Top Best NBA Arenas for an Unforgettable Experience

What is the Best Arena in the NBA?

The best NBA arena is ultimately a subjective topic. However, ESPN compiled a list that factored in accessibility, concessions, and overall fan experience. Of course, a team’s recent performance has impacted the experience, as teams on the longest losing streaks in NBA history will not generate much excitement. With that said, care to guess which arena topped the list?

That would be the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, home of the Kings. Yes, this was the top NBA arena ranked, as it scored highly on the three main factors. The Golden 1 Center is also famous for its purple beam, which lights up every time the Kings win. The franchise’s resurgence has also rejuvenated the loyal fanbase, contributing to how rocking the place can get.

Sacramento’s placement at the top comes as a surprise, especially when we look at the rest of the top 10 best NBA arenas:

• Madison Square Garden, New York Knicks
• Chase Center, Golden State Warriors
• TD Garden, Boston Celtics
• Scotiabank Arena, Toronto Raptors
• Little Caesars Arena, Detroit Pistons
• Barclays Center, Brooklyn Nets
• Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee Bucks
• Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles Lakers
• Gainsbridge Fieldhouse, Indiana Pacers

Most of the other NBA stadiums on this list either come from a big market (New York, Boston, Los Angeles) or have a team that recently won the title (Warriors, Celtics, Raptors). While having a rebuilding team, Detroit is still a big city. Indiana and Milwaukee are in small markets but have consistently fielded competitive squads.

Who Has the Biggest NBA Arena?

Size did not matter when ranking the best NBA arenas. After all, there is only a few thousand seats difference between the biggest and smallest places. But if we ask which arena can accommodate the most fans, the United Center in Chicago and the newly opened Intuit Dome in Inglewood would be tied. Both the Bulls’ and Clippers’ homes top the list with a capacity of 20,917.

Three other arenas can accommodate over 20,000 fans: the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

However, to prove that size did not matter, only one of these arenas (Little Caesars Arena) made the NBA stadiums’ ranked list.

The Intuit Dome is too new to rank, but the United Center came in 11th. Wells Fargo Center was only 24th, while the Capital One Arena was 25th.

What is the Most Advanced NBA Stadium?

Speaking of the Intuit Dome, this can be considered the most advanced NBA arena. Why won’t it be? It was built by the richest NBA owner (Steve Ballmer) and features all the bells and whistles that make it one of the best NBA arenas.

The Intuit Dome was made with PTF and ETF panels, which block the sun but allow natural light into the arena. The Dome can operate for over six hours without electricity, making it one of the best basketball arenas.

Additionally, Intuit Dome features innovative technology designed to enhance the fan experience and immerse them. Even the toilets, which are the most in any arena, were designed to “get fans back to their damned seats.”

“It feels kind of like an NBA Disneyland versus [Crypto.com Arena, the Clippers’ former home, shared with the Los Angeles Lakers] where it’s a multiteam, multisport arena,” a longtime Clippers fan said.

“This is dedicated to basketball, and everywhere you look, you know you’re at a basketball game. You know you’re at a basketball arena. You know you’re here for the game.”

While the Clippers don’t have a superstar who tops the NBA all-time scoring list on their roster, they more than compensate by having the savviest arena.