NBA Playoffs: Which team should a soccer fan support?

This coming Saturday sees a return of the best time of the year, as the NBA playoffs kick off properly. The timing might be different as a result of all of the Covid-19 disruption, but there will be some fans there, and 16 teams vying to be crowned champion of this altogether strange season.

Already we have enjoyed some play-in basketball, like the classic between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. It wasn’t all good, however, with the matchup between the Charlotte Hornets and Indiana Pacers giving those who are not a fan of the idea plenty of ammunition on reasons to shelve it in the future.

This time of the year is also the best chance to convert some of your friends who may be fans of other sports over to basketball. Especially in Europe, where soccer (I am going to call it football from here on out, sorry…) reigns supreme. With sport gone for a lot of last year, plenty of people are up for learning all about a new sport and getting involved.

Which team should football fans around the world support from here until the conclusion of the NBA playoffs later this summer?

This question takes on even more importance as new fans of football teams will typically follow that model and stick with supporting one team, as opposed to the rise of fandom of one particular player that we have seen emerge in the last decade.

So let’s swap the F.A. Cup for a seven-round series, VAR for a coach’s challenge, and breakdown which NBA teams most closely resemble their footballing counterparts and why you should support them if you’re a fan of that particular team. This doesn’t all translate easily, and it is meant to be fun anyway, so be gentle.