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NBA Playoffs: Which team should a soccer fan support?

By Luke Duffy

Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe (R) and Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar look on during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Stade de Reims at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on May 16, 2021. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
Paris Saint-Germain's French forward Kylian Mbappe (R) and Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar look on during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Stade de Reims at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on May 16, 2021. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images) /
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NBA playoffs
NBA playoffs (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Who should soccer fans support in the NBA playoffs Eastern Conference top 4:

1. Philadelphia 76ers – Borussia Dortmund

We are not going to stick to one league, but rather bounce around Europe, and this is a nice place to start. The Philadelphia 76ers boast a wrecking ball of a center in Joel Embiid, and one of the best defensive players in the league in Ben Simmons. Their top two guys are young, were drafted by the organization, and have led them to the top seed in the playoffs.

Borussia Dortmund didn’t exactly pick their best two players, Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho, out of nowhere, but did nab them from other clubs early. Haaland is only 20 and is as electrifying a force as Embiid. The Sancho and Simmons comparison is weaker as Sancho is a dazzling attacker, but he is only 21. Two teams that have build from the ground up early, and are reaping the rewards now and for years to come.

2. Brooklyn Nets – Manchester City

This one is easy. In basketball, you can’t buy talent and put it all together, but players can do their best to all get to the one team. That is what three superstars called Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and later James Harden did in joining the Brooklyn Nets. The comparisons don’t stop there, as both the Nets and Manchester City are in the shadow of bigger teams in their own city (the New York Knicks and Manchester United).

Before being taken over by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, City were a team that had been relegated from the Premier League as recently as 1996. Thanks to superstar players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez and Sergio Aguero, they are going to contest this year’s Champions League final. Both the Nets and City play a great style of their game and it makes them easier to like, but for casual fans they are the teams you support if you’re in it for the glory.

3. Milwaukee Bucks – Barcelona

Barcelona have been built around Lionel Messi for well over a decade, arguably the greatest football player of all time. The Milwaukee Bucks will hope the same is the case with Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has committed his long-term future to the franchise. In the case of both teams, they will go as far as their superstar will take them.

Messi has won it all multiple times over, and at 33 is getting on. Giannis is yet to win a championship and at 26 may not even have hit his prime yet. The main issue both teams face is the fact that others have more money than they do to spend on players (Barcelona), or super teams are coming together elsewhere to block their ascension (Bucks). For added links, the history of Barcelona speaks for itself, while the Bucks boast some historically great players.

4. Atlanta Hawks – Tottenham Hotspur

Trae Young is one of the premiere offensive players in the league for the Atlanta Hawks. Harry Kane has scored tons of goals for Tottenham Hotspur, even if he is being heavily linked with a move elsewhere. Both the Hawks and Spurs are always going to be up to something as long as these players are on their team, but is it ever going to lead to anything more?

Atlanta has been a tough sell for free agents in the past, while Spurs have the allure of living in London, but have to contend with Chelsea and Arsenal also playing in the city and having had more success. You might get to a cup final or win a playoff series, but anything more than that seems like too much.