Basketball season is finally here! Every preseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers play exhibition games across the state of Ohio. They visit cities like Cincinnati, Canton, and Columbus to showcase their upcoming season with exhibition games, which is a great way to increase interest in the Cavaliers. Cities who aren’t fortunate enough to house an NBA team in Ohio need a squad to root for.

On October 23, the Cavaliers visited Cincinnati. They played the Washington Wizards at U.S. Bank Arena. The tickets for these road trip exhibition games are very affordable compared to regular season games at the Cavs true arena. Ticket prices ranged from $10 to $70 a seat which is a great deal for an NBA game. Although it was only a preseason game, it gave our city a chance to see professional basketball, since Cincinnati hasn’t had a team since 1972 when the Royals relocated.

Neither the Cavs nor the Wizards are playoff caliber teams this season, but both teams have a stable of young talent. Three of the last four first overall picks were in this game. John Wall, the Wizards point guard (1st overall pick from 2010) was matched up against Kyrie Irving, the Cavs point guard (1st overall pick from 2011). Fans had the great opportunity to see two of the top guards in the league in live action. Also, the first pick from last year’s draft, Anthony Bennett, played a lot of minutes for the Cavs. The Cavs were able to expose how much young talent they have. Showing how they could be a playoff caliber team in the near future, even though the King James era is over.

Quill writers Doug Lutz, Andrew Cole, and I had the chance to go to the game. Watching an NBA game with tons of young stars in person was amazing. With the size of U.S. Bank Arena, there is not a bad seat in the place; everyone in the arena had a great view. Thousands of Cincinnatians got to see the top players in the world compete without needing to travel to cities like Indianapolis, Cleveland, or Detroit.
“Sitting front row courtside and being able to reach out and touch Kyrie Irving was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Doug Lutz. “Seeing who I think could be the next top point guard in the league up close was sweet.”

Coming to Cincinnati for a game each preseason is a great business decision for Cleveland. Picking up new NBA fans from a city like ours without a team can greatly increase the size of the Cavs fan base. Smart basketball fans in Cincinnati who are looking for a team to root for will jump on the Cavs bandwagon soon, before they get really good with all of their young talent.
Unless we get another NBA team in Cincinnati, I think it will always be more of a college basketball city with teams like the Bearcats and Muskies always being respectable. Even though we don’t have a professional team, we still see great basketball here in the Queen City.