NBA attendance records set for third straight season

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The National Basketball Association set attendance records for the third consecutive season, the league said Thursday.

The regular season average of 17,757 fans topped the old record of 17,558, and the total attendance of 21,841,480 eclipsed the previous mark of 21,595,804.

"We are grateful for our fans' continued support," NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement. "The third straight year of record attendance reflects the NBA's ever-increasing popularity."

NBA arenas were filled to 92.3 percent capacity, where teams recorded 600 sellouts, the league said.

The 16-team playoffs begin Saturday.