Why is the NBA so popular?

The thread title is mostly a rhetorical question. I know most of the reasons. But consider this: at the start of the most recent seasons in each of the four major professional sports in the US, how many teams must have realistically dreamed of having a path to a title? In the NFL, that probably applied to half the league (and didn't even include the Falcons). In the NHL and MLB, probably the same. In the NBA, what is it...three teams? Four? Maybe five? And all but one or two of those could only believe that path existed if those one or two other teams suffered one or two major injuries or suspensions.

Reading the Trade Deadline thread is both amusing, because I love trade speculation in any sport, and abundantly depressing, because mostly we're talking about shuffling deck chairs on at least two dozen Titanics. And the new CBA is only going to make this state of affairs worse. As someone who loves real and meaningful season-long competition, the NBA is a real drag at the moment. (And as someone whose favorite team is the Hawks, that's exponentially more so.) Even the Celtics, who have a great coach and a great GM and assets out the wazoo, have no clear and definite path to a title through no real fault of their own. (Well, I think the Horford signing will likely prove to have been a mistake, but maybe that's the Hawks fan in me talking as well.) The Celtics may wind up on the other side of this divide in a few years, and that's what every fan hopes and prays might happen to their team. But it feels to me like the league is in a really weird place at the moment.
 

Koufax

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Because the games are fun to watch, featuring somewhat continuous action, often intensely played, by some of the world's best athletes in a setting where the fans can be very close to the action. I greatly enjoyed the Celtics during the Ricky Davis era, when we all knew that a championship was way, way out of reach.

I suppose hockey offers much of the same, but I don't know that the athletes are, on average, as good.
 

luckiestman

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It's become the norm for people to act as if the title is everything. I don't buy into that frame. Pro sports are entertainment, the Celtics are entertaining.

There are plenty of pro fighters I love to watch that would only be champs if something really fluky happened.

Pro football is a bad product and if I didn't grow up getting addicted to it, I wouldn't watch. The commercials alone are enough to make it suck. Never mind the crazy stoppages to challenge a spot, the encyclopedia brittanica rule book and the corrupt commissioner.

Baseball is awesome but it's problems are obvious

Hockey is weird for me. I love it live, it's good on HD but I just don't care that much anymore. It seems like it is almost too random.

Basketball sucked hard for a while but it is good now. The skill and speed are great but if you watch Detroit play another slow team it is like a flashback to the days of suck.
 

Cellar-Door

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It's a great TV sport, paced well, limited number of players whose faces you can see. Tons of unbelievable physical near-impossibilities happen in a given game. Also it's the easiest to get together a few people and play yourself which helps appreciation of the pro product. I think the Championship or BUST! mentality isn't as widespread as some think, certainly you look at soccer around the world and an entertaining mid-table finish is often the goal for fanbases.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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The sport is also tailor-made for social media. Unlike the NFL, the league has smartly embraced it both in terms of how it markets the games and its stars. Furthermore, the league appears to be ok with its players using social media to connect with the fans whereas everything with the NFL is fully sanitized.

Finally, the sport has a culture of drama around it and there are personal as well as team rivalries. Two Saturday nights ago, even casual sports fans tuned in to Durant's return to OKC. LeBron openly trolls the Warriors. And the Wizards troll the Celtics. It makes a sport, which is great for all the aforementioned reasons, even better.
 

ElUno20

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There are so many factors at play but I think the main ones are the league making globalization a priority, reaching out/marketing to different cultures and actively trying to improve the game the last 10 years.

Other misc
-they push their stars so it feels like you know them on a personal level. Helps when fans are creating faces and heels to root for/against

-most of the players, not just stars, are genuinely nice, entertaining guys who embrace whatever attention and stardom they get. They enjoy the fan interaction.

-even before the analytic wave, the true NBA fans were always into overanalyzing the 10000000 meaningless games. So the analytics just add to that obsession.

-trade talk, trade talk, mind-numbing trade talk!

-the teams try to create an identity and good in stadium experience, similar to baseball with the season long promotions, etc. The NFL feels very generic and corporate

-It's a safer sport than the NFL. Parents are more aware of safety now more than ever.

