What to Expect from Your First NBA Game

The average NBA game is played in front of around 18,000 fans but is watched by a staggering 1.59 million viewers on TV’s all across the country. To say that the vast majority of us in the United States enjoy not just basketball, but most other sports from our armchairs would be an understatement.

Perhaps that’s why the experience of visiting an arena for the first time and watching the game unfold in front of you is so revered. 

Sure, armchair fans can watch back all the replays in minute detail and track the data so they can make informed choices on the NBA player props, but there’s still no substitute for seeing the action live in front of you.

If the allure of the arena has sucked you in and you’re preparing for your first visit to an NBA game, read on to find out what to expect from your live debut.

Travel & Parking

Getting to the arena can be quite stressful if you don’t take the time to plan ahead. Needless to say there will be traffic and lots of it as 18,000 fans descend on the venue at roughly the same time.

To avoid getting delayed and stuck in traffic, aim to get to the arena a good hour to an hour and a half before the game is due to start. If you’re travelling by car this should help you avoid most of the traffic congestion on the roads and if you’re going by public transport, you shouldn’t have to travel in too cramped conditions.

Personally we would always recommend traveling to games via public transport where possible, as this takes away a lot of stress and also allows you to have a couple of beers without having to worry about driving later.

If that’s not possible and you have to travel via car, be sure to arrange your parking ahead of time. The vast majority of arenas do offer nearby parking facilities but they come at a price and often a hefty one.

Websites like JustPark and Neighbor are marketplaces where people and properties go to rent out their parking spaces. On them you’ll find much cheaper parking options close to the ground which can be booked ahead of time to save you a lot of stress and money.

Food & Drink

After all of that travelling you might be feeling thirsty and a little bit hungry, but the bad news is that fulfilling those needs inside the arena is going to cost you a fortune. Once inside you become part of a captive audience which the vendors and sellers know only too well.

The average price of a hot dog inside an NBA arena is $6.10, whereas fans of the Warriors and Celtics who like a pre-game beer are expected to part with $17.28 for a 16oz serving of your run of the mill, nothing special kind of beer.

Bearing all this in mind our pro-tip is to make your visit to an NBA game an all-day kind of thing and head to a restaurant beforehand to fill your belly with some quality, affordable food. If beer’s your thing, maybe head to a bar a couple of hours before the game and drink some real nice craft beer for a fraction of the price of arena beer.

Souvenirs

If you can save some money by eating and drinking outside of the arena then that will allow you to spend your money on more important things like souvenirs. 

Unless you plan on becoming a regular game goer, you’re going to want something to remember your day by.

Whether that be an official jersey, a hoodie or a t-shirt make sure you head to the team store after the game and pick yourself up a souvenir.

Final Tip

You might not notice it, but when you watch games at home we bet that you spend an awful lot of time on your phone. Whether that be keeping up to date with the latest odds, checking the latest discourse on Twitter/X or even mindlessly scrolling TikTok.

When you visit the game for real, you don’t want to miss any of the action scrolling mindlessly on your mobile phone. Our final tip to get the most out of your arena visit is to either leave your phone at home or keep it in your pocket and just soak in the elite level action that is unfolding right before your very eyes.