[FreakNasty]

I cannot watch this year's finals, so I took about 10 minutes to sum up my feelings....

Have you watched the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavs and the San Antonio Spurs? Chances are you have not, or at least tried too and had to have a tissue nearby....

When I was young, there was nothing better than watching NBA playoff basketball... I didn't have cable and a majority of the Western/Eastern Conference finals and all the NBA finals were on NBC, and they were competitive series announced by Marv Albert, Mike Fratello, Bill Walton (love him or hate him), Tom Hammond, and Steve "snapper" Jones... the basketball was good and it was shown better than it ever had been before...

In 2003 decided to turn more to cable, and with it ESPN joined Turner in showing more playoff basketball on the satellite dishes (thank god I got enhanced TV about 7 years ago)... not only did the broadcast coverage go downhill, but the quality of basketball did as well... ESPN/ABC cannot just broadcast a game, they have to play it up with a ton of awful promotional plugs etc, and the NBA is ruled by a commissioner who worries too much about what star player is coming from the far reaches of Eastern Europe than the declining television rating or hardcore sport fan interest in his sport...

David Stern lost me around 10 years ago... in a frenzy to create buzz for his league, and with the impending retirement of Michael Jordan, he needed to find a way to expand his league, so he turned it more and more into an international sport by sending more teams to Europe and Asia for exhibition games and selling his product to overseas markets... in the process he forgot what made the NBA great, homegrown players playing an American sport....

The NBA has been down this road before... in the late 1970's the league was riddled with teams in money trouble and players with drug addiction, the finals were shown on tape delay and the sport was in danger... it took Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and eventually Michael Jordan to turn the sport into a profitable business (have to give Stern credit for his early years of running the league)... the league moved from CBS to NBC for the start of the 1990-91 season, and with it came increased television ratings (which really shows the popularity of your sport)... in fact the NBA had never been healthier, as the Chicago Bulls won 3 straight NBA titles. Even after Michael Jordan retired for the first time after the 1993 season, the sport enjoyed success with the Houston Rockets winning back to back crowns.

It was after Jordan's second retirement that Stern turned the league into an international sideshow. Draft results since 1998 show a steady supply of international players being drafted in the first round of the draft

1998: 6

1999: 3

2000: 7

2001: 6

2002: 6

2003: 9

2004: 8

2005: 7

2006: 6

The 1997 draft had 4 international players (if you cant Tim Duncan) and in 1995 only one international player was drafted.

So what does these numbers mean? A case could be made that internationalization is good for basketball, but its' not good for television ratings or American interest. While basketball may becoming very popular in Europe and Asia, it is losing interest among the key demographics that advertisers target. While it's probably a stretch to say basketball is becoming like hockey, it surely isn't as popular as it was a decade ago. David Stern wanted an international game, but he better hope he doesn't lose mainstream America in the process.

[SportsFan80]

Well I will say I do not like Stern as the commissioner, he is destroying the league with all his bullcrap suspensions or non suspensions (Spurs players), and dress codes and rule changes. Like at the beginning of this season, implementing a new ball that no one liked but him. He finally listened to the players took the ball out of use. That is what is destroying the NBA, and not your case of foreigners or foreign interest in the sport. There are great foreign players in the league, like say Nowitzki, Ginobili, Nash although he did play at Santa Clara, he is canadian, also Stojakovic, I could name more if I wanted to, but frankly my hands are getting tired of typing. If anyone is destroying the game, its the boring slow paced teams like the Spurs, although they are a great team and are well on their way to another title, so I guess the boring, slow pace works for them, although they can light it up when they want to. But its these teams, that are year in and year out, horrific and are always getting top picks that get wasted because the teams dont know how to develop talent, like the Celtics. Which brings me to another reason the league is going downhill, too many former players running or having anything to do with teams. Ainge is the top dog in this category of screw ups, along with MJ, yes MJ the greatest player to play the game, although that may be true, he sucks as front office material. Another reason is teams tanking their seasons to try and get that number 1 pick, its ridiculous. If you are going to play or coach in the NBA, go out and try to win every game, put in an effort of some kind. The last thing is players leaving college early because they think or have been told they are good enough to go pro. If they would stay in school longer, they would be more NBA ready. Sure it has worked for some players like Carmelo, Lebron who didnt even go to college as well as Garnett and Kobe, and now this year u have Oden and Durant who are doing the same. That my friend is what is destroying the NBA.

[rallo316]

The NBA is going downhill because the players have no respect for nothing they are all over payed thugs and fighting the fans who pay there salarys that is BS.

[ComfortEagle]

I thought about watching the game yesterday...and then decided that the quilt knitting show on KET was more interesting.

[Amun-Ra]

If you are blaming the loss of intrest in NBA on international players then I can justly blame you for war in the Middle East. Players such as Allen Iverson with comments on practice, Rasheed Wallace always gettin T'ed up and ejected, the overall thug appeal the league has is why no one cares anymore. You say international players I say too many kids playing in a man's sport. Look at how many hgigh school kids entered the draft in the same time span. International players can actually play the game. Our home grown American players can only dunk and are too worried about their image. In short the NBA is dirt with few exceptions.

[jammin' jamey]

If you are blaming the loss of intrest in NBA on international players then I can justly blame you for war in the Middle East. Players such as Allen Iverson with comments on practice, Rasheed Wallace always gettin T'ed up and ejected, the overall thug appeal the league has is why no one cares anymore. You say international players I say too many kids playing in a man's sport. Look at how many hgigh school kids entered the draft in the same time span. International players can actually play the game. Our home grown American players can only dunk and are too worried about their image. In short the NBA is dirt with few exceptions.

