Should Cincinnati Have An NBA Team?

Here in Cincinnati, sports are very important. The Reds and Bengals are talked about on a daily basis by almost every Cincinnatian, as are the Bearcats or Musketeers, depending on who you root for.

There are two professional football teams, the Bengals of the NFL and the Cammandos of the CIFL, there is a Major League Baseball Team, the Reds, and there is a Minor League Hockey Team, the Cyclones of the ECHL. So three of the four major American Sports (Football, Baseball, Hockey, and Basketball) are in Cincinnati. All that is missing is a basketball team.

Sure, the University of Cincinnati’s basketball teams is great, as is Xavier’s basketball team, but it would still be nice to have an NBA Team.

The Question is: Would the NBA ever give Cincinnati a team?

Just to make it clear now; The NBA is not considering adding an expansion team, or anything like that, this is just an article.

Back to the question now, the NBA probably wouldn’t give Cincy a team any time soon. I say that for a few reasons.

My first reason is because there are three NBA teams within four-or-so hours of the Queen City. Indianapolis, home of the Indiana Pacers, is just two hours Northwest of Cincinnati, Cleveland, home of the Cavaliers, is just four hours Northeast, and Detroit, home of the Pistons, is just a four hour drive up I-75. There are better places to put an NBA team based on location.

Another reason why Cincinnati probably won’t get an NBA team is based on attendance. There have been Reds games this season where there are less than 15,000 people. 15,000 people wouldn’t be too bad for an NBA game, but if the team wasn’t winning and it was a weekday, you could expect far less people in the arena. The Cincinnati Bengals have been lucky to have a home game televised the last couple of years. Why? Because in order to have your game televised, locally at least, the game must be a sellout. Even when the Bengals were winning, people wouldn’t go. I know ticket prices are high and Mike Brown is the “second coming of Satan”, but you would think that 65,000 people could show up to an NFL Game. The NBA wouldn’t want to look at an empty US Bank Arena very often. And just so you guys don’t get mad, I understand that sporting events don’t take financial priority, there are much more important things to spend money on than sporting events.

My final reason is just because there are better, and more attractive cities to put an NBA team in. Seattle would be one, their fans are fantastic. If you ever watch a Seahawks game or a Mariners game, listen to the Seattle fans, they get loud. When the Supersonics were there, the fans were always into the game, cheering at the top of their lungs, even if their team was losing. Another city would be Pittsburgh, as much as I hate to say it. Pittsburgh supports the Steelers and Penguins very well, and they even do okay supporting the Pirates, who haven’t had a winning season since, 1492 or something like that.

As much as I’d love for Cincinnati to have an NBA team, it’s just not realistic. But I can promise you this, if I’m ever rich enough, I will buy an NBA team and relocate them to Cincinnati, and I’ll make sure they’re the best team in the Association.

Feel free to yell at me, call me names, or maybe even compliment me on this article. Tweet me @CoopLed.