The energy inside the Frost Bank Center on a Spurs game day just hits different, and NBA players who responded to The Athletic’s anonymous player poll agree. 

When it comes to the stadiums with the most passionate fans, the Frost Bank Center came in at No. 4 with 5.3% of the 161 votes, falling behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paycom Center (18 percent), the Knicks at Madison Square Garden (19.3%) and TD Garden (20.5%) where the Boston Celtics play. For what its worth, 159 players dished on which stadium has the most obnoxious fans, and the Frost came in 13th place with just over one percent of the votes — still among the top half of the 30 total teams.

TD Garden was No. 1 on both lists. Side-eyeing y’all…

So, what accounts for the ranking? The Athletic posited that fan passion could correlate with league domination — the Celtics have a record 18 NBA titles, after all. And of course, what city doesn’t ride for their team when that team has consistently brought home the trophy? At the same time, though, the article notes that only two players of the 161 said the Lakers’ Crypto.com arena has the most passionate fans despite the franchise having 17 titles.

Boston is Boston. Its reputation as a city precedes it, and the Celtics’ history as a team has engrained it in locals’ hearts. The Knicks have the New York state of mind on their side, being that they play smack in the middle of the country’s most populated city (Sorry, Brooklyn. It’s just not the same). And as for the Thunder, the team are the reigning NBA champions with the back-to-back MVP on the roster. Those are seats that sell themselves, and I can’t think of anything else to do in Oklahoma, anyway.

San Antonio is different. It’s a major city with populous surrounding suburbs and tons of transplants, but it’s certainly no New York. We’ve had our dynasties, our five NBA championships wins. We’ve also had our slumps and have only recently come back into contender status with a ferocity. It feels good to be back on top, but it’s not like that love for the Spurs has ever gone away. 

The city lends itself to fandom on a scale that can only be chalked up to the people that live here. It goes back to the team’s early days when the Baseline Bums were founded in 1973. It continues with the start of the honking tradition after the Spurs’ first championship win in 1999, a tradition that has returned in full force. And it’s partly thanks to Wemby’s desire to bring European-style chants to the Frost Bank Center though his hand-picked Jackals crew, who have electrified the game day energy with their antics.

San Antonio, an often-overlooked city with a team full of young stars proving nay-sayers wrong, tops the list because San Antonio is passionate, rowdy and loyal. Still not convinced? Just ask the multiple Spurs veterans that continue to make their home here and give back to the city after decades. Drive down a street dotted with vendors selling merch of dubious origin or see the “Go Spurs Go” banners hanging off multiple downtown buildings. There’s your proof.