Fresh off the super team era, the NBA currently is entering a new stage of its development as the league has transitioned to the generation of dynamic duos.
For the past decade the NBA has been dominated by a handful of teams that stacked the deck by creating super teams consisting of three to four all-star caliber players. In the 2018-19 season the Golden State Warriors for a portion of the season had a starting lineup of five players: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Demarcus Cousins, all who had played in at least one NBA All-Star game. As the greater part of the 2019 NBA free agency has concluded, it is safe to say that the days of the super team are over.
The results of NBA free agency have dispersed the talent more evenly across the league as there are plenty of teams with realistic chances at winning an NBA title. Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Brooklyn Nets have acquired household names that will put them in contention with the league’s top teams. Where as the NBA only had four to five championship caliber teams over the past few years, the league now has about 10 teams that have reason to believe they will be crowned as NBA champions in 2020.
Although, the super teams have garnered a ton of interest and generated a great deal of hype around the NBA, it has been quite predictable and boring for the fans of teams without a star-studded roster. Since the 2010-11 season, when the super team era began with the Miami Heat, the NBA’s total revenue has risen from $3.96 billion to a staggering $8.02 billon in the 2017-18 NBA season. It is to no surprise that the revenue has increased when the league can feature two superstar players like Dwyane Wade and Lebron James sharing the court during four consecutive NBA finals playoff runs.
Pairing superstars definitely has provided basketball fans with a load of entertainment throughout recent years, which should only increase with the new squads formed this offseason.
Fans just can’t wait for matchups like Russel Westbrook and James Harden facing off against Lebron James and Anthony Davis on a Saturday night in Staples Center. Every regular season game is going to have the excitement and entertainment of a playoff. Look for the NBA to continue to improve from a business standpoint as fan interest in the league has never been higher.
With so many star players paired alongside each other creating dynamic duos across the league, there will be plenty of fan bases giving their teams more attention than ever. Having a multitude of teams competing for top seeds and playoff spots in each conference will make the season much more enticing for fans to watch.
Although some traditional basketball fans may have disdain towards the new wave of player mobility, it has proven to be beneficial for the NBA on a business standpoint. With all the drama, story lines, talent, and amazement the NBA has to offer, expect the association to move even closer to passing the NFL as America’s favorite sport in years to come.
