The future for the NBA?

[phenom1990]

Re: The future for the NBA?

The NBA has never "ruled". It has seen it's popularity wax and wane in recent years, but pro hoops has never come close to unseating the NFL or MLB at the top of the food chain.

Somebody correct me if I am wrong but I am under the impression the NBA was king in the early 90s.

[ehh]

Re: The future for the NBA?

I would think it's something like:

NFL











Yankees/Red Sox






Cubs/Braves/Angles

NBA



Every other MLB team

LOL true, though OS' reply box isn't big enough to to include enough breaks to show the actual distance between the NFL and everything else.

This has been a hell of a 48 hours for the NFL. LeBron to Miami, Cliff Lee to the Yankees. The NFL looks even better.

[ehh]

Re: The future for the NBA?

Somebody correct me if I am wrong but I am under the impression the NBA was king in the early 90s.

I'm too lazy to look up the numbers but mid-90's after the baseball strike and MJ's return.......there is no way MLB was above the NBA.

[Kully]

Re: The future for the NBA?

This has been a hell of a 48 hours for the NFL. LeBron to Miami, Cliff Lee to the Yankees. The NFL looks even better.

Just curious, why?

[shadox]

Re: The future for the NBA?

[quote=23;2041288485]It doesnt matter the Knicks were screwed before Isaiah got there.

Point is, there is a way to build a team and a pretty good one at that.

Saying the sky is falling because LeBron and Wade are on the same team is ridiculous.[ /quote]

Totaly agree.
And if the finals of the last 2-3 years has shown one thing, than it is that a real contender needs a deep bench!
Currently, the heat are miles away from that.
I am pretty sure they will dominate the league during the regular season..but once the playoffs started...I expect them to take a huge hit.

[coogrfan]

Re: The future for the NBA?

Is the NBA actually a distant third behind MLB?

According to the most recent Harris Poll it is:

[Rocky]

Re: The future for the NBA?

The NBA has never "ruled". It has seen it's popularity wax and wane in recent years, but pro hoops has never come close to unseating the NFL or MLB at the top of the food chain.



None of that can been seen as a particularly good sign for the long term health of the NBA as a whole.
The

NFL....no. But MLB? I'm almost certain that the NBA was bigger than MLB during that era.

Lebron, Wade, and Bosh will get old man. They will retire and there will be a new guy to call the next "Big O/Dr. J/Jordan/Kobe/Wade/LBJ". And his team will be the team that everybody wants to beat.

[coogrfan]

Re: The future for the NBA?

Somebody correct me if I am wrong but I am under the impression the NBA was king in the early 90s.

I'm too lazy to look up the numbers but mid-90's after the baseball strike and MJ's return.......there is no way MLB was above the NBA.

The mid 90's was as close as the NBA ever got to claiming the second spot, but the league's popularity has seen a drastic downturn since then.

EDIT: here's the demographic breakdown for the most recent Harris Poll:

[phenom1990]

Re: The future for the NBA?

According to the most recent Harris Poll it is:

The only flaw I really thought of with that was that it only asked what was your number one favorite and not 2nd, 3rd, etc. The analogy I am going to use has to do with hockey fans. Hockey fans are passionate/loyal, they will always go to the game and keep attendance up. But at the same time hockey basically has its group of people and it doesn't really expand outside of that. Sports like basketball seem to have the ability to grow past and even if they don't have as many loyal fans they might get more fans watching when times are good. So just asking someone favorite sport doesn't do it justice because it could really be NFL,NBA,MLB or also the fact that college football and basketball are similar to the NFL and the NBA can take way votes from them.

[Muzyk23]

Re: The future for the NBA?

I'm excited to see them play together and think many ppl are too. The future of the Nba is in good hands. People are overreacting and dramatizing.

[ehh]

Re: The future for the NBA?

Just curious, why?

Parity, even playing field. The Miami thing doesn't have me too pissed but I'm a Yankee fan and getting Cliff Lee is just idiotic.

[ehh]

Re: The future for the NBA?

Thanks for the research, coog. Good info.

[da ThRONe]

Re: The future for the NBA?

This was the best thing that could have happen to the league. This is just like pro wrestling. This is like the Rock joining N.W.O. LOL! People wont be able to take their eyes off of the NBA for whatever reason.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: The future for the NBA?

A few things about the current state of the NBA now:

If Lakers > Heat in a championship, nobody can even make an argument that Lebron is better than Kobe. Heck, I think the fact that Lebron is willing to play second-fiddle to DWade alone is enough to knock LBJ off the pedastal of best player in the NBA since it pretty much proves he doesn't have the mental strength.

If Cavs > Heat in anything, the Heat and Lebron should be ashamed, and if they lose a playoff series somehow to the Cavs, forget about it. LBJ will be a laughing stock.

If Thunder > Heat in championship, it shows there is still hope for the NBA since Durant signed his extension to stay in his small market city and actually try to earn a championship rather than try to join New York or something next year and just get handed championships like LBJ is hoping.

[Cebby]

Re: The future for the NBA?

If Cavs > Heat in anything, the Heat and Lebron should be ashamed, and if they lose a playoff series somehow to the Cavs, forget about it. LBJ will be a laughing stock.

And if the Lakers trade Kobe to make Adam Morrison their star player people would laugh at Kobe.

The Cavs won't be beating the Heat in the post season for at least 5 years.