Basketball is full of traditions and superstitions many of which are changing, such as the case with where the home and away teams sit during a basketball game.
Which side does the home team sit on in basketball? The side in which the home team sits on in basketball is on the right side of the court. If standing directly in front of the scorer table or watching the game on television it is the right side where the team sits on the bench. How you can tell where a team is sitting is, teams start off playing on the hoop opposite side of their bench.
Traditions seem to be disappearing in the NBA, jerseys colors no longer represent the team that is home or away leaving you confused until you hear the crowd scream after a team score. So how do we know whos away and whos home now? Well, now the side in which the bench sits is telling, or is it?
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How to tell which side is home?
Since Nike took control and is the official sponsor of the NBA, the jersey colors do not matter for who is the home team anymore. It was always the darker jersey which was the home team and the lighter or white jersey is the away team.
Now the way to tell who is the home team is in the first half of the game both teams play on the opposite hoop to their bench. Which means they are playing on the hoop furthest from their bench to start. While in the second half they are scoring on the hoop closest to their bench.
Which side of the Scorer Table Does the Home team Sit on in The NBA?
In basketball, we know that the home team sits on the right side of the scorer table, But this isn’t always the case in the NBA. This could be further from the truth for several reasons, remember how I said traditions are dying in the NBA well they are but it really depends on the arena and how it was built with the location of the home teams locker room.
Usually, the home team’s locker room is closest to the home bench. But again it really depends, if a city has both a hockey team and an NBA team then they are constantly flipping from ice to hardwood, which could impact the location of the locker room relative to the bench.
Here is a list of NBA teams, their arena, and which side the home team sits on:
Team/Arena/Side in which the Team Sits
Atlanta Hawks – State Farm Arena – Left
Boston Celtics – TD Garden – Left
Brooklyn Nets – Barclays Center – Left
Charlotte Hornets -Spectrum Center – Left
Chicago Bulls – United Center – Right
Clevland Cavaliers – Rocket Mortgage Field House – Left
Dallas Mavericks – America Airlines Center – Left
Denver Nuggets – Pepsi Center – Left/Right
Detroit Pistons – Little Caesars Arena – Left
Golden State Warriors – Chase Center – Left
Houston Rockets -Toyota Center – Left
Indian Pacers – Bankers Life Fieldhouse – Left
Los Angeles Clippers – Staples Center – Left
Los Angelas Lakers – Staples Center – Left
Memphis Grizzlies – FedEx Forum – Right
Miami Heat – America Airlines Arena – Right
Milwaukee Bucks – Fiserv Forum -Right
Minnesota Timberwolves – Target Center – Right
New Orlean Pelicans -Smoothie King Center – Left
New York Knicks – Madison Square Garden – Left
Oklahoma City Thunder – Chesapeake Energy Arena – Right
Orlando Magic – Amway Center – Right
Philadelphia 76ers – Wells Fargo Center – Left
Phoenix Suns – Talking Stick Resort Arena – Left
Portland Trailblazers – Moda Center – Left
Sacramento Kings – Golden 1 Center – Right
San Antonio Spurs – AT&T Center – Left
Toronto Raptors – Scotiabank Arena – Left
Utah Jazz – Vivint Smart Home Arena – Left
Washington Wizards – Capital One Arena – Left
So which side doe the home team sit in the NBA? By the looks of it not many follow the old rule of the bench sitting on the right side of the score table, with 21 teams that sit on the left side and 9 teams that sit on the right. The Denver Nuggets will sit on either side.
The NBA Bubble
Now you would think that more than ever they would have the home team playing on the right side of the score table because there are no fans and its one central location so technically everyone is home. But it is kind of confusing to still know whos home, without any indication from the jersey or side of the court the home bench is sitting. I mean sometimes they have a small logo on the court but not always the case, there is no official rule to where teams are supposed to sit even in the bubble so confusing.