CAROLINA, Puerto Rico 鈥� Vianca Bra帽a never used to attend basketball games in her hometown of Carolina, 鈥� or anywhere else in the United States territory. But in recent years, the 23-year-old has left the arena with a hoarse voice, often wearing a T-shirt that reads 鈥淐arola,鈥� a nickname for her town.
鈥淲e started making this fun, and I wanted to represent the town where I'm from,鈥� said Bra帽a, who attended her first game the year bought a team in the island鈥檚 professional men鈥檚 basketball league. It was also around that time that she began placing bets on different teams across Puerto Rico with her girlfriends.
Bra帽a鈥檚 fervor illustrates how Puerto Rico's professional men's basketball league is experiencing a revival, driven by reggaeton stars like Bad Bunny, Ozuna and Anuel AA, who are stepping into the financial game, buying local teams and helping to stack up a loyal fan base the island hasn鈥檛 witnessed in over 40 years.
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What were once half-empty arenas in Puerto Rico are now packed, filled with families and young fans cheering for their favorite teams, from Los Capitanes de Arecibo in northern Puerto Rico to Los Leones de Ponce in the south.
Attendance more than doubled from 2018 to 2023, skyrocketing from some 480,000 tickets sold to nearly 1 million, according to Puerto Rico's professional men鈥檚 basketball league, whose digital presence has also soared in the past few years.
A pivotal moment in the league鈥檚 revival came in 2021, when became co-owner of Los Cangrejeros de Santurce, along with his manager, Noah Assad.
Bad Bunny鈥檚 frequent game-day visits sparked a resurgence in Puerto Rico's basketball scene. Other artists like quickly followed, buying Arecibo鈥檚 Capitanes team before a new owner took over in 2023, and Ozuna acquiring Manat铆鈥檚 team, renaming it Los Osos, in 2022. The league, known as BSN, currently has 12 teams playing, compared with nine just four years ago.
Basketball games have transformed into premier rendezvous events, attracting celebrities like , former boxer Floyd Mayweather and reggaeton artists including Arcangel and Rauw Alejandro, capturing audiences of all ages hoping to get a glimpse of them.
鈥淲hen Noah and Bad Bunny came along, we generated a lot of noise,鈥� said Ricardo Dalmau, president of BSN. 鈥淚t was an explosion of attention.鈥�
Dalmau said local TV ratings also saw an upward tick after they began broadcasting some games in 2021, with the biggest surprise being their largest viewership block: women ages 18 to 49, a new audience that was also reflected in the bleachers.
鈥淵ou never know what artist you鈥檙e going to find in the (league),鈥� he said.
Before its recent surge in popularity, the league was under financial strain. Although Dalmau did not provide specific numbers, he said there used to be a lot of uncertainty about whether certain teams would participate or whether the league could fulfill players鈥� contracts. 鈥淲e don't have those problems anymore," he said.
Javier Sabath, a popular basketball commentator on the island, said he is witnessing what his father 鈥� a sports commentator himself decades ago 鈥� describes as the environment in the 1980s, the heyday of the league.
鈥淣ew generations have never seen this before,鈥� Sabath said. 鈥淭he boom with urban artists revived the Puerto Rican sports history that had been forgotten.鈥�
Sabath said the momentum created by artists has fueled fans鈥� excitement beyond just seeing reggaeton stars. 鈥淚ndirectly, these artists are attracting enough attention to make people interested in our league,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a domino effect.鈥�
A bittersweet moment took place recently, when Puerto Rico national men鈥檚 basketball team, composed of several of the league鈥檚 star players, qualified for the . The victory over Lithuania broke a 20-year drought for the team that last competed in 2004, beating the USA team in the Athens Olympics. It is also a loss for the league鈥檚 teams playing later in the summer.
The league鈥檚 renaissance comes after its peak over 40 years ago. Teams in Bayam贸n, Quebradillas, Ponce and other towns had produced renowned players, including Butch Lee, the first Puerto Rican player to enter the ; Raymond Dalmau, whose son currently presides over the league; and Rub茅n Rodr铆guez, who played for Los Vaqueros in Bayam贸n.
As part of the current frenzy, ex-NBA players have moved to Puerto Rico in recent years to join the league. Will Barton and Jared Sullinger play for San Juan鈥檚 team, while other ex-NBA players like , Lance Stephenson and Brandon Knight also joined before moving on to other stints.
Still, some problems remain beyond the league鈥檚 control, including severe budget cuts, with the government slashing the island鈥檚 sports and recreation department budget by over . A lack of investment and maintenance in sports arenas across the island has caused leaks, leading to game suspensions after heavy rains.
鈥淒espite the lack of economic resources, we鈥檝e been able to sort it out,鈥� said Ray Qui帽ones, secretary of sports and recreation of Puerto Rico, whose infrastructure budget was cut from about $15,300 in 2014 to barely $7,500 in 2024.
Sports arenas face the additional problem of across Puerto Rico, which is , a Category 4 storm that razed the island in September 2017.
In June, a game in Carolina between the home team, Los Gigantes, and Los Indios of Mayag眉ez was suspended after a widespread power outage left more than 340,000 customers without electricity. A month earlier, a game in San Juan鈥檚 main arena was also suspended due to a power outage.
Despite the challenges, younger generations are finding refuge outside their homes 鈥� which also contend with frequent power outages 鈥� and a new sense of pride by attending the games.
For fans like Annais Ram铆rez, basketball arenas feel like safe spaces, especially for women looking to engage in historically male-dominated areas.
鈥淭here are so many artists coming to the games, and you wonder if you鈥檒l run into one,鈥� the 27-year-old said as she stood next to her friend, who sported a necklace with a diamond-encrusted 鈥淐鈥� for the town of Carolina.
Her love for Carolina鈥檚 team has grown beyond her expectation to run into a celebrity. During her free time, Ram铆rez goes on social media to catch up on the games she couldn鈥檛 attend in person, checking out highlights, halftime performances and crowd reactions.
鈥淭hose motivate you to be part of the movement,鈥� she said. 鈥淥n weekdays, this helps me unwind.鈥�
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