The NBA Finals are in full swing with the Oklahoma Thunder winning game 1 over the Miami Heat. As I watched the game, I wondered how many Hispanic players are in the National Basketball Association (NBA). I did some searching online and found some interesting facts about Hispanics in the NBA and Hispanic NBA fans.
Did you know:
- 16% of the NBA’s total fan base is Hispanic
- There are currently 7 U.S. born Hispanic players
- 20 NBA players are from Spain and Latin America
- More than 11 million likes and 3.8 million NBA followers are Hispanic
- Hispanic viewership growth to-date was 59% vs. last season
- 8.7 million Hispanics 12 and older who play basketball, tied with soccer as the most popular team played sport
With interesting facts like these, it’s no wonder the NBA began éne•bé•a. éne•bé•a is the NBA’s initiative to target the Hispanic consumer with tailored programs that include media, in-stadium events, grassroots and merchandising programs. The NBA understands the buying power of Hispanics and even introduced uniforms with the team name stitched on as spoken by several Hispanic fans and Spanish media outlets in 2006-07 (for example, “Los Lakers”).
All these initiatives were part of NBA Noche Latina. Teams across the country played games wearing the Hispanic inspired uniforms in hopes of gaining more fans along with festivities. I appreciate the efforts by the NBA in recognizing Hispanics. I hope the program continues to develop with ever changing Hispanic culture.
What do you think about the NBA’s Noche Latina campaign?
The Following Guest Blog Post is by Steve Nuñez, marketing coordinator for La Opinion