I think the downhill spiral of the NBA is a combination of several things. Thugs and thug appeal like Amun-Ra has mentioned is a big part of it, as is the International flavor because neither appeal or reflect the mainstream American viewing audience. It's not a race thing either. Whites/Blacks alike worshipped Bird, Magic, Jordan. They were classy guys with blue collar backgrounds that appealed to mainstream America - the Red States folks on the East/West coast ignore. Even a team like the Detroit Pistons with Lambier, Rodman, Thomas, Dumars, Vinny "the microwave" Johnson and others was appealing because they reflected hard working Americans, not thugs and foreigners trying to change the game.

I loved the NBA 10 years ago. Watched the draft coverage. Huge Patrick Ewing fan/Knicks and I loved the days of McHale, Parish, Bird and the C's.

LeBron is the new face of the NBA. He has a chance to resurrect the league. He's clean cut and winning for a city that hasn't celebrated a championship since the Indians on a World Series some 40+ years ago. What makes it better is that he's from the Toledo area and that gives fans something they can relate too. Who can really relate to Kobes/Rashheeds? Not me.

LeBron has to win a championship first though, and that requires a better supporting cast than he has now. The Cavs will retool their roster in the offseason.

[SportsFan80]

I agree with most of what u said, like the thug factor and players like Kobe and Rasheed and so forth, but I do not agree with what u said about the international flavor. They are about the only guys that actually play the game the right way. Its about fundamentals, not flashy dunks and passes and all that bull. Also u are right about Lebron, he is the face of the league and is going to be leaned on to resurrect the NBA image, but he cant win a championship by himself, and thats what is happening right now. He doesnt have enough around him to compliment his game. He averages more than 6 assists a game, could be more with better shooters which is what the Cavs lack, that and good solid defense like the Spurs have been playing and have since Duncan has been there. Thats why the Spurs will win another ring and Lebron will be left with trying to figure out how to make his team better.

[FreakNasty]

I agree that Internationals play a better game (I never said they didnt...) but the point isn't how they play, but the marketing of it... Casual sports fans could give a rats tail about some guy from Yugoslavia or Crototia...

The same thing can be said about alot of corporate america and blacks... the NBA is comprised of over 3/4 African Americans, and alot of NBA fans (the ones that buy most of the NBA memorabilia are white) dont have a face to "relate with"... that's what has made Nascar tremendously popular... people can somewhat relate with a certain driver... white american cannot relate with most NBA players, and it hurts them IMO...

[FreakNasty]

I agree that Internationals play a better game (I never said they didnt...) but the point isn't how they play, but the marketing of it... Casual sports fans could give a rats tail about some guy from Yugoslavia or Crototia...

The same thing can be said about alot of corporate america and blacks... the NBA is comprised of over 3/4 African Americans, and alot of NBA fans (the ones that buy most of the NBA memorabilia are white) dont have a face to "relate with"... that's what has made Nascar tremendously popular... people can somewhat relate with a certain driver... white american cannot relate with most NBA players, and it hurts them IMO...

Just to clarify... I'm not racist (I'm sure some idiot will think that..) the truth is simply the truth...

Some more stats...

Only around half of the Fortune 1000 companies have a black board member.... the Fortune 1000 are the key advertisers for TV programming... if you dont hit the key demographics, they dont advertise... To prove they aren't hitting key demos...

NBA Finals ratings are down 24 percent from LAST SEASON...

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nb...53,00.html

For every Lebron James in the NBA, there is a Steven Jackson... there are marketable players, and unmarketable players... right now there arent' enough marketable players black, white, international, etc. to get the casual fan to jump on board.... Part of it is internationalization, part of it is the lifestyle of the players, and part of it is bad basketball...

[jammin' jamey]

I agree that Internationals play a better game (I never said they didnt...) but the point isn't how they play, but the marketing of it... Casual sports fans could give a rats tail about some guy from Yugoslavia or Crototia...

The same thing can be said about alot of corporate america and blacks... the NBA is comprised of over 3/4 African Americans, and alot of NBA fans (the ones that buy most of the NBA memorabilia are white) dont have a face to "relate with"... that's what has made Nascar tremendously popular... people can somewhat relate with a certain driver... white american cannot relate with most NBA players, and it hurts them IMO...

Internationals play the game, but I still can't pronounce the guy's name that plays the middle for Cleveland. Goes to show you that typical basketball fans don't relate to the today's pro game.

LeBron being from Akron and playing 35 minutes from home in Cleveland for a blue collar team is more appealing to most of middle America than the faceless Spurs winning another title.

It's kinda like the NHL right now. Without googling or wikipedia, can anyone name the last 5 Stanley Cup champions? I can't because I don't relate to it.

Bill O'Reilly has written a wonderful book on this subject called Culture Warrior which depicts how different we as a society in America are that our core values are different.

[Grand Slam]

Great article

[rallo316]

If you are blaming the loss of intrest in NBA on international players then I can justly blame you for war in the Middle East. Players such as Allen Iverson with comments on practice, Rasheed Wallace always gettin T'ed up and ejected, the overall thug appeal the league has is why no one cares anymore. You say international players I say too many kids playing in a man's sport. Look at how many hgigh school kids entered the draft in the same time span. International players can actually play the game. Our home grown American players can only dunk and are too worried about their image. In short the NBA is dirt with few exceptions.

i agree this is the best statement i have seen preach on.