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10 Best NBA Arenas: 2023 Edition

What are the best arenas in the NBA? There’s historical arenas like Madison Square Garden, which opened the year Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Then there’s Chase Center, the Warriors’ $1.4 billion gamble in swapping Oakland for San Francisco. Every arena has a story and its own experience and we took a look at them all to rank the ten best NBA arenas.

10. Footprint Center (Phoenix Suns)

It’s hard to get one of the 17,071 tickets to a Phoenix Suns game with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker on the roster. The atmosphere and the hype surrounding the superteam has breathed life into Footprint Center helping it to become one of the best NBA arenas. 

Opening in 1992, the Suns featured in the NBA Finals a year later. Phoenix would have to wait another 28 years to see the NBA Finals played again at the Footprint Center and they made the most of it, creating one of the most rowdiest atmospheres you’ll ever see.  

9. Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia 76ers)

Don’t be fooled into thinking Wells Fargo Center is your average NBA arena. The arena has the first Kinetic 4K scoreboard, complete with 40 million pixels and at a cost of $15 million. And even when the 76ers aren’t winning Wells Fargo Centre has an incredible sound system pumping music to hype up the crowd. 

If the Sixers are in a winning mood, the capacity 20,318 crowd can create one of the craziest atmospheres in the NBA. Philadelphia’s mascot Franklin also loves to mingle with the fans, and the Sixers Dunk Squad keeps everyone engaged.  

8. Kaseya Center (Miami Heat)

With a current capacity of 19,600 Kaseya Center has witnessed three NBA championships since opening in 1995, with the 2012 and 2013 titles spearheaded by one of the greatest NBA players of all time, LeBron James.  

When Jimmy Butler goes off it’s another reminder that Miami Heat fans know how to have fun, and the Kaseya Center becomes one of the best NBA arenas thanks to its cracking atmosphere. 

7. Scotiabank Arena (Toronto Raptors)

Scenes both inside and outside of Scotiabank Arena during the Raptors incredible 2019 championship winning season were incredible, taking place 20 years after the arena first opened. 

With a capacity of 20,411, the entertainment factor goes up another notch at Scotiabank Arena when regular super-fan Drake is sitting courtside, or in his ground floor suite.

6. Crypto.com Arena (LA Lakers & LA Clippers)

Crypto.com Arena is still known by many as the Staples Center. Built in 1999, this is the house that Lakers legend Kobe Bryant built alongside superstar teammate Shaquille O’Neal, with the pair winning a three-peat in the earlier years of the arena. 

With a capacity of 19,079 at Crypto.com Arena, visiting the arena for a Lakers game is on many people’s bucket lists and it won’t disappoint. A look at the rafters is a reminder of just how special the Lakers franchise is with the alumni of retired jerseys, and a record amount of championship banners.   

5. United Center (Chicago Bulls)

The United Center is the largest arena in the NBA by seating capacity with 20,917 seats. The best NBA player of all time Michael Jordan came out of retirement a year after the United Center was built in 1994 to guide the Chicago Bulls to a second three-peat.

It’s the history that makes the “Madhouse on Madison” one of the best stadiums in the NBA. There’s a Jordan statue on the eastern side, and the pregame player introductions are one of the most electrifying experiences you’ll experience in American sports. 

4. Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (Cleveland Cavaliers)

Built in 1994, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse was brought into the future with $185 million renovations completed in 2019. It’s now one of the best stadiums in the NBA and its modernization included 2,200 square feet of LED panels, a 77,000 square-foot illuminated curtain wall, 700 new TV screens, the heightening of ceilings and an expanded entry. 

3. TD Garden (Boston Celtics)

Some of the greatest players of all time have played at TD Garden following their move from Boston Garden in 1995. Modern renovations has kept the arena up with the times with a capacity of 19,580, but it’s the Celtics winning history and sea of banners hanging from the rafters which makes TD Garden one of the best NBA stadiums to experience.

One of the most glorious features of any arena worldwide is TD Garden’s parquet flooring, with the feature piece first appearing for the Celtics in 1946 due to a lumber shortage. 

2. Chase Center (Golden State Warriors)

The Golden State Warriors left Oakland to move across the bay to San Francisco to play at the $1.4 million Chase Center. An arena fit for a dynasty, the state-of-the-art facilities opened in 2019 and has a capacity of 18,064. 

Although forever connected to Oakland, leaving the East Bay for the Chase Center was a big money move. In addition to hosting the Warriors, the arena hosts hundreds of major events a year such as Metallica, Drake and the WWE, so the revenue generated is massive. 

1. Madison Square Garden (New York Knicks)

New York fans rejoice, because even when the Knicks are going bad you’ll always have the best NBA arena. No place has the aura of Madison Square Garden (MSG), knocked down and rebuilt four times since 1879. The latest reiteration of MSG was built in 1968 and has a capacity of 19,812. 

Michael Jackson, Elton John, Elvis and John Lennon have all performed at “The Garden”, which has also witnessed two Knicks championships. The MSG has the only arena ceiling in the world that’s concave, and you’ve got to check out the restaurants near Madison Square Garden which has improved remarkably in recent times. 

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