Above the Rim: Expanding the NBA Brand

Frankly, the NBA preseason can be pretty dull. Most of the marquee players get marginal minutes, meaning most of the goes to rookies and less talented guys. The preseason is good for teams and coaches trying to evaluate young talent and try different lineup combinations, but it’s not an appealing product for fans. The one positive aspect of the preseason that I’ve noticed is the alternative venues and locations where some of these games have taken place. Here’s a breakdown of nine games held in foreign countries:

• The Boston Celtics played local teams in Istanbul (Turkey) and Milan (Italy)
• The Dallas Mavericks vs. FC Barcelona Regal in Barcelona (Spain)
• The Dallas Mavericks vs. Alba Berlin in Berlin (Germany)
• The Miami Heat and LA Clippers played two games in Beijing and Shanghai (China)
• New Orleans Hornets vs. Orlando Magic in Mexico City (Mexico)
• New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors in Montreal (Canada)
• Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Detroit Pistons in Winnipeg (Canada)

The NBA also scheduled preseason games at several neutral facilities throughout the US. These sites include Las Vegas (NV), Fresno (CA), Canton (OH), Hidalgo (TX), Ontario (CA), Charleston (SC), Champaign (IL), Atlantic City (NJ), Hartford (CT), Cincinnati (OH), Anaheim (CA), La Crosse (WI), Tulsa (OK), Albany (NY), Raleigh (NC), Wichita (KS), Long Island (NY), Kansas City (MO), South Bend (IN), and Green Bay (WI).   

The NBA is making an effort to not only expand their product internationally in new and demanding marketplaces, but also here in the US in smaller cities that don’t have professional basketball teams. The added games in the US can only help to garner new fans in different regions that may not have a lot of exposure to the NBA. Many of the cities listed above only have college teams in the area, so the presence on one or more NBA games can make a big impact.

David Stern has always stressed the importance of making basketball a truly international sport. He sees that one best ways of doing this is to play as many NBA games in other countries, preseason or otherwise. The Knicks and Pistons are set to play a regular season game in London in January 2013. This game is expected to sell out just like the two other NBA games held in England last season between the Nets and Raptors.   Stern has also floated the idea of an NBA Europe division with five teams in different countries, but that hasn’t doesn’t seem likely to happen in the near future. Stern still believes the NBA isn’t popular enough in Europe. He also thinks there needs to be new basketball arenas built to live up the “NBA standard.” Stern made his points clear before the Celtics game in Milan saying:

“What I’ve said is if we’re going to have an NBA presence here in terms of the league, it should be five teams. It’s safe to say that there aren’t enough buildings, there aren’t adequate TV arrangements, we don’t have owners, and I’m not sure we could charge the prices that would be necessary. I don’t think our fans are that avid yet.”

If the NBA ever does expand to international markets, Europe seems like the most likely place to start. From there, they can go other places like China, where basketball popularity and participations continues to grow exponentially. There’s a bright future for the global sport of basketball. Whether we’ll see the NBA pull the trigger on any sort of expansion in the near future is still up in the air.  

Stern quote source:

http://articles.boston.com/2012-10-14/sports/34427391_1_euroleague-teams-nba-presence-fenerbahce-ulker