why the disinterest (is that a word?) in basketball?

Disinterest in the NBA?

Wow, I don't see any baseball or football players getting 100 million dollar shoe deals, nor have I seen a high school game featuring anything other than basketball phenoms. When was the last time the MLB draft was on TV? If nobody is interested then why do I see basketball players in more ads than any other sport combined?

NO WHITE SUPERSTARS is your likely answer.

 

It really has nothing with the color of the superstars, it has to do with the attitudes and actions of the superstars. There's no doubt that the NBA reaches far more "marketable" Americans (young) then the other major sports. Why are they in shoe commercials? Because for the most part, only kids are stupid enough to pay 150 bucks for basketball shoes that they'll have messed up or outgrown in 3 months. Also, basketball shoes can be worn by school children... but last I checked football, baseball and golf spikes are off limits at most schools.

I used to always buy the best basketball shoes as a kid, paying the 150 bucks a pop out of my own pocket. However, once I hit 17 or so I realized I was a jackass for doing so... needless to say I haven't payed more then 70 bucks for athletic shoes of any kind (basketball/running/crosstraining) over the pats ten years. Simply because the stars are marketable doesn't mean the league is a success. The NBA does make money as a whole but the vast majority of owners are struggling. Attendence is down, interest is down, ticket prices are up, and the "thugs" are running rampant.

If I was a parent I would steer my children away from the NBA and drive their basketball interest towards college. Granted, all professional sports have their problems but I don't think any effect children as much as problems in the NBA. Rape charges, drug charges, fights with fans, dropping f-bombs in front of the kids within earshot... it's all a part of the NBA now, and it is something that turns me off as a fan. I'm disgusted with baseball because of the steroid issue but for the most part their "problems" don't even come close to the ones in the NBA in my opinion.

 

The difference is that you can be a pro-bowler/great NFL player, and still be a 3rd or 4th round pick.

That option is not even there in basketball... if you're not drafted in the only two rounds available, you're almost definitely not in the league.

 

I don't see anybody wearing baseball spikes or football cleats around town. The markets are not comparable.

 

Undrafted free agents make it in the NBA all the time. Hell we have two in the Rockets regular rotation who weren't drafted (James/Wesley). You have players who play in the CBA and Euro leagues that make it all the time... the NBA 10 day contract makes it much easier for them to get a break.

 

Tell that to this guy...

Top 10 undrafted NBA players of 2003-2004

and that was just last year...Ben Wallace is an all star and Avery Johnson will get a few hall of fame votes...and there's this guy you might be familiar with named David Wesley.

Plus, the NBA has more opportunities for development than the NFL does...NBDL, CBA, USBL, and Europe...well, unless you count the Arena Football Leagues as a developmental league.

Since it's pretty much impossible to compare the NBA and NFL drafts, let's assume that being undrafted in the NBA is about the same as being a second day draft pick in the NFL...what's the percentage of those two groups that have had significant NBA or NFL careers? I'd be willing to bet that they're about the same...

 

Great point.

 

I don't think that's it. Even in Larry Bird's heyday, the NBA finals were playing at odd times because of a lack of interest.

I still remember watching the 86 Rockets/Lakers in the Western Conference Finals on tape delay.

Michael Jordan (not white) is one of the most popular sports stars in history and created excitement for the league. Other than Larry Bird, there were no great white superstars then either.

There are 3 reasons why the NBA is not as popular:

1. There are too many teams diluting talent. Teams no longer have a Michael Cooper coming off the bench.

2. Too many HS players with no fundamental skills other than dunking. Most of these kids are great athletes but can't shoot at all.

3. Defense is much tighter creating a less fluid, entertaining game.

 

This is the real answer.

 

Hmmm...so Jeff, you're basically saying that black people don't know how to use the internet.

 

I think one of the reason is there are no more great rivalry in the NBA anymore. Most of people watch sports because of the drama, and back then you have Bird vs. Magic, MJ vs. The Bad Boys, Indy vs. NY. But today we only have the so called rivalry created by sports writer between Shaq and Yao, Shaq and Kobe, it's just not as dramatic as it once was.

 

While I think the lack of rivalries is another topic on the long list of reasons why basketball isn't as popular as it was in the 90s... for me, it is more about the players talents and abilities (or lack thereof) then anything else.

 

In other words, it matches that of the NBA's season ticket holder distribution.

 

I'm not sure if there's a good place to find these things, but what are the recent TV ratings for the NBA finals and the Final Four? I seem to remember that they're both pretty similar, in the low teens. Maybe someone can find the Nielsen numbers over the past couple of years or so on this.

Personally, I think attending an NBA finals game is hardly all that important if your team isn't in it. It's much more of a local thing. Super Bowl has become a spectacle unmatched by any other sporting event. The Masters accomadates all golf fans regardless of their allegience. Which leaves MLB and the NCAA finals. Considering the history of baseball, and the fact that the tournament is just over, there's little wonder why the NBA came last.

Not surprising, and hardly indicative of the popularity of the sport.