This is a great thread/question though. As I've gotten older, I've thought about it myself as my interest has dialed back to mainly following my team. The league continues to grow even though you can name the champion in August. I think maybe ultimately it's obsessive fanbase is underrated. People have that view of baseball fans as these dorks who love the grind, numbers, etc. The NBA has that too except, imo, with a watchable and entertaining product.
 
All very good points. (Although I'd quibble about it being a great TV sport given what happens to it during the final two minutes of every closely contested game - that part drives me crazy.) But:
It's become the norm for people to act as if the title is everything. I don't buy into that frame. Pro sports are entertainment, the Celtics are entertaining.
I'm not saying that winning the title has to be everything. But having hope and faith (TM Selig) that your team could realistically win a title - even if it would take nearly everything to break right, and even if that means not now but several years in the future - is to me a critical part of sports fandom. And there are so many NBA teams for whom that prospect is so distant, far more teams than in any other sport, that I struggle to see the forest of the league's success as a whole from the individual trees that make up that forest. (If you're a true NBA fan as well as or even more than a fan of an individual team - or possibly if you're a fan of other teams in your city that have won multiple titles this century - I can see why this may not matter to you.)
I think the Championship or BUST! mentality isn't as widespread as some think, certainly you look at soccer around the world and an entertaining mid-table finish is often the goal for fanbases.
FWIW, I don't buy this argument. Most soccer teams exist on a continuum and not within a closed-shop framework: a club like, I dunno, Southampton may have little chance to ever win the Premier League title, but becoming a solid mid-table club - two divisions above where they were not so long ago - is itself a real achievement and also earns you bragging rights over 80+ other teams within the Football League as a whole. Also, European soccer leagues don't have drafts or salary caps or other mechanisms which are supposed to help level the playing field. Soccer is a sport in which relative achievement is often all you can hope for. (Although Leicester may have spoiled a lot of fan expectations among mid-table clubs, I don't know.)
 

Murby

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The thread title is mostly a rhetorical question. I know most of the reasons. But consider this: at the start of the most recent seasons in each of the four major professional sports in the US, how many teams must have realistically dreamed of having a path to a title? In the NFL, that probably applied to half the league (and didn't even include the Falcons). In the NHL and MLB, probably the same. In the NBA, what is it...three teams? Four? Maybe five? And all but one or two of those could only believe that path existed if those one or two other teams suffered one or two major injuries or suspensions.

Reading the Trade Deadline thread is both amusing, because I love trade speculation in any sport, and abundantly depressing, because mostly we're talking about shuffling deck chairs on at least two dozen Titanics. And the new CBA is only going to make this state of affairs worse. As someone who loves real and meaningful season-long competition, the NBA is a real drag at the moment. (And as someone whose favorite team is the Hawks, that's exponentially more so.) Even the Celtics, who have a great coach and a great GM and assets out the wazoo, have no clear and definite path to a title through no real fault of their own. (Well, I think the Horford signing will likely prove to have been a mistake, but maybe that's the Hawks fan in me talking as well.) The Celtics may wind up on the other side of this divide in a few years, and that's what every fan hopes and prays might happen to their team. But it feels to me like the league is in a really weird place at the moment.
This is why I stopped watching...it's a useless endeavor if you have a team that doesn't have 3 stars. It's dreadful and I don't know what they could do to bring it back for me. The other three sports have more differentiation on winning and it makes a fan feel there's at least there's a shot.
 

Devizier

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It's the game. It flows. There are tons of possessions. If you're four scores down by halftime in the NFL, you're usually dead, recent examples excepted. In the NBA, it's a pretty common occurence to see double digit comebacks. There are lots of exciting players -- even the mediocre ones can shine every now and then -- and tons of "holy shit!" moments. The talent in the league is deep as hell. To the point where some of the best players in the world can't even cut it; many of those guys ply their trade abroad. The global interest means even deeper talent.

And it's cool that the players are relatable and even admirable. Yeah, I rooted for the league even when that wasn't the case, but it's a nice touch. Unlike football, the sport doesn't kill the people that play it. And it's got global appeal on a scale that's second only to soccer. It was really fun when I was abroad and I had an Australian buddy who was just as big a Pierce fan as I am.

