…Again I Rise!
On November 19, 2004, Ben Wallace drove to the basket for an attempted layup and was fouled particularly hard by Ron Artest. This wasn’t a foul early in the game to establish defensive tone nor was it a foul to send Wallace to the free throw line to win the game. Both teams are heated on-court rivals and Ben Wallace returned the gesture with a shove to Artest sparking a brawl that would eventually spill over into the crowd. The fallout from the infamous brawl would mean 9 players would serve over 146 games of suspension, several arrests, and the effectual DEATH sentence for the National Basketball Association. Many media outlets had already cited the “thug element” of the NBA as a major reason why NBA ratings and ticket sales were on the decline and pointed towards the “The Brawl” as simply the materialization of what that element represents. You know…things like tattoos, cornrows, players wearing $80K+ diamond necklaces to postgame interviews and highly sought after throwback jerseys. In a league where no less than 73% of the players are African-American common perception was that the league had been forever lost to a subculture that the “average season ticket holder” can’t relate to. According to a longitudinal study by The Harris Poll, professional basketball has lost chunks of market share among those polled from 1985 - 2008 with the largest decrease occurring between the years of 2002 and 2004. All this amidst a global campaign that focuses on bringing a high number of foreign players to the NBA that further reinforces the disconnect between the majority US demographic and the league.
Then, there was 2008…
It all began during the summer of 2007 when Kevin Garnett left the Minnesota Timberwolves to join Ray Allen from Seattle in Boston with Paul Pierce. Then, as the NBA Western Conference began to heat up before the trade deadline, Pau Gasol left Memphis for Hollywood to play with Kobe. To counter, Shaq left D Wade in Miami to play with Steve Nash in Phoenix. Add to that Jason Kidd going back to Dallas from New Jersey, C-Web going back to Golden State from retirement, and Damon Stoudamire and Kurt Thomas adding to the perennial all-star team in the SA Spurs. And all that doesn’t even take into account the B-level trades. At any given point during the Playoff run, only 5 games seperated the #1 and #8 seeds in the Western Conference playoff bracket.
Additionally, 2008’s NBA frenzy has been fueled by the Western Conference playoff run. At one point only one game seperated the projected #1 and #5 seeds in the West. There were also 9 teams with 44 or more wins. To add to all that, the Houston Rockets achieved the 2nd longest winning streak in NBA history at 22 games.
By the time the dust settled, the NBA had it’s masturbatory dream matchup between the Boston Celtics nee The Boston Three Party vs. the LA Lakers featuring the league’s MVP in Kobe Bryant. The two rivals each sported their respective conferences’ best records, and more importantly, two of its best media markets in a contest to see who can put on the best show that will keep the Commish from having to respond to questions about Tim Donaghy. Then on June 17th the Boston Celtics were again crowned NBA Champions; a full 22 years since their previous title. That game drew the highest ratings for an NBA Finals game in 8 years.
Detractors will point to the league’s perpetual drama now manifest in the Donaghy scandal. Tim Donaghy is a former NBA referee currently being prosecuted by the FBI on illegal gambling charges. The shockwave sent throughout the sports world of a league official fixing games resounded much louder than a league image issue. This strikes right at the heart of the legitimacy of the game, and basically marks the line between major league sports and the WWE. Common consencus is that this could usurp any and all momentum gained by this season’s unusual resurgence sending the NBA back into its own recession. There’s no argument in that David Stern is a genius (crooked or otherwise) and is smart enough to manipulate any publicity into good publicity for a league dying to maintain or regain the #3 sports position. Stern also knows that most hardcore NBA fans will return next season at least in TV ratings. His goal MUST be to put and keep fannies in the seat and he hopes that will be influenced positively by this Summer’s Olympic Team USA performance.
All in all, for every free minute of advertisement the NBA can get during the Summer Olympics, the Donaghy trial, and the Disney Sports Network’s uncomfortable infatuation with all things related to Boston that could translate into more season tickets sold across all NBA cities. After a season like this it would be a crime not to.
June 29th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
I think a common thread that led to the rise of the NBA this season is the gravitation towards TEAMS instead of STARS. The NBA had the fortune of marketing some very remarkable teams that featured stars i.e. Celtics, Lakers, Spurs, Pistons, and etc. These were all complete teams instead of groups reliant upon 1 or 2 stars to bail them out time and time again. I find this much more exciting and compelling to watch. The norm is to have numerous bad teams with all of the good players spread all over the league. If the NBA didn’t have so many bad teams in areas just to cultivate a market, it would have a better and more compelling product year in and year out. Top rate players would be concentrated among fewer teams. Imagine Lebron teamed up with T-Mac and Yao in Houston (yes I am a Rockets fan) or D-Wade, Marion, and Dwight Howard in Miami or Orlando. Or what about Kobe, Pau, and Melo? Sure these teams may be a coaches nightmare (imagine trying to preach team defense to the latter three) but imagine the possibilities.
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Thanks for the input Joel. I think the NBA also suffers from the contract situations. Inflated salaries that markets can’t support force small markets to support those players for the beginning of their careers in hopes of achieving greatness until those players reach salaries that can only be supported by larger markets (read: KG from Minnesota to Boston and the impending jump of LeBron from Cleveland to Brooklyn). I’m not saying those brothers shouldn’t get their paper but a more balanced sharing system would benefit the league more IMO. I also wish you could screen owners to ensure that management is committed to winning and not just making $$$$ but all sports suffer from those types of ownership groups, ie Arizona Cardinals, LA Clippers, etc.
July 4th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
The NBA should have some kind of tier type system. Maybe have a league with 16 premium markets and the remaining franchises be their developmental squads. Reserve the 16 premium spots for the best of the best. This is not to relegate the other franchises to something akin to Double or Triple A teams, but concentrate the better players and teams in one grouping that competes with each other. The European soccer leagues do something like this and they are the best in the world.
I don’t know. Anything can be better than what the NBA currently does. They have too many bad teams with watered down rosters. They need a more legitimate developmental system and a way to concentrate the best players in one league. But they’re probably making enough money to not see the necessity to change.
July 8th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Joel, I think you destroyed the nail with your last sentence. They’re making too much moolah from aloof owners who are just looking for the profit or those who have teams for the sake of. Instead of having 16 teams that bring in an average of $10M net net profit they whether have 32 that average $5M net net profit because that increases their chances of touch to the casual fan. Also, if one of those mediocre teams has an above average year that team is almost guaranteed to have higher season tix sales the following year which also means more corporate sponsors…you get the point. All about the $ first and the fans last.