Summer League in Las Vegas has grown from a small, semi-private event into an annual summit where the majority of the NBA’s power players descend for at least a portion of the 11 days of festivities.
The league has done a better job of making it a more fan-friendly event in recent years, too, as the latest numbers from the just-concluded version of this year’s showcase would seem to indicate.
Samsung NBA Summer League shattered all-time records for attendance, NBA TV viewership, digital consumption on NBA.com and NBA Mobile, and overall merchandise sales, according to an official release.A record 513 media were credentialed throughout the event.
All-time Samsung NBA Summer League marks included:
71,942 total attendees -- an increase of 16% from last year’s previous record -- and a new all-time single-day mark of 8,013 attendees on Monday, July 14.
2014 was the most-watched Summer League ever on NBA TV, averaging 103,000 household impressions and 116,000 total viewers, increases of 40% and 28%, respectively, over last year.
NBA.com and NBA Mobile set new records, with visits up 80% and videos viewed up more than 70% from the previous season.
Summer League is great in terms of the access it provides fans to many of the top rookies recently selected in the draft, and for the high volume of games (usually eight per day in total played in two separate gyms, at least until tournament play begins) that can satiate the appetite of even the most ardent of basketball junkies.
It’s an event that’s likely only going to increase in popularity as time goes on.