So, there's my reasons. At this point, the championships or bust attitude is kind of thin gruel for me. At the end of the day you'll be disappointed more times than not, no matter what sport you follow.
 

Ale Xander

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Basketball is relatable. Every high school has basketball teams, and almost everyone has played pickup or at least shot hoops. Crosses racial/ethnic/religious and socio-economic lines.

(Lower risk of serious injury and lack of helmets/identifiable players as mentioned upthread is also key)
 

Cellar-Door

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This is a strange premise for a thread since the NBA is, relatively speaking, not that popular.
relative to what?
It's much smaller domestically than the NFL, but globally much bigger. Revenue would put it as the 3rd US sport domestically, but National TV ratings would put it second. Also it's growth rate last I saw was the best of the major US leagues.
 

Kliq

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There are some great points in this thread; I'll add two things:

- With social media and general societal attitudes; we are shifting more towards an era where we celebrate the individual. The nature of basketball has always been that way, outside of the QB in football and perhaps a hot goaltender in hockey, one player can have such an outsized impact on the outcome of the game. The more the individual is celebrated, the better that is for the star power of the NBA.

- Might be reaching here but I think it is relevant in the era of the Internet. Basketball has better highlights than any other sport. Because scoring is so frequent, you can get plays that are both productive and noteworthy at any moment; so you are not just limited to one or two good catches a game (like in football) or the occasional web gem or walk-off homer (baseball) or the driving, dramatic goal (soccer or hockey). At literally any time a crazy play could happen that will blow up on social media. It's also so easily watchable; even people who don't really like watching basketball can enjoy seeing a monster dunk, huge block, flashy pass, ankle breaking crossover, deep three, circus layup etc.
 

mauf

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The NBA targets a younger, more cosmopolitan audience than the other major North American sports leagues. That's why it's so popular among the denizens of SoSH. If our forum population skewed older and rural, we'd have a thread titled "why no one cares about the NBA."
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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To tag along on Kliq's post, I think basketball is one game that people can appreciate the star players even if they are not on the team for which they root. Last year, it seemed like every sport fan was watching Steph - even when he was beating their team - and people were just as excited to watch LBJ and Steph battle it out.

The NBA decided a long time ago that it was going to be about the stars, and I think that decision fits neatly into our current culture.

One other thing. The NBA is probably the easiest sport to go from cellar-dweller to championship contender - as long as they just find that one guy, that one Giannis or IT4 or Paul George or Kawhi (etc.). I think that prospect keeps a lot of people interested even in down years.
 

The Social Chair

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The journey is really fun in the NBA. Watching young talent make the leap is exciting.

I think it's objectively more fun to be a Wolves fan than a Bills fan.

The game is also peaking aesthetically and the league is deep with likable players. I have league pass and will watch a random NBA game. I don't do that with the NFL or MLB.
 

rhopkins2323

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As a kid, it's easy to attach yourself to a basketball player. They play both D and offense. There's only 5 guys and the super star you like to follow is always making an impact. The NBA players are most visible. As a kid that's fun. This doesn't happen in any other sport.

Not to mention it's the easiest sport to play by yourself or with a small group of friends. You can get shots up on your own, play 1 on 1, 2 on 2, horse etc. It's cheap to play.
 

wiffleballhero

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In the simulacrum
I have never really liked basketball all that much but it is pretty simple and obvious why it is a compelling sport: there is a shit ton of scoring, the athletes are amazing and there is enough complexity to the game to allow it to unfold in 'the mind' in a satisfying way. There you go.

It also, really, has better historical narrative than football and while it has a season that is obviously a joke, it is a pleasurable joke after Feb. 15 or so.
 

Dehere

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Interesting thread. To push back slightly against the premise, I'd say the top end of the NBA is wildly entertaining and very popular. Make a list of, say, the teams with the 10 best players in the league. When any of those teams meet, yeah, the NBA is awesome and the ratings show it. Invariably the Finals matchup includes at least two super-elite players.

