For most sports fans, playoffs is what it’s all about, it’s the thing teams have been working towards since the beginning of their pre seasons because everyone wants a shot at being crowned champs.

In early January, the National Football League (NFL) postseason begins and thousands tune in to watch the weekly rounds to see who will play in the Super Bowl in early February.

Likewise, the Major League Baseball (MLB) postseason begins in October and continues throughout the course of the month. Throughout the month of March, college basketball teams from around the U.S. compete for their spot in the National Championship game in early April.

Among the professional sports, there are only two that go on at the same time: basketball and hockey. This year, the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs kicked off on April 11, and will run through the beginning of June.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs began on April 30, and will also run through the beginning of June. Now, because these two playoffs run at the same time, fans who love both sports usually have to pick which one they want to follow more intently. Out of the two sports, the NBA playoffs is the better out of the two.

The biggest reason why the NBA playoffs top the NHL playoffs is because of the stronger competition. A stronger competition means a more exciting series, and the NBA is full of them. The series themselves were around the same in both sports, some teams were able to pull off the clean sweep and others were able to slip away with a 4-3 series win. But when it comes down to the number of close games, the NBA has the NHL beat.

Many people around Freedom love to watch playoff hockey because their hometown team, the Penguins, competed for another cup this year.

“The penguins are my life. My friends and I watch the games outside on my projector and it’s like we area at the game. The Penguins in the playoffs are such a blast to watch especially this year since they’re going for a three-peat,” freshman Reiker Welling said.”

But once the Penguins lost to the Capitals in game six of the series, these fans stopped watching the rest of the playoffs because their team was no longer in them.

“After the Penguins lost, I lost interest in the NHL playoffs. The NBA playoffs are very entertaining and exciting either way and I’m excited to see how they end,” junior Sam Socash said.

The NBA on the other hand, doesn’t have a Pittsburgh team, which makes it unique who fans can root for without feeling the pressure of rooting for your home team.

Also, people tend to follow a professional sport if they themselves play that sport. Many kids from Freedom play basketball, but not as many play hockey.

“The NBA playoffs are better because basketball is a more relatable sport because more people around here play it so we can enjoy and learn about the game we actually play,” freshman Cole Beck said.

It’s no question that anyone who watches the playoffs for either sport, finds them exciting, but for those who only want to watch one or the other, the NBA playoffs are definitely more worth your while.