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FanSided Fandom 250: Timberwolves have eighth-best fan base in NBA

By Ben Beecken

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 23: Minnesota Timberwolves fans watch the NBA draft and celebrate the teams's pick on June 23, 2016 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 23: Minnesota Timberwolves fans watch the NBA draft and celebrate the teams's pick on June 23, 2016 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Timberwolves fanbase has been ranked as the eighth-best in the NBA by FanSided’s Fandom 250. Where did they rank overall on the list of 250 fanbases?

A few weeks ago, it was announced that the Timberwolves fanbase was one of just 12 NBA fanbases selected to land in FanSided’s Fandom 250, which is comprised of fanbases of all types, from TV shows to college teams to brands to fans of Aaron Judge.

The Wolves beat out the likes of Toronto (No. 12), Oklahoma City (11), Memphis (10), and Chicago (9) among the 12 NBA fanbases that were included. Finishing ahead of Minnesota included the Spurs, Knicks, Cavaliers, Celtics,  76ers, Lakers, and Warriors.

Of the teams listed ahead of the Wolves, Cleveland is the hardest one to stomach. If having the best player in the league for 10 out of the last 14 seasons qualifies a team’s fanbase to be the fifth-best overall…then I guess this makes sense. But otherwise it’s a head-scratcher.

The Spurs have a great fanbase, although playing in a city with the NBA as the only “big four” sport gives San Antonio a built-in advantage, similar to OKC at No. 11 and Memphis at No. 10. It’s hard to be too upset with them landing one spot ahead of the Timberwolves.

Knicks and Lakers fans are kind of in similar boats at this stage, although the

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11 championships (five were as the Minneapolis Lakers and this is a Minnesota Timberwolves blog, so) tallied by L.A. trump the two wins by New York by just a bit. It’s hard to argue with dedicated big market fan bases that seem to be generally knowledgeable.

The Sixers one is a little weird. Philadelphia did rank just 18th in the NBA in attendance last year, but it’s not like the Wolves’ attendance numbers have been stellar of late, either. The idea is certainly that tons of fans stuck around throughout #TrustTheProcess and continue to do just that, so I’ll allow it.

And as for the Warriors, well…they have won two out of the last three titles, but they’ve also had a notoriously loyal fan base, dating all the way back to the Rick Barry days. Any Finals winner has to deal with some level of fair-weather clingers-ons, so it’s hard to hold this against the legions of true Warriors fans.

Next: Comparing Andrew Wiggins' season to other max players

All in all, it hurts a little bit that the Wolves and their fans were defeated by the likes of Fixer Upper (No. 130), Kesha (No. 125), Jenna Marbles (No. 58), and Netflix (No. 6). But I, for one, will accept the ranking as the eighth-best fanbase in the entire NBA.

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