The rest of the league isn't that compelling, I would say. League-wide TV ratings are way down this year. To their credit the league does a really good job at making sure the best of the product is properly showcased. But the bulk of the games aren't especially good and market-for-market the NBA is dwarfed by baseball.

I will absolutely give the NBA this though: great seats at any NBA game are better than great seats in any other sport. The first five rows of any NBA game are an awesome experience.
 

ALiveH

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When the Celtics were god-awful I enjoyed watching them. Me and my buddies used to drink brews, head down to the garden, buy the $10 nosebleed seats and be among the first to yell "Truth!" at the games in the weeks after Shaq christened him, "Potapenko!" whenever he touched the ball or yell "bougie lettuce!" at Kenny Anderson. Usually the garden was half full so we could move up to better seats. It was incredibly gratifying to watch Truth become what he became.
 

The Social Chair

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But the bulk of the games aren't especially good and market-for-market the NBA is dwarfed by baseball.
The first part is subjective and the last part is true on a regional level. A local professional baseball team draws much higher ratings than the local basketball team but nationally the NBA does better (at least when the Cubs are not in the World Series).

The opening night 10:30PM EST game between the Warriors-Spurs drew higher ratings than Game 5 of the ALCS this year.
 
Does a higher proportion of NBA fans relative to other sports care more about the game itself and/or the daily soap opera of star-watching than supporting individual teams? Nobody watches WWE to see the 28th-best wrestler in action, and the PGA Tour is much less marketable without Tiger Woods ripping through every field in his path; do you think a lot of NBA fans think this way as well, perhaps even to the point that they don't really care who wins the title? (Personally, I hated Tiger's dominance in golf, partly because I never liked Tiger's personality but mostly because I love sport for its unscriptedness and not so much for the sheer brilliance of its performers - Tiger, like Golden State, tilted the balance too far away from drama and suspense for my liking.)

Everything about the way the NBA markets its players relative to its teams suggests it would happily be a league of 2-3 Harlem Globetrotters teams and 27-28 Washington Generals teams as long as enough fans keep talking about and retweeting the players on the Globetrotters teams. That's probably a sound business strategy as long as the illusion of potential future relevance can be preserved for enough fans on the Generals teams, but that doesn't make would-be fans of specific teams like me happy.

(One thing that's occurred to me in pondering this topic: the whole Deflategate saga played out exactly as a commissioner looking to make people talk incessantly about one of his star players and increase interest in his league might have wished. If Roger Goodell wanted to make the NFL more NBA-like and draw people to it who aren't fans of specific teams and are just attracted to soap opera heroes and villians...well, nice job.)
 

Eddie Jurak

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This is a really interesting thread topic, but not one I see myself as especially qualified to answer, because I have always been more of a fan of the Boston sports teams than any of the leagues as a whole. For the most part, I don't really even follow the playoffs once the Boston team is out.

Throughout most of the 15 years prior to, say, 2015, I tended to watch the Bruins religiously (even via NHL center ice when I lived away) and the Celtics occasionally. This was even true during the gawdawful late Sinden/Mike O'Connell era when the Bruins were crap, and the Bruins were even more important to me during the KG/Paul/Ray era.

But for the past 2 years, I have been wholly captivated by the Stevens/IT era. I know this team doesn't have a realistic shot at a title right now, but watching this young group of guys become a quality team has been great. Also there are no players in the league quite like IT (offensively) or Marcus Smart (defensively), watching them do what they do night in and night out is something special. It does help that Danny Ainge knows how to build a winning team and has the resources at his disposal to do just that - so even though winning in the NBA is so star-dependent, the Celtics do have a realistic shot at getting there.
 

Marbleheader

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I will preface this by saying I was a Celtics junkie growing up but baseball is by far my favorite sport. As a teacher of middle school students, the NBA is the most popular sport. They are more fans of stars than teams, which is a culture shift from when I was a kid. They know the Celtics but are more interested in Curry and Lebron. They don't care that the Celtics won't win the championship, they will still get a Finals with a matchup of superstars. They're also obsessed with the sneakers, many of them own several pairs and when I give them some free time on the computers, they're looking at Nike or Adidas shoes. They play it at home, play the video games, wear the shoes. It's probably the easiest sport to follow for casual fans, by far has the most scoring, game moves fast. Generally, more fun is allowed than other sports between the lines and the personalities are heavily marketed.
 

