Anonymous poll on the way.
I went with 2. Buncha tall dudes is all I see. Maybe if I understood further, but meh. I’d watch curling, horseshoes, table tennis, pretty much anything else before BB.
- One of the last sports I’d choose to watch.
However, that rule doesn’t apply to all basketball equally. I would rather watch college than pro, and I would rather watch women’s than mens.
I still don’t watch either by choice, though.
I enjoyed playing it in high school, and even watched a few live games back then. Since then I have next to no interest unless some major rivalry is at stake. So I went with 3.
I’m a bit of a fair-weather fan in regards to Basketball. If my team is a contender, I’ll follow the team and, at least, sample many of the games. If not, I’ll drift away.
As far as winter team sports go, Hockey is a far better sport to watch – both the NHL and college. The NHL playoffs are absolutely the best. Hockey suffers some because the rink is “too big for tv,” although big screen HD helps a lot. Great sport to watch in person.
Basketball has too much start/stop/start/stop to keep me glued to the set.
Of course I’m biased since I played hockey as a kid and through HS, but played very little basketball.
You left out the negative numbers for those of us who suffered childhood trauma attempting to play that wretched game. 
I assume we are ranking how much we like to watch it? I voted 8 because I really like watching the pros. College a bit less so, mostly because stuff like the full-court press, zone defense and other gimmicks tend to work a little too well at that level. It’s frustrating to watch.
Baseball is my favorite sport but I also really enjoy basketball as well. It’s ballet with the best athletes in the world.
Ten.
Out of curiosity - and not to impute any kind of nefarious hidden motivation, by any means - why will the results be of interest to you if the sport itself isn’t?
I put an “8”. It’s easily my favorite of the “big 4” here in the States - the combination of athleticism, grace, and power is unlike anything you see in hockey, football, or baseball.
Good point. If you’re too short, you end up smelling a lot of armpits going for a rebound.
I was once invited to a sky box at Key Arena to watch the Sonics. We left at halftime. I’ve enjoyed watching some games now and then, but usually it just doesn’t hold my interest. I’m a “3”
ETA: as a short guy, I hated being forced to play in High School. I would shoot a bit with my friends in the neighborhood.
Reasonable question. I’m just curious how the SDMB fanbase views basketball to see if it squares up with my impression of how popular the sport is. I’m a big SEC college football fan, and except for that and the Titans pro team, I don’t care much for TV sports. I haven’t been to a live game, even football, in decades.
To expand a bit on my own motives, I like to see what the attitudes of the SDMB community are toward thing I like or dislike. Just to know how much to focus on those activities and interests. If a lot of people are really into stuff I prefer to ignore, I like to know when to keep my two cents to myself. If many folks are into things I like, I try to get involved in those discussions.
Fact finding as a bottom line to the question.
The following is likely mostly rose-tinted nostalgia at work, but I recently tried watching an NBA game-and was utterly unable to. It just bored the living hey out of me. I voted “one”…
It seemed like there was a lot more…artistry years ago-I got weaned on Dr. J, then Larry Bird & Magic. These players were creative in a way that few today seem to be. Things seemed a lot more disorganized, simplistic, and happenstance than before, and in particular it seems like nobody knows how to run a fast break anymore (Magic was the absolute master at that of course). My rating back then would have been 8 or 9.
But, like I said, probably just some old-fogeyism at work here.
I gave it a three.
I really like college basketball at this time of year with the conference and NCAA tournaments. There’s a sense of something being on the line (lose and you’re out). That being said, I don’t pay much attention during the regular season except for a casual glance at the headlines once in a while.
NBA…I hate it. Totally boring. I can’t even tell you why I feel so differently about it from college ball.
I voted three. I’m not really into ANY sport other than boxing and MMA, but of the four major US team endeavours, basketball is least boring.
It’s fun to play, but I really don’t enjoy watching it.
One.
I seriously would have voted zero if it was an option. I actually went to a game back at the old Boston Gardens in the Larry Bird days, probably his last year, 1992 by the looks of it. Any sport is fun live, when you’re drinking beer. On TV I’d rather watch women’s 5 pin bowling.
Somewhere along the way in my statistics education, I think I remember that a sample size of 30 will give a good approximation of the results for a much larger population.
To test that here, and since I missed the actual 30 count, here’s how things stacked up after 34 voters.
It may be instructive to check back after a larger sample is in – assuming there is one. 
View Poll Results: On a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high) how much do you like basketball?
This poll will close on 04-02-2014 at 10:47 AM
Raw Cum
1 7 20.59% 20.59%
2 5 14.71% 35.30%
3 8 23.53% 58.83%
4 3 8.82% 67.65%
5 2 5.88% 73.53%
6 2 5.88% 79.41%
7 1 2.94% 82.35%
8 3 8.82% 91.17%
9 1 2.94% 94.11%
10 2 5.88% 99.99%
Voters: 34
I put a 6. I’m more interested if the local team is good, and I appreciate the sport, but it just really doesn’t register much. To be fair, though, I don’t watch much of anything these days other than baseball.
Watching live at venue: 9. It is a sport that really shines when stripped to its athletic elements and all of the commentators, graphics, and glitz are stripped away. When you can hear every bounce, grunt, footstep coming from the court, it really engages you in the action.
Watching on TV: 5. The human athletic element feels removed and artificial. Replays and camera shots feel more like watching actors in 300 than actual events.
Playing: 3. Recreational basketball is an exercise in futility if not one of the better players on the court. The game is too easy to be selfish at and too easy to be frozen out of. 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 games can be spectacular fun to play though.