The NBA (and Adam Silver) sorely need a Knicks championship to reignite passion and US media interest in the league

[doogie_hauser]

I am not happy saying this either as a life long Boston sports fan (admittedly from Australia) but all this talk about so called flagging interest/ratings and from it appears to be a general somewhat apathetic general US media and general/casual sports fan interest in the NBA (especially with the lack of a quality MVP/league best US born superstar since LeBron James) it strikes me that (gulp) a New York Knicks championship (after 50 odd years) would re-ignite interest, passion and massive media and celebrity interest in the league which hasn't been around for a while.

The Knicks imo more than the Lakers is the NBA's most valuable and marketable franchise and they have been ring less for way too long.

The biased/homie Boston Celtics fan in me would never want to see The Knicks win another championship, but the pragmatic NBA and pure basketball Hoops putist who is a bit worried about the current state of interest (mostly in the US) of the NBA thinks a New York Knickerbockers championship is exactly the shot in the arm the NBA needs.

This is not a dig/slight against OKC and the other small market/city teams that have won a chip recently, but i think it's easy to forget (especially as a foreigner like i am) how massive a basketball mad city New York is, and how a Knicks world championship would not just benefit their long suffering fan base and city but I honestly think it would be a massive shot in the arm for the rest of the NBA and teams (well maybe except us Celtics fans, also Sixers and Nets lol)

Ultimately I think a Knicks chip would absolutely revitalise the NBA and give it massive PR boost it maybe didn't know it needed.

[Iwasawitness]

No they don't and no it wouldn't.

[Plutonashfan]

God no!

[LockoutSeason]

No

[DOT]

All this talk about the decline in payphone usage really gets you thinking about how nobody uses phones anymore too.

[jowglenn]

This current team they've assembled is certainly their best shot since the Ewing years.

[peZt]

They dont need a Knicks championship for that. They need superstars...

The NBA has always been marketed as a superstar league. It was by design that the focus of the league was always on the players and not on the teams. Casual audience doesnt tune in when the Knicks play against the Nuggets. They tune in to watch LeBron, Kobe, Shaq or whoever. Because that's how the NBA decided to position its league and marketing effort around. That was awlays the strategy to draw the mainstream and casual audience.

This strategy works, as long as the NBA has marketable and charismatic superstars. Which they always had...until now.
The KD, LeBron generation is close to 40 and not able to carry the league anymore and the best player after that is who? Tatum? Because Jokic and co dont count, since americans dont care about international players.

Its not a coincidence that this years final had the worst ratings since 20 years. Its not a coincidence that the ratings keep going then the older the last superstar generation gets. There just aren't any marketable players anymore.

Silver and the NBA are trying to push the NBA into more of a parity and team oriented league after the model of the NFL, where people tune in without even knowing who the players are, because they also know that always hoping for superstars to carry your league is not sustainable. But the problem for that is that casual audience just dont care about the teams and the actual sport. Because frankly, the NBA is a terrible product to watch for a casual audience. Who actually has fun watching an NBA game, if youre not already a Basketball fan? Constant fouls, constant interruptions, constant timeouts, last 2 minutes take 30 minutes and so on. None of my non-Basketball friends were ever able to have fun or watch a Basketball game. Its just a drag. oh with one exception, Fiba Ball.. Why? Because you dont have these thousand timeouts and fouls and long ass breaks there. Its much more free flowing.
As long as the actual sport is so not fun to watch, the NBA needs its superstars to carry the league. Which they dont have atm. And in this case a Knicks championship also wont help. Unless they have LeBron or Curry on the team

[Catchall]

The league needs compelling stars to replace Lebron and Curry as must-watch tv.

[PlatinumState]

The knicks winning it all would reignite interest, passion and celeb interest for about a month. Those who follow the nba will continue to do so no matter who the champ is and those who dont follow sure as hell wont start because the knicks won a chip

[druggas]

I am not happy saying this either as a life long Boston sports fan (admittedly from Australia) but all this talk about so called flagging interest/ratings and from it appears to be a general somewhat apathetic general US media and general/casual sports fan interest in the NBA (especially with the lack of a quality MVP/league best US born superstar since LeBron James) it strikes me that (gulp) a New York Knicks championship (after 50 odd years) would re-ignite interest, passion and massive media and celebrity interest in the league which hasn't been around for a while.

The Knicks imo more than the Lakers is the NBA's most valuable and marketable franchise and they have been ring less for way too long.

The biased/homie Boston Celtics fan in me would never want to see The Knicks win another championship, but the pragmatic NBA and pure basketball Hoops putist who is a bit worried about the current state of interest (mostly in the US) of the NBA thinks a New York Knickerbockers championship is exactly the shot in the arm the NBA needs.

This is not a dig/slight against OKC and the other small market/city teams that have won a chip recently, but i think it's easy to forget (especially as a foreigner like i am) how massive a basketball mad city New York is, and how a Knicks world championship would not just benefit their long suffering fan base and city but I honestly think it would be a massive shot in the arm for the rest of the NBA and teams (well maybe except us Celtics fans, also Sixers and Nets lol)

Ultimately I think a Knicks chip would absolutely revitalise the NBA and give it massive PR boost it maybe didn't know it needed.

Knew you were going to take a swipe at the Lakers, didn't know how you were going to pull it off.

[Bad Bart]

The Lakers just sold for $10 billion, I don't think the NBA is in any kind of trouble.

[dhsilv2]

Did we not just have the highest ratings on the opening day of the playoffs in 25 years? I get it. The league needs to market the new superstars better. And obviously having pacers vs okc isn't exactly bringing in the biggest markets. But the NBA ratings have been really good and the data seems to show even with cord cutting, the league's interest is very high.

[Mr. Perfect]

I'm not convinced anyone outside of NYC actually cares about the Knicks like that. They don't have that global following like the Lakers, Man U, etc.

They don't have the marketable star players either, Brunson doesn't have that level of clout, and KAT isn't even a real star.

Good team, great fanbase, very impressive city, but don't think it will make a difference to the popularity of the league if they win.

[knicksfan974]

Nothing to worry, the Knicks are super-close to a championship next season. The team is well built and have enough talent to win it all.

[Indomitable]

No they don't and no it wouldn't.

The Knicks have not mattered in over 50 years.

The League was great.

Keep defense in the game and I will watch.

[NZB2323]

Ratings were down the last time the Knicks were in the finals.

Conclusion: the league needs the Bulls to win a championship again!

[God Squad]

lol

[boomershadow]

I dont care if casual fans watch the games or not

[BigGargamel]

People have been saying this for decades, but the NBA has thrived and the Knicks haven't won anything since the 70's.

Yeah, we had the Spike Lee vs. Reggie Miller stuff, and the Charles Smith/John Starks vs. Bulls stuff, but the Knicks have mostly just been a footnote in NBA history.

[Palma Dutch]

lol ballmer might just put basketball on the moon if the clippers win a championship