Exclusive Explaining the Problem Facing the NBA That No One Really Understands

Yeah, and isn't the current TV Networks regretting this current TV Deal? I feel like a lot of fans are getting tired of the superstar marketing and don't tune into many games anymore to see the stars that are bashed into their head.

 

This was sort of my thoughts on it as well. Something about a normal distribution and the fact that there are more "casual" fans. That is where the NBA probably receives the majority of their revenue, if we are talking specifically about fan only revenue and not TV dollars. Even if you lose the three top spending fans, say 1 million a piece, you still have 40 million "casual" fans that spend $5 each, so you aren't really losing much.

 

I guess the NBA is always gonna suck as a sports league. What a sham.

Dumb casual fans all over social media, no competitiveness, players that only want to play in big markets on superteams, insiders that don't know the actual game, constant pandering to hand picked markets/players, superstar calls, Lavar Ball, the NBA doesn't care about it's most passionate fans...

I can't be the only one tired of all this. If only I didn't love Portland + Basketball so much

 

Valid argument.

 

I'll have to disagree. In my opinion the NBA is more popular than ever. In fact I believe it could possibly overtake the NFL as the most popular sport in America. Basketball is the biggest participation sport in America and its global reach continues to rise.

 

Just come visit the Bay Area. It's pretty obvious which group is driving revenues. Hint: It isn't the die-hard fans that have watched every game over the last 20 years.

 

You KEEP posting this. Please tell us why you are saying this. Because you "feel" it? I could claim white players will start getting better in basketball and soon take over the league. Just because I "feel" this way or heard other people say it or read it on the internet doesn't make it so. I'm actually trying to see where you are coming from, because this theory, as far fetched as it is, is interesting. But you are really helping by continuing to post the same opinion over and over mijo!

 

That's not true based on TV viewership ratings. The local TV ratings for the opposing team goes up when they play against the Warriors or Cavs (super teams). The #'s dont lie.

 

The thing with baseball is every team has a chance to compete 5 years from now. Baseball teams can turn around extremely quickly, and players have more outlier type of seasons where they overperform. The Astros were awful for a while and then within 2 years because a perennial playoff team. Same with the Nationals. This year, the Diamondbacks and Rockies are doing the same. In the AL, 10 out of the 15 teams have a realistic shot at the playoffs, any team in baseball that makes the playoffs has a chance, because of the way the MLB playoffs work out. It's the same with the NFL.

Basketball has none of that. At least 25 out of the 30 franchises have no chance to win a championship within the next 5 years. That distinction goes to the Warriors and wherever Lebron plays. That's why I don't get LP, because outside of the Blazers, there's no interest in other teams because they're all playing for consolation bragging rights...

So when a team sucks in baseball, there's still more hope than if you have a decent team that's a bottom-half playoff team.

 

White basketball players becoming "better" isn't dependent on how people feel. People choosing whether or not to tune out is dependent on how people feel. That analogy doesn't work.

Basically this, Lavar and Lonzo Ball have been covered more in the past year than Lillard has his whole career. Lonzo Ball already has an insane amount of hype, and we don't even know if he's a good NBA player yet. But instead of any respect being given to anyone Blazers, the national media will talk about Ball to no end, and the NBA supports this.

The national media overhypes Triple Doubles. Triple Doubles are a collection of stats, that is arbitrary, because the difference between 9rebs/9ast and 10reb/10ast is the same as 10reb/10ast and 11reb/11ast. However, when a certain player (like Westbrook) gets that 10th rebound and 10th assist, "experts" talk about the triple double to no end. It turns a decent game into a great game. It doesn't matter if Westbrook shot 35%, chased every rebound and stole boards form his bigs, played bad defense and turned the ball over 7 times... The 10th rebound and assist is way more important than all of that.

There's 30 teams in the league, and many great stories that we probably don't hear about from other markets. That's because the NBA and national media is constantly marketing a certain group of "superstars" and big market/superteams to no end. You never hear any X's and O's broken down like with the NFL, or how a certain team fits with a certain player... Instead you get "Can Lebron's super friends team up in 2018", "Next NBA Superteam? Teams to Watch", "Curry says he wasn't making fun of Lebron", "MJ still ranks Kobe higher than Lebron", "Which 2018 NBA FAs are most likely to leave?", and I didn't even include the daily Lavar Ball headline...

Basically, the NBA and the media promotes celebrities more than basketball. A couple super teams full of celebrities that the NBA has overpromoted in a big market is more important to the league than great, competitive basketball from teams across the nation. The casual fan soaks all these up, while someone like me, who loves the game, is left disappointed. For someone like me, no collection of players will ever be bigger and more important than the sport, but the NBA promotes care more about superstars celebrity status than the purity and competitiveness of the sport. This is why Silver says shit like "Superteams are great for the league... We should celebrate excellence."

That's why I don't care for watching nationally televised games often, because the NBA is nationally televising the game usually for one or two players. I understand people want to see the best players, but the rate in which the Lakers will get televised this year because of Lonzo Ball will be annoying, because I'd rather see competitive basketball between great teams (which I guess is pretty non-existent). It also wouldn't be as bad if the NBA didn't do shit like run commercials for a week that is hyping up a GSW vs. POR matchup by showing highlights of Curry and Durant with no mention of Portland. Makes me feel like the NBA doesn't give a shit up our team or city, and cares more about the star individual in such and such city.

In football, you'd say "Hey, you gonna catch the Eagles vs. Cardinals game later?", in baseball you'd say "You gonna catch the Yankees vs. Dodgers game later?"... In basketball, you'll hear "You gonna watch Westbrook vs. Lonzo?"

 

Yet with all of this, the league is more popular than it's ever been.

 

If you believe this article, the NBA has $2.6 billion in revenue from national tv broadcasts, compared to $150 million in local tv broadcasts.

That makes it pretty clear to me that the league has much more incentive to appeal to the casual fan than the hardcore fan.

You may not like the facts, but I think your "feel" is way off base with respect to the NBA failing.

 

Never said it will fail.

 

I've explained why.

 

This is true in many, many sports...not exclusive to hoops...the X factor though is health...injuries are game changers...see BRoy, GOden....some cities are baseball cities, some are football cities, some are basketball cities...in Portland, that's not such an issue. Baseball has the best farm system in pro sports..that's why they can rebuild so quickly.

 

Neat......but IT'S FUCKING BASEBALL! Why the fuck would you sit down and watch that coma inducing sleep fest of a "sport"? Interesting you bring up "America's Pastime" You want to talk about shitty TV ratings?

 

For fucks sake son, it was a ridiculous example of me saying that just because YOU claim something, doesn't mean it's fact!

 

Wow! You got a lot of shit going on man. You can't just sit back and enjoy watching some of the best athletes on earth play an amazing game? Who cares how the league promotes players and matchups? Watch what you want, WHEN you want. This anger and pent up frustration over something you don't even have to deal with is MIND BLOWING! I could understand if this was about your job or family life or something You HAD to be a part of day in and day out, but damn. This would be like The HCP being an angry KKK member, but joining BlackPeopleMeet.com just to vent!

 

Exactly my point. What I've been telling this kid all day.