It really bothers me that the MVP of our league can't make an effort to be more marketable for the good of the NBA. I believe that if a player is one of the top few elite players, he has the responsibility to promote the NBA, helping the league as a whole to be more profitable. I appreciate his humility and I'm glad that people get to see that in this day in age in the NBA where egos run rampant. EVEN SO, it couldn't hurt the guy to make an effort to promote the league he plays in. This would include being more personable, smiling in interviews, doing more interviews, and laughing/smiling/showing emotion on the court. I'm not expecting him to be Magic Johnson or to change his personality, but he could at least make an effort. I think I remember Jordan saying at one time that Bird and Magic talked to him once about carrying the torch for the league and being a good spokesperson, I wish they would talk to Tim as well. I have looked for a list of the jersey sales for this last year, but I could only find a small article on ESPN that had the top 10 plus a couple of selected others (including Yao at 17) in the 10 to 20 range (<a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0416/1540070.html" target=new>ESPN Article</a>). Duncan was not mentioned in this article, and while that doesn't show that he was not in the top 20 in jersey sales, I have the feeling that he was not. I personally have only seen 1 person wearing a Duncan jersey (outside of seeing fans at a spurs game on TV), and I live in College Station, Texas, where you would expect to see Rockets, Spurs, and Mavericks jerseys. It seems pretty logical that the MVP of your league would at least be somewhat popular with the fans league-wide, allowing him to at least be in the top 20 or 25 of jersey sales. Can anyone find a list of the top 50 in jersey sales? It's really sad that the MVP of our league is regarded by many that I've talked to (friends and guys I play ball with at the park) as an amazing player, yet boring at the same time. I know that Duncan deserved the MVP this year, and he proved in the playoffs that he is, hands down, the MVP of this league, but in my opinion, more people would have been excited if Kevin Garnett would have won it, and it seems logical to me that the NBA would be more marketable/profitable with Kevin Garnett as an MVP Spokesperson. I'd enjoy hearing your ideas on this, especially if you have opposing ideas. I'd like to hear some positive things that I have overlooked so that I don't get upset everytime I hear or see Tim Duncan. Thoughts?
Isn't this a rockets board? As rockets fans, i think we should understand Duncan's "plight", if you will. Hakeem was also humble, didn't get many endorsements, etc. All he did was quietly lead his team to 2 titles that no one cared about or payed attention to. If you were a true rocket fan, you would be the last person to come out and call duncan bad for the league. Or maybe you are just new and weren't around during Hakeem's glory days.
English was not Hakeem's first language, I don't think many people expected him to be a spokesperson for the league, and that also hurt his bid to be individually marketable. Tim Duncan has all the tools to be a great spokesperson for the league, but yet those tools go under-utilized. I don't think that Duncan has a "plight" like Hakeem did. That word implies that there is something that they can't reasonably control that holds them back. I don't believe that Duncan has a plight in that sense of the word. I never said that Duncan was BAD for the league, only that he could do more for the league because of his status as one of the elites in the game. I don't view humility as a plight, but rather as a positive attribute, I believe that being humble doesn't prevent you from being individually marketable or helping to promote the NBA. What do you feel is Tim Duncan's plight?
This thread is crap. Bringing up jersey sales? WTF? How is that Duncan's problem? Some little punks don't want to buy his jersey, so he's not good for the league?
The jersey sales is a side question, but I think we would all agree that it can be used as an indication of popularity. I'm just personally interested in seeing where he is ranked in jersey sales. I would agree that lack of jersey sales could definitely be considered a 'plight', but being more personable and coming out of his shell a little bit would help that issue as well as help the league to be able to better use him as a marketing tool. Guys, I'm not stating an ultimatum here. All I'm saying is that Duncan frustrates me because of this issue and I asked for your opposing ideas to help me understand the situation a little better with a view from the opposite direction. I don't claim to know everything, I just claim to be frustrated with what I see. Please feel free to expand on your thoughts, I would like to hear them seeing as I value what you have to say. And let me say this again, Tim Duncan is a great player for and in this league. Tim doesn't attract negative attention, but he could be a good marketing tool for the NBA if he would make an effort to use all of the talents he's been given.
Maybe one could argue that his plight is no matter how much he accomplishes or how good he becomes, people will still not appreciate him because he doesnt bang on his chest like a gorilla or scream in someone's face after a dunk. He's obviously a pretty shy guy that likes to keep to himself. That's why he likes a quiet city like SA I guess. You are suggesting that he should be someone that he isn't. IMO, smiling a little more is not going to sell more jersey's, as if that matters. Also, how would KG being MVP be better for the league when he can't get his team out of the front round? You can't draw viewers when you're fishing.
