How the NBA is Influencing Basketball Culture in Malaysia

Every country has a widely popular sport. Many of these sporting events are popular across the world, with many professional players or fans. For example, the United States has American football and baseball. The United Kingdom has football and cricket. Australia is best known for Australian rules football and rugby. In Ireland, hurling and Gaelic football are quite popular. And in Malaysia, we have basketball Malaysia and football. 

Betting on sports and watching these events are common ways to track how popular a sporting event is in a specific region. In the United Kingdom, football betting is quite a huge industry. This shows how popular the EPL, Championship and other European tournaments are popular within the country. 

In Malaysia, betting on football, badminton, the PBA, and NBL Australia are quite popular. However, the most recent form of wagering is on the NBA, the PBA, the NBL Australia, and other top basketball events. 

Given how popular NBA Malaysia has become, we’ve prepared this guide to help you have a clear picture of the popularity. Discover how Malaysian citizens are using the 1Win website to wager on 3×3 basketball, how the NBA is growing in popularity among Malaysians, and some of the popular NBA Malaysia events to attend in 2025. 

The NBA’s Growing Popularity in Malaysia

This season, the National Basketball Association (NBA) has had a significantly higher social engagement, and many Asian countries played a crucial role. The tournament has partnered with many influencers and celebrities in Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, who have more than 300 million followers across all social media platforms. This helps the league reach out to as many people as possible, even those who have zero knowledge of the game. 

For example, in October 2024, the NBA held its first-ever competition in Malaysia, referred to as the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Tournament. This is a competition that was attended by thousands of young Malaysian players from across the country. To reach as many interested participants as possible, the NBA used local celebrities to market the competition through their social media platforms. 

Additionally, they’ve used celebrities to promote “Game Never Stops” Pop-Up Events. Together, these two events had content that generated a record 350 million views since they were published. 

Influence on Local Basketball Leagues and Teams

It goes without saying that the NBA has a significant influence in the local basketball and teams. The influence streaches beyond economic and social bounderies, including in the following areas:

• Inspiration and role models: many NBA legends and superstars are role models for young athelets, coaches, and teams as a whole. Some, like Michael Jordan, Shaq, and Steph Curry inspire upcoming superstars to play and become like them.  
• Shaping the fashion industry: it may sound unbelievable but the NBA has a big influence on how players in Malaysia dress. Jordans are quite common among many young players. Many, especilally in Kulal, prefer wearing NBA jerseys with Jordans. 
• Economic growth: the list would not be complete without mentioning economic growth. Events hosted to promote NBA and other related events help raise money that goes back to the economy directly or indirectly. The money can be raised through charities or other events listed in the sections below. Even the NBA jerseys sold to players around the country help grow the economy significantly. 

The NBA has also played a great role in shaping how the league is played throughout the year. Although the NBA Malaysia league isn’t usually played at the same time as the NBA league in the USA, they both use the same format of play. This influence extends beyond the boarders of Malaysia where major tournaments accommodating teams from other countries participate in. They follow the same format that is used by the NBA playoffs. 

The Impact on Malaysian Youth and Grassroots Development

Basketball isn’t deeply ingrained in Malaysia like football. However, it’s popularity is quickly  growing due to the influence of NBA. 

As mentioned in the above paragraphs, NBA Malaysia, in collaboration with MABA, has been throwing events that aim at promoting the sport at ground levels. The two events, “Game Never Stops” Pop-Up and the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA tournaments have inspired tens of thousands of young players from across the country. 

Through basketball, there are well-organized communities where countless young Malaysian players have found the inspiration to pursue their dream of playing the sport. 

NBA-Inspired Basketball Culture in Malaysia

If there is one picture of Malaysian inspired football that you can paint, it would be one with a rusty rim nailed ontop of a tree or a rickety rim bolted atop a barangay building. In Malyasia, legends are created from ‘pickup games’ or street basketball. 

Additionally, Malaysian players can wager on basketball to potentially score big wins. This is evident by the number of betting shops spread throughout the country. 

You will also find players dancing around potholed courts wearing NBA jerseys, shoot balls under sun blazing noontide, and streetlamp throwing lights. 

Why Does Street Basketball Matters

NBA and street basketball Malaysia are at the center of all the culture in Malaysia. As such, it plays a very important role due to the following: 

• Easier accessibility: it doesn’t need special sneakers or an expensive NBA jersey to play the game. Just creativity and the ball. 
• Building skills: it helps players learn how to adapt to uneven terrain, developing improvisation and quickness. 
• Community identity: it has led to court fiction like meeting spaces where players can talk about matters that affect the society. These include ways to break away from poverty or how to get away from gangs. 

Street basketball matches are also a rite of passage. The creativity involved in the game is limitless. Moreover, the players hone sophisticated and fancy moves such as the pasa the ball quickly or tira ng tres. This helps them master practicality mixed with artistry. Many of these games have very few rules – focusing mostly on improvisions. The matches are also very intimate.  

Basketball as a Tool for Promoting Social Inclusion 

Basketball courts are uncommon equalizers in Malyasia. While playing ball, a colledge dropout can outplay a scholar; and a jeepney driver can easily school a CEO. In a few words, accessibility to basketball breaks down social barriers, offering progressive mobility for marginalized people.

Malaysia’s NBA Fan Base and Viewing Trends

The Malaysian people have embraced basketball at all levels in life and society. The success of basketball as a sport is a testament to how fun and enjoyable the game can be to not only play, but also participate in it passively. 

Passion for the sport runs high in Malaysia. However, there are certain NBA teams that have more viewership than others. In the midst of the 2023-2024 season, NBA Malaysia revealed the teams that had the most viewership and significant sales in terms of NBA jerseys. These included the following: 

• Dallas Mavericks
• Los Angels Lakers
• Golden State Warriors

At the end of the 2023-2024 season, the NBA Malaysia store sold the most merch for Golden State Warriors. As you’d expect, the topping NBA jerseys in terms of sales was Steph Curry’s. 

NBA Events and Visits to Malaysia

Who said that you must have a ticket to enjoy the NBA All Star game in order to have fun? Well, of course, it would benefit you to have the real life experience but it also doesn’t mean that you cannot enjoy a few events locally. In Malaysia, there are plenty of events to visit. These include:

• Board Game Night: Socials (Fourth-Coming) by Take The Leap
• Grand Archive TCG – Ascent Kuala Lumpur 2025
• Game Never Stops: Malaysia
• BCL Asia – East hosted by MABA

While there are many other events to visit, the most outstanding one is the Game Never Stops: Malaysia. The popularity of this event stems from the fact that it is hosted or sponsored by Hennessy Cognac. Here, people get to celebrate urban culture in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Players have 2 weeks of basketball, art, and an all star shootout challenge. As you’d expect, there are plenty of gifts, goodies, and prizes to be won by the participating teams. 

Conclusion – NBA Is More Than Just A Sport

At the end of the day, NBA Malaysia is much more than an entertainment entity for your average fan! The NBA’s legacy transcends beyond the basketball court evident by its impacts on social and cultural activities, not forgetting to mention the economic advantages it offers every sector of the economy. The new generation of basketball players in Malaysia has already been motivated by MABA’s efforts. Basketball should be viewed as more than just a form of race or pleasure in a country where suffering, poverty, and murder are the order of business. Rather, it should be seen as a part and parcel of the society that unites individuals, young and old, in the society.