 

i love it and t may be the most popular event, but the NBA playoffs are better. more games, higher quality of basketball and players, intensity at least as high as the tourney, the building drama of a series and repeatedly playing a team, and 7 game series than almost ensure the better team wins and that the legitimately best team is crowned champion (which is one aspect the BCS has march madness beat in).


also, one huge aspect of the nba versus nfl draft that is being overlooked (though i think A-Train finally tried to equalize it) is the number of players needed for a team. an nfl roster is 4.4 times as big as an nba roster (53 to 12) and with also 4.4 times as many starters (22 to 5) so necessarily the draft will go deeper. a guy making the pro-bowl from the 4th round is like a guy making the all-star team from the last 1st in the nba. and the occasional undrafted FA that becomes big like big ben or manu being the 1st second rounder to make the all-star team is like a late second day or undrafted guy making it big in the nfl.

there are 30 teams in the nba. there are 30 in major league baseball. there are 32 in the nfl. how is this a problem? and people didn't have michael cooper coming off the bench in the past. the lakers did. and they were in something like 8 finals in the 80's, mostly because most teams didn't have enough talent to have michael cooper come off the bench, just like today. the mavs and kings of recent years have been amazingly deep but it was hardly indicative of the rest of the nba.

do you mean the style of play? the quality, as with any sport over time, continues to go up. style is an individual preference and i would even agree the style fell off and is coming back, but not the quality.

how many high schoolers are there even in the league? and of those in the league, a lot are already older and dominating the league like. there are arguable 5 high schoolers among the top 10 players in the nba (tmac, kobe, kg, lebron, jermaine) and a few others who are very nice players (amare, rashard, harrington, howard). at any time, there aren't that many fresh high schoolers in the league and certainly not enough to bring it down. hell, even guys like josh smith and j.r. smith are having very nice rookie seasons.




i think a lot of the nba's loss in popularity is just the widespread disaffection of the general populous with the hip-hop culture of the nba that they try to express through other complaints about the state of the game (and that actually was not written about the people i quoted and more with some others in mind that i did not). certainly the game of the past wasn't free from problems, but it was higher scoring and had a lot of jumpshooters so it was ok.

 

If I didn't know better I would assume that these are the opinions of a jealous WASP that thinks that young, black and millionaire shouldn't be in the same sentence.

The problems you reference exist in ALL sports. The Packers Mark Chmura was accused of engaging in a statuatory orgy just a few years back, and there wasn't a psychotic w**** involved in that case.

Drug charges? At least the drugs that are commonly in question aren't performance enhancing drugs and really didn't affect the outcome of games. Steriods = cheating and if you think pot for recreation is worse than shooting up to cheat then YOU must be smoking something. Fights with fans? Haven't we tolerated hockey players fights for YEARS? Furthermore what boggles my mind is that if baseball players fight they are coming to the defense of a teammate, but if NBA players fight, "the ni**ers are at it again". When was the last time an old bench coach was thrown to the ground in a basketball game?

You are turned off as a fan because the NBA features people you can't relate to doing things you could never do.

How dare they.

 

no...i mean the quality. i disagree with the assertion that the quality of play naturally gets better. better athletes don't necessarily mean better basketball players. there are great athletes who can't master certain skills...like shooting, for instance. we've seen FG% decline...partly a function of different defenses...partly a function of guys incapable of hitting 15 foot jumpers.

 

I feel you man, I have been listening to CD's since last week because all they talk about is major league boring ball or the NFL draft which doesn't start til the end of the month. The Rox are as exciting as ever but can't get any love. I guess people only like to talk about them when things are bad. And if they aren't taling boring ball, you have to listen to those same tired annoying local companies who have had the same message for the past 3 years or so.

 

you guys should listen to 610 more. there is a LOT of Rocket talk. caller driven and otherwise. they have Van Chancellor on some...they have regular segments with Van Gundy and Matt Bullard. i think there is a fair amount of Rocket talk on 610, at this point. i wouldn't have said that 6 months ago, but definitely would now.

but today's opening day for the 'stros...so don't expect much Rocket talk today.

 

true, but they more than make up for it in other areas. there are millions of people who can hit a 15 foot jumper in this country. millions more around the world. many of them are probably quite athletic. but they still can't make the nba b/c they can't compete with the skillset offered by players in the nba, whatever that may be. if they could, GM's would draft them and coaches would play them so as to win more. if no 15 foot jumper and everything else is better than a 15 foot jumper with not everything else, then the style and aesthetics (scoring, smooth offense) may suffer but a better player is still in the nba. if a guy who can shoot, pass, dribble, is unselfish but can't guard a chair is better than the athletic guy with with some of those skills but not to the same degree, then he will play and people who like to see defense will suffer but a better player will be in the nba. and it will continue to evolve as such.

i see no way an increase in the american population, more young people playing basketball, and tons of international players coming of age could possibly lead to lesser players.

now if bball suddenly dropped to hockey's level of popularity, then that could easily happen.