Spacemans Bong

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I'm 31 and kids at my school definitely followed the stars. I think that's what you do when your local team isn't that good.

The championships thing is a real hang up for me. It's not that I can't appreciate a season that doesn't end with a ring, but there's such a pronounced difference between the NBA and other sports. An 88 win baseball team has a puncher's chance in the playoffs, as does a 9-7 football team, as does a 90-point hockey team. Upsets happen all the time, possibly too much if you also enjoy great teams marching inexorably towards the title. But the Celtics are on pace for a 105 win season in baseball, a 10-11 win season in football, a 105 point season in hockey, and they're pretty much fucked in terms of winning a title barring a miracle. If you're more of a casual fan like me and your main interest in the NBA is through the prism of "Are the Celtics contenders?", it's a killer.

I think the NBA traditionally has struggled to hold on to older fans (it feels like it's been the hip sport for my entire life), and I wonder if this is a reason why (the biggest reason is probably race). I think when you get older, you get more parochial, and you're probably less in love with certain players because you've seen plenty of great players before. So you view the sport through the prism of your local team and if those guys stink, you don't care.
 

reggiecleveland

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There are some great points in this thread; I'll add two things:



- Might be reaching here but I think it is relevant in the era of the Internet. Basketball has better highlights than any other sport. Because scoring is so frequent, you can get plays that are both productive and noteworthy at any moment; so you are not just limited to one or two good catches a game (like in football) or the occasional web gem or walk-off homer (baseball) or the driving, dramatic goal (soccer or hockey). At literally any time a crazy play could happen that will blow up on social media. It's also so easily watchable; even people who don't really like watching basketball can enjoy seeing a monster dunk, huge block, flashy pass, ankle breaking crossover, deep three, circus layup etc.
This is spot on. My kid is a baseball and basketball player. Everyday I can hook him on six or seven clips that excite him about basketball. MLB has pretty good stuff in the field, but clips of homers all look the same.
 

scott bankheadcase

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The other factor in the League's current success is it's international reach. By many metrics it's the second most popular sport domestically AND, by virtually all metrics, the second most popular sport internationally (with different sports being no. 1 in each case). The NBA's early international push, including embracing China, has set it up to continue to grow even if it hits domestic saturation.

And to Kliq's point, Adam Silver decided years ago to allow fans to upload highlight content to social media as well as push the NBA and team platforms to do the same, creating highlight excitement even from games that overall weren't as engaging.

Also their front office people are awesome.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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I think part of it might be just how obvious it is that what these guys do is amazingly jaw dropping. You kind of know that in baseball, hockey, and football too, but I think it's a bit more visceral in basketball.

How many kids (and even adults) have stood under a ten foot hoop and looked up and thought, "holy shit, how do they do that"?
 

smastroyin

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I think even your appraisal of parity in the league is more about stars than teams, and probably clouded by being a Patriots fan where you attribute their dominance to how awesome they are, and of course you love it.

In the last ten years, 7 different teams have won the finals: SAS (2), LAL (2), MIA (2), BOS, DAL, GSW, CLE
9 different teams have made the finals: MIA (4), LAL (3), SAS (3), CLE (3), BOS (2), GSW (2), DAL, OKC, ORL
19 different teams have made the conference finals:
Atlantic: MIA (4), CLE (4), BOS (3), DET (2), IND (2), ORL (2), ATL, CHI, TOR
Pacific: SAS (5), OKC (4), LAL (3), GSW (2), DAL, DEN, HOU, MEM, PHO, UTA

Compare to the NFL, bastion of parity:

8 different teams have won the Super Bowl: NE (2), NYG (2), BAL, DEN, GB, NO, PIT, SEA
13 different teams have played in the Super Bowl: NE (4), DEN (2), NYG (2), PIT (2), SEA (2), ARI, ATL, BAL, CAR, GB, IND, NO, SF
18 different teams have played the Conference Championship:
AFC: NE (7), BAL (3), PIT (3), DEN (2), IND (2), NYJ (2), SD
NFC: GB (4), SF (3), ARI (2), ATL (2), NYG (2), SEA (2), CAR, CHI, MIN, NO, PHI

The biggest differences are that the more established team tends to win the conference championships more often in the NBA. The NFL seems a bit more random, which would be expected given the single game elimination. But even bigger than that, if instead of listing teams I listed their best player, the NBA would be dominated by LeBron (3 titles, 7 Finals, 8 Championship appearances) the way the NFL is dominated by the Patriots.