<b>x_trepidation_x</b>: Great point, you helped me better define the way that I feel. I guess I don't care how much money the NBA makes, but I do wish that more people would love the NBA the way I do. The amount of money that the NBA makes is a possible indication of it's popularity, so profit could really just be used as one possible indicator of popularity. I've grown up watching the NBA since '84 and feel as though basketball is a part of my life (playing ball myself since I was little) and would love to have others experience the same thing. That's the emotional standpoint with which I bring up this frustration. In the long run, whether Duncan improves in this area or not won't make a big difference. In the short run, I believe he could help the NBA out a great deal with just a little effort.
Loving the NBA should involve respecting and admiring what Duncan has accomplished on the court, not off the court. That's what a real fan can do (and does) - appreciate someone for how they play, not how marketable they are. And that (the on the court play) is all that matters.
<b>KeepKenny</b>: You are right, it was better for them to choose Duncan. I was trying to be as objective as possible, but I'm not perfect. Outside of the rockets, Garnett has always been my favorite player, he's very exciting and intense. Duncan is a better player, but I think I would rather pay to go see the Rockets play Garnett instead of Duncan. You exposed my subjectivity on that part Nice Point.
This makes sense, and I do appreciate Duncan for his play on the court. He's absolutely amazing, especially during the playoffs this year. That just adds to my frustration because I want him to help out the NBA so much more. One thing that I just thought of is that I should be more frustrated with other stars who bring negative attention to the NBA (drugs, guns, abuse), rather than someone who is under-utilizing their potential to promote the NBA. I actually feel a lot better about this now, thanks for your thoughts. The next time I find myself getting frustrated with Duncan, I'll just think about the fact that that I was being nit-picky in comparison to some of the other league's stars and the negative image that they promote for the league. In General, how much responsibility do you think that an elite player should have when it comes to promoting the league with off the court efforts?
I think Jersy sales have to have something to with the fact that he lives in San Antonio one of the smallest markets in the NBA. Im pretty sure I have never seen a lot of people running around with Malone and Stockton Jerseys on. And Malone is nuber 2 all time in scoring, and Stockton is number one in assists and steals. Both by a very large margin.
They should do the right things off the court and lead by their actions. Duncan does that with his quiet demeanor and service in the community. The quality of play in the league should be enough to market the league itself.
Jersey sales are driven by market size more than anything else, I would expect. As for it being sad that Duncan is a "boring player", perhaps it is sad that young fans cannot appreciate a great player who knows how to play the game?
Basically, don't try to be something you aren't. Good example The quiet John Ruiz dressed up as pimp in all red from head to toe calling out Roy Jones, "Where's my Hoe at?....."Where's my Hoe at?" before the fight trying to build up hype. And it's not up to Duncan(2-time MVP) to do anything other than play the game the way it's suppposed to, which happens to be what he's already doing.
I absolutely don't see that's a problem if Tim Duncan does not act like so called Spokesman. First of all, there's no one carrying that torch anymore after MJ retires. It's not fair for Tim Duncan to be the one that's carrying the torch, which means he will be under public scrutiny all the time. Secondly, as far as Marketability, Duncan does not have much to offer. It's not his fault that kids don't buy his Jersey because his play is not flashy. It's hard to find a player that kids like to be and it's a great player. (Like MJ, Magic,etc) NBA's popularity has been going down for years. It's because the players that's coming to their primes are not fundamentally sound ball players. They're the generation that watching MJ play growing up, all they see is highlight dunk and individual success. You should not feel frustrated because you think Tim Duncan can do more for NBA. Fact is, he can't, and unless the NBA itself changes the way they're doing things, they're going to continue losing fan interest.
The question is you want many people to LOVE the "basketball game of NBA" or you want people to love the soap opera call "NBA". Duncan is already done so much for people who love the real basketball game. He is an amazing player. If there is more players like him who play well and conduct themself well, the NBA will draw more people who love the game. I do not care for the NBA to draw more people who only want to see the fancy dunk with chest pumping, trash talking and bad maner on and off the court. I do not want NBA to try to be "survivor" TV show in order to attract more people. Infact It has already headed to that direction and that is why it lost fans, IMO.
Terrible post. Personally, I hope the NBA declines in its marketing success until it turns the focus back on its product, rather than its advertizing. 3 cheers for Duncan and his rejection of the empty glitz!
