It’s no secret that the NBA has faced a decline in ratings in recent years. In fact, nationally televised games have experienced an average viewership drop of greater than one million estimated viewers since the 2012 season. Whether it be through the inaccessibility of games through streaming restricted broadcast deals or through adjusted style of play throughout the league, the NBA undoubtedly is facing one of its largest problems in recent history. So, what is NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to do and what has the best team in the league done differently that the NBA could learn from?
Basketball’s marketing strategy has always surrounded its stars, whether it be Jordan, Lebron, Magic or Bird the growth and expansion of the game have focused on highlighting the league’s top-tier players. With the nature of the game, the faces of the players and subsequently, their own personal brands are always on display and the NBA has traditionally been able to translate this marketability into viewership. These teams filled with stars are no longer the best teams in the league, instead, they’ve been replaced by teams such as the Cavs who rely on a team-first approach instead of solely focusing on one or two stars.
The Cavs’ team-first approach has led them to their unprecedented success with the best start in franchise history. Donovan Mitchell is the Cavs superstar, but by focusing on our top four we’ve created a team environment and culture where even rotational players like Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill have become household names within the Cleveland market. In a player-focused league, there can come a point where team construction can become overly player-driven. In the current NBA, there has become a subsection of star players who have become in essence journeymen switching from team to team trying to form the next big two or three or four.
With players constantly shuffling themselves around the league it can be hard for fans to develop an attachment to their teams and players outside of an association with the city. The Cavs have been consistent in their team construction with essentially the same roster playing this season as the one prior. The Cavs’ commitment to their players has allowed for the development of fan favorites from players who would go unnoticed on other rosters, such as the generally positive attitude toward Cedi Osman during his tenure with the Cavaliers.
The true key aspect of Cavaliers basketball that the NBA could serve to learn from is the style of play. Not only does the team stress ball movement creating open looks and drawing the eye from player to player, as the ball bounces around the court. In a league that has become so enamored with deep threes and dunks with no room in the middle, the Cavaliers have focused on good shots instead. While this sort of play style may seem like a throwback, it’s a throwback to a time in which viewership was large and basketball was soundly entrenched as the country’s second sport trailing only the NFL.
While the solution may not be as easy or quick as the Cavs’ turnaround the past few seasons, the journey does not need to follow a different path. While viewership is down as a whole for the league, viewership in Cleveland is on the rise. It’s not only just because of the team’s ability to string together victories but due to a style of play that transcends the player-focused era of the NBA and leads us towards a team-focused future in which every team looks a little more like the best team in the NBA: the team in Cleveland.
The post Could The Cavaliers Have A Solution To The NBA Ratings Problem? appeared first on .