The NBA Finals will end either tonight with the LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers winning their first title since 2010, or it will end Wednesday night with the first game seven matchup since the Cavaliers beat Golden State in 2016.
Television ratings are down for the NBA and many have speculated as to why, but it could be just as simple as it is not basketball season. Sports fans have trained themselves throughout the years to watch certain sports at certain times, and sports junkies are watching baseball playoffs and the NFL in October, getting ready for the start of basketball, not viewing the championship series.
If the Lakers win, it will be LeBron James’ fourth title, putting two behind the aura of Michael Jordan. James is also making his 10th appearance in The Finals, and the only two players with more were part of the Celtics’ dynasty of the late 1950’s and 60’s: Bill Russell and Sam Jones, who both appeared in 11.
Would this title erase the “greatest of all time” question for James over Jordan? We wouldn’t be willing to do that personally, although we don’t dismiss the argument as some do. However, an 11th Finals appearance and a fifth championship for James might tilt the discussion for us.
Add in that LeBron very well could wind up his career as the all time leading scorer in professional basketball history, and end up in the top five all time in assists (he is about 1000 shy of Steve Nash for that spot right now), and only someone who thinks the game was better when they were younger could still hold on to the Jordan argument.
Although being 6-0 in The Finals is pretty impressive.
On the other hand, a player who is regarding as someone who thinks pass first becoming the NBA’s all time leading scorer is just as impressive.
Whether you are a “Jordan guy” or a “LeBron guy”, either way, being regarded as the second best player of all time in any sport isn’t an insult. There are only a handful of players who have that status in any sport, and make no doubt, LeBron James is in the conversation.
Now the league in which he plays has an interesting decision to make.
We’ve just said he believe at least part of the issue with the ratings and the overall interest in the sport could be based on the traditional viewing habits of fans, and the date when the league will start the 2020-21 season (or perhaps just the 2021 season) could be important for the future of the league.
It has been rumored the next season may not start until as late as March, four and a half months after the post-season ends, which is close to the normal time period between the end of the playoffs and the start of the next season.
However, the start of that season would be right in the middle of the NCAA conference tournaments and the championship brackets, and the beginning of baseball.
And assuming they would play a standard 82 game schedule, the conference finals and The Finals would wind up competing with the NFL (a behemoth no one wants to compete with), college football, and the World Series.
What would we recommend? The same thing several people have thought. Start around Christmas (when most fans start watching the NBA) and play a shortened 60 game schedule where the playoffs end around the end of June or beginning of July, and then get back on the normal league calendar.
Otherwise, the league may risk a popularity problem. We understand the league may have passed baseball as the #2 viewed sport right now, but thinking it is more popular than it is can be a problem.
An indoor sport competing against outdoor activities? Let’s just say, that could be a problem.
Cleveland Sports Perspective 