively small states, rate well here. The latter two states, like Kentucky, derive almost all of their value from successful college programs despite having no or a very small NBA presence (Indiana falls in this category as well). While North Carolina bred more talent than Kansas did, the University of Kansas has had a better history with Hall of Famers than UNC and Duke. In contrast, Massachusetts's value is almost entirely derived from the Celtics' success winning titles and hosting Hall of Fame players.
Our larger states, California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan, ranked significantly lower than the less populous states after adjusting for population. While their total talent levels might be superior, we can primarily attribute that to their sheer sizes.
So, in conclusion, beautiful Kentucky is the true homeland of basketball based on my measurements. Keep doing you, Kentucky.
Aside from Kentucky, Massachusetts, Kansas and North Carolina, all relatively small states, rate well here. The latter two states, like Kentucky, derive almost all of their value from successful college programs despite having no or a very small NBA presence (Indiana falls in this category as well). While North Carolina bred more talent than Kansas did, the University of Kansas has had a better history with Hall of Famers than UNC and Duke. In contrast, Massachusetts's value is almost entirely derived from the Celtics' success winning titles and hosting Hall of Fame players.
Our larger states, California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan, ranked significantly lower than the less populous states after adjusting for population. While their total talent levels might be superior, we can primarily attribute that to their sheer sizes.
So, in conclusion, beautiful Kentucky is the true homeland of basketball based on my measurements. Keep doing you, Kentucky.