Slovenians are the biggest NBA fans in Europe
While EuroLeague is immensely popular among basketball fans in Europe, the NBA also attracts many international fans from the continent. After all, there’s no reason why you can’t enjoy basketball in both of these prestigious leagues. In this section, we’ll explore which European nations are the biggest NBA fans by comparing the number of searches for the American League in each country.
| Rank | Country | Population | NBA Searches | NBA Searches per 100,000 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Slovenia | 2,099,790 | 1,660,600 | 79,084 |
| 2 | Spain | 47,222,613 | 22,893,000 | 48,479 |
| 3 | Ireland | 5,323,991 | 2,375,100 | 44,611 |
| 4 | Iceland | 360,872 | 137,640 | 38,141 |
| 5 | Italy | 61,021,855 | 22,332,000 | 36,597 |
| 6 | Luxembourg | 660,924 | 233,500 | 35,329 |
| 7 | Israel | 9,043,387 | 3,145,700 | 34,785 |
| 8 | France | 68,521,974 | 23,706,000 | 34,596 |
| 9 | Serbia | 6,693,375 | 2,227,000 | 33,272 |
| 10 | Greece | 10,497,595 | 3,144,700 | 29,956 |
| 11 | United Kingdom | 68,138,484 | 20,021,000 | 29,383 |
| 12 | Lithuania | 2,655,755 | 699,400 | 26,335 |
| 13 | Cyprus | 1,308,120 | 328,500 | 25,112 |
| 14 | Switzerland | 8,563,760 | 2,061,400 | 24,071 |
| 15 | Montenegro | 602,445 | 143,380 | 23,800 |
| 16 | Croatia | 4,169,239 | 971,100 | 23,292 |
| 17 | Germany | 84,220,184 | 17,508,000 | 20,788 |
| 18 | Malta | 467,138 | 95,400 | 20,422 |
| 19 | Portugal | 10,223,150 | 1,985,500 | 19,422 |
| 20 | Austria | 8,940,860 | 1,569,800 | 17,558 |
| 21 | Latvia | 1,821,750 | 306,800 | 16,841 |
| 22 | Belgium | 11,913,633 | 1,959,300 | 16,446 |
| 23 | Estonia | 1,202,762 | 186,500 | 15,506 |
| 24 | North Macedonia | 2,133,410 | 321,000 | 15,046 |
| 25 | Turkey (Turkiye) | 83,593,483 | 10,461,500 | 12,515 |
| 26 | Norway | 5,597,924 | 626,300 | 11,188 |
| 27 | Poland | 37,991,766 | 4,135,500 | 10,885 |
| 28 | Finland | 5,614,571 | 609,000 | 10,847 |
| 29 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3,807,764 | 337,300 | 8,858 |
| 29 | Kosovo | 1,964,327 | 174,000 | 8,858 |
| 31 | Netherlands | 17,463,930 | 1,539,500 | 8,815 |
| 32 | Denmark | 5,946,984 | 508,500 | 8,551 |
| 33 | Sweden | 10,536,338 | 844,900 | 8,019 |
| 34 | Hungary | 9,670,009 | 702,100 | 7,261 |
| 35 | Bulgaria | 6,827,736 | 467,300 | 6,844 |
| 36 | Albania | 3,101,621 | 148,900 | 4,801 |
| 37 | Slovakia | 5,425,319 | 195,900 | 3,611 |
| 38 | Czechia | 10,706,242 | 382,900 | 3,576 |
| 39 | Romania | 18,326,327 | 570,800 | 3,115 |
| 40 | Armenia | 2,989,091 | 75,090 | 2,512 |
| 41 | Moldova | 3,250,532 | 41,340 | 1,272 |
| 42 | Belarus | 9,383,853 | 99,200 | 1,057 |
| 43 | Azerbaijan | 10,420,515 | 77,700 | 746 |
| 44 | Georgia | 4,936,390 | 12,100 | 245 |
Slovenia to Ireland: Europe’s Biggest NBA Fans Unveiled
🏀🌍 Slovenia leads Europe in NBA searches with a whopping 79K per 100K people 🇸🇮💻! Spain and Ireland follow suit 🇪🇸🇮🇪, proving basketball’s global reach extends far beyond the US 🌐🔥
Slovenia
NBA Searches per 100,000: 79,084
Slovenia is the European country with the biggest NBA fanbase, with a huge 79,084 searches per 100,000 people. Basketball is one of the most popular sports in Slovenia, and the country is currently ranked seventh in the FIBA world rankings, which is impressive for a population of around 2.01 million. There are currently three Slovenian players in the NBA: Vlatko Čančar of the Denver Nuggets, Luka Dončić of the Dallas Mavericks, and Goran Dragić, who currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Spain
NBA Searches per 100,000: 48,479
The European country with the second highest rate of NBA searches is Spain, with 48,479 searches per 100,000 people. Basketball is incredibly popular in Spain, the second most popular sport after association football, or soccer. In fact, Spain is currently the highest-ranked country for basketball in the world, according to FIBA, even beating out competition from the USA by a slight margin. There were four Spanish players signed to NBA teams in the 2022-23 season, including Santi Aldama of Memphis Grizzlies, Usman Garuba of Oklahoma City Thunder, and Ricky Rubio of Cleveland Cavaliers, as well as Willy Hernangómez of New Orleans Pelicans, who recently signed for FC Barcelona.
Ireland
NBA Searches per 100,000: 44,611
The country with the third biggest NBA fanbase is Ireland, which saw 44,611 NBA searches in the last 12 months. Basketball is popular in Ireland, but it has a lot of competition from other more established sports in the country. Ireland’s most popular sport is Gaelic Football, followed by the likes of rugby, football, and horse racing. There are currently no Irish basketball players in the NBA, and the national team is ranked 96th in the FIBA world rankings.