Most Stressed NBA Fans This 2025-26 Season

By Christopher Boan Nov 19th, 2025 2:13 PM EST

The Wizards have lost 12 of their first 13 this season under coach Brian Keefe. (David Butler II-Imagn Images)

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Bookies.com used data from TeamRankings.com, ESPN, Google Trends, RotoWire.com Injury Report, and Stathead.com to come up with a scoring system to rank the most stressed NBA fans by team this season. We factored in close games, blown leads, current record (as of 11/18), losing streaks, Google Trends search interest scores for “Why do [team] suck” along with major injuries. Teams higher on the list have fans that are more stressed early in the season. Keep up with NBA betting all season at Bookies.com.

Most Stressed NBA Fans

This data for most stressed NBA fans is exclusive to Bookies.com, where you will find top sports betting promotions at any time.

Which NBA Fanbases Have Suffered the Most?

Unsurprisingly, the NBA fanbase that has been stressed to the max in 2025 is one that should be familiar with abject mediocrity by now. The woebegone Washington Wizards scored the highest total leaguewide, at 115 points, based on our metrics for measuring teams that exhaust their fans.

It doesn’t help that Washington’s most recent playoff series victory came during the first year of the first Trump administration. The Wizards have two first-round postseason exits to show ever since (in 2018 and 2021).

Throw in an abysmal 1-12 record out of the gate under coach Brian Keefe (above), ranking just behind the 1-13 Indiana Pacers for the NBA’s worst mark this season, and you have a decent synopsis of why Washington is our No. 1 fanbase for distress so far this season. See our NBA odds page to compare lines for games.

Which Other Fan Groups Are Stressed?

Washington does not have a monopoly on most stressed NBA fans. Other cellar dwellers such as the Pacers (110 points), Brooklyn Nets (102), New Orleans Pelicans (95) and Charlotte Hornets (87) round out our list of NBA fans whose teams make them stress out.

Indiana’s quest to repeat as Eastern Conference champs has hit the skids out of the gate, with 13 losses in 14 contests, caused largely by a cavalcade of injuries. That is increasing stress levels among Hoosier State hoops fans (in a state that’s always crazy about basketball).

The Nets and Pelicans (both 2-12) are equally hard to watch on the floor, which is reflected in their standing on our list.

Charlotte’s 4-10 start represents an improvement over where the Hornets have been lately, though that’s not a lot of consolation. The Hornets have had winning percentages below .330 for three consecutive seasons and the club’s most recent winning season was in 2021-22, when Charlotte went 43-39 (.524) under head coach James Borrego.

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Which NBA Fanbases Are The Least Stressed?

An NBA title should chill any nerves in the Sooner State. And it has, mostly, but that’s apparently not enough for the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder when it comes to some of the team’s supporters.

The defending champs (42 points on our stress index) rank behind the Los Angeles Lakers and Detroit Pistons, which have 39 points apiece, lowest in the 30-team league.

Throw in the Atlanta Hawks (49 points) and Toronto Raptors (50) and you have the five teams with NBA’s least-stressed fans right now.

The Thunder have the league’s best record at 14-1 (a .933 winning percentage) and the Pistons top the East at 13-2 (.867) as of Nov. 19. The Lakers are 11-4 (.733) out of the gate.

Both Toronto (9-5) and Atlanta (9-6) have rebounded a bit after rough stretches in the past couple of years. Stay with us for the best US online betting sites as the 82-game NBA regular season rolls on across the U.S. and Canada.

Most Stressed NBA Fans Q&A

Q. What factors make certain NBA fanbases more stressed than others?

Bookies.com analyzed multiple data points to determine fan stress levels, including the number of close games, blown leads, losing streaks, major injuries, and each team’s current record. Google Trends search interest for phrases like “Why do [team] suck?” was also used to gauge frustration. Teams that scored higher, such as the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers, have experienced more of these stress-inducing situations early in the season.

Q. Why are the Washington Wizards ranked as the most stressed NBA fanbase?

The Wizards earned the highest stress score due to a combination of close losses, frequent blown leads and struggles early in the season. Elevated search interest around negative team performance and ongoing roster uncertainty also contributed to their high ranking. These factors combined make Wizards fans the most stressed in the NBA so far this season.

Q. How is the NBA fan stress score calculated?

The stress score blends statistical performance and fan sentiment metrics. Bookies.com used data from TeamRankings.com, Stathead.com, RotoWire’s injury report, ESPN results, and Google Trends. Each component, such as injury impact, game outcomes, standings, and online search frustration, was assigned a value. The totals were combined to produce a final stress ranking for all 30 NBA teams.

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