Basketball in the United Kingdom

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'American' Sports in Britain

If you wound up watching the New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons game hosted in London at the O2 arena I am confident you would say that it made for fantastic viewing. Basketball has become a recent hit for me and many others, and with the recent event of two great teams coming to London for a night it has only served to intensify the support for such a top quality game.





With great NBA legends in mind such as Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley it is no wonder that the sport has spread in popularity globally, and with a new era of stars such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant it only serves to reiterate the excitement and new talent the game brings.

In terms of British Basketball, however, there is disappointing news for the run up to the Rio Olympics in 2016 as the funding has been cut from £8.6 million to nothing at all. Whilst this doesn't affect our capability to support teams or to watch NBA games it does serve to reflect the approach taken to the less popular sports in Britain. Hopefully there will be more appearances of NBA matches in London which will in turn serve to spark more interest in the sport.

This being said, if your football team is letting you down or watching the cricket brings you less joy than cleaning the bathroom I recommend you start watching basketball games. Seeing Carmelo Anthony in full swing against the Detroit Pistons was incredible, and with many other significant names out there NBA matches are up there with some of the most entertaining sports on television.

Many games are played in the afternoon in America meaning if you have ESPN and Sky Sports you can view them in the evening live. This is great news for basketball fans across the pond.

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