By now everyone is aware that over the summer LeBron James “Took his talents to South Beach,” and at the trade deadline Carmelo Anthony was shipped off to the Knicks. Both of these transactions are part of the new NBA trend to put superstars on the floor together in an attempt to form super teams. But is this new trend good for the NBA?
The 2004 NBA Finals were the third highest rated since Michael Jordan’s last finals appearance. The two key ingredients to the highly rated series were star power (Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton), and market power (Los Angeles in the second largest TV market).
Last year’s NBA Finals between the Lakers and Celtics was the highest rated since the 2004 finals. This time two of the ingredients were there. There was the star power (Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce), and the market power with Los Angeles and Boston which is seventh largest market and considered by many to be a great sports city.
The two latest rated NBA finals since the Jordan era both involved the Spurs. The two opponents they had were the New Jersey Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Neither of those two series were loaded with star power. While the Spurs have their big three they play a boring, but super effective brand of basketball. LeBron wasn’t the superstar he is today either during the San Antonio series and Cleveland is a small market team.
Now moving onto this season. LeBron’s return to Cleveland was the highest rated regular season NBA game since Jordan came out of retirement. Even The Decision at the time was the third highest rated cable broadcast.
Star power and large markets is what makes for high TV ratings which is what the NBA wants. The NBA is in great position now. The Lakers, Celtics, Heat, Bulls, and Mavericks are all considered elite teams and all play in major markets. The Knicks aren’t an elite team yet, but they’re a much more talented team now than they have been in the last several years which is huge for the NBA.
The league is headed into another golden age. Talent level is higher now than it has been since the Jordan era. The Lakers, Heat, Celtics, Knicks, Mavericks, Bulls, Thunder, Spurs, and Magic are all loaded and full of stars. Five years ago the league wasn’t nearly as deep as it is today.
Sure there are bottom feeders like Minnesota, Cleveland, Sacramento, and Washington, but what league doesn’t have it’s fair share of bad teams? The 2011 NBA Playoffs are just over a month away, and fans are going to be in for a treat.
