June is Pride Month, an annual nationwide commemoration of the LGBTQIA+ community. The term “gay pride” has expanded to include a wider understanding about issues of sexual orientation and identity.
BetOhio.com wanted to celebrate Pride Month by finding what NBA teams are the most LGBTQIA+ inclusive and specifically where the Cleveland Cavaliers stack up. The home of Ohio sports betting coverage created a scoring system based on the number of pride posts on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), along with the LGBTQIA+ safety of each state and city the teams play in.
Rank | Team | Total Points |
1 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 162 |
2 | Philadelphia 76ers | 151 |
3 | Toronto Raptors | 149 |
4 | Denver Nuggets | 137 |
5 | Portland Trail Blazers | 136 |
6 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 133 |
7 | Milwaukee Bucks | 132 |
8 | Brooklyn Nets | 131 |
9 | Golden State Warriors | 124 |
10 | Boston Celtics | 122 |
The Cleveland Cavaliers rated No. 1 on our list, though Ohio at large has been problematic for LGBTQIA+ persons. The state got an F grade and was No. 48 out of 51 (all 50 states plus Washington D.C.) on a safehome.org ranking for non-cisgender safety – a bad sign for the home of Ohio sportsbook apps.
But BetOhio.com complied our list partly based on how much NBA teams express support for the LGBTQIA+ community on their social media accounts. The Cavaliers not only have official accounts on X and Instagram (both @cavs) but they also have separate social impact accounts at both sites, called @cavscare on X and @cavscare_ on Instagram. The Cavs Care accounts in particular have been active during June in promoting Pride Month and supporting LGBTQIA+ persons.
Using our metrics, the Cavs scored 162 points on being friendly toward LGBTQIA+ fans, outdistancing the Philadelphia 76ers (151 points), Toronto Raptors (149), Denver Nuggets (137) and Portland Trail Blazers (136), who round out the top five. The Boston Celtics – who enter the NBA Finals at -210 favorites with Caesars Ohio Sportsbook to defeat the Dallas Mavericks in the best-of-seven series – are No. 10 on our list.
Cleveland rated No. 19 for being gay-friendly on a list of 50 large American cities, as ranked in late 2023 by the listwithclever.com website. Those rankings were based on LGBTQ population, gay bars per capita, pride events per capita and other measures. That made Cleveland the highest-ranked major city in the Buckeye State, ahead of No. 26 Columbus and No. 33 Cincinnati. The site noted that Cleveland and Columbus were tied (with Washington, New York and San Jose) for the most chapter per capita of the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays Network, which provides support.
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USA Today Network photo by Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch
Author
Ohio native Jim Tomlin has 30 years of experience in journalism, mostly in sports. He lends his expertise to BetOhio.com as a writer and editor after previous experience at the Tampa Bay Times, FanRag, Saturday Down South and Saturday Tradition.
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