Of course people will say "sure, but how many of those random NBA teams *really* had a chance?" and ok fine, if literally the only thing to care about is lifting the trophy, you have a point, but if making it to the conference championship counts for anything, the NBA and NFL are really about the same.

Mostly though, I just think the idea that half of the teams in the NFL have a chance on opening day misrepresents what really happens. Maybe it "feels" that way though.
 

lexrageorge

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I think one difference between NBA and other leagues is that come the opening of the playoffs, one could argue that only about 2 or maybe 3 teams have an honest shot at the NBA title. This season, it's probably down to Warriors, Cavs, with possibly a team like the Spurs or Thunder with the ability to throw a monkey wrench into the plans.

In the NFL, it seems a bit more wide open. Dallas, Green Bay, Atlanta, and arguable Seattle and the Giants all had reasonable chances of making it as the NFC's representative to the Super Bowl. MLB and NHL playoffs are even more of a crap shoot.

Anyway, as someone who has a vague recollection of the 1974 and 1976 Championship teams, and was a big fan of the Bird/Parish/McHale Celtics, I find both this year's team and the modern NBA to be highly entertaining to watch. There was a period during the late 1990's and early 2000's where I found most NBA games to be unwatchable. Seems like the ball moves around a lot better, and watching a game live is a real treat, especially up close.
 

braudimusprime

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To add to what others are saying, baseball has become almost entirely localized and football has team-level dynamics that can be followed, but basketball is unique in that it's possible to be a fan of the entire league and for a serious, but not maniacal fan, to be able to go 7-8 positions deep on 30 teams' depth charts with some decent knowledge. NBA conversation is sustained not just by being a fan of one's local team but being interested in the league as a whole and the fates of individual players. That's regular players, not just superstars.

There's a larger point too about the purpose of rooting for a team--championships are much more closed off in the NBA, but I think the quest for 'ships is as media-driven as anything. If you can put together an NBA team that makes some playoff runs and has a sustained period of quality performance the fans will be there and won't be representing a championship-or-bust mentality.
 
To add to what others are saying, baseball has become almost entirely localized and football has team-level dynamics that can be followed, but basketball is unique in that it's possible to be a fan of the entire league and for a serious, but not maniacal fan, to be able to go 7-8 positions deep on 30 teams' depth charts with some decent knowledge. NBA conversation is sustained not just by being a fan of one's local team but being interested in the league as a whole and the fates of individual players. That's regular players, not just superstars.
Personally, I find it's much easier to follow the NFL and be a fan of the entire league than it is to follow the NBA. For one, there are far fewer games played: without expending too much energy - and mostly by being able to watch RedZone - I must have watched at least part of 80-90% of all the games played in the NFL last season. Also, I think many NFL fans can also go at least 7-8 positions deep on all 32 teams' depth charts. That's a much smaller proportion of each roster relative to the NBA, of course, but in a quarterback-driven league, knowing all of the QBs, the key skill position players and a few defensive stars gives you much the same effect.

(By the by, an NBA version of RedZone could be pretty awesome; Silver himself has hinted at plans along these lines recently, although I think you'd really need a curated show hosted by a Scott Hanson equivalent for this to really work. MLB has a user-created RedZone-like hack as well, of course, but again, having to moderate the many different game feeds yourself is different than getting them on a silver platter with expert curation.)
 

Drocca

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I'm not saying that winning the title has to be everything. But having hope and faith (TM Selig) that your team could realistically win a title - even if it would take nearly everything to break right, and even if that means not now but several years in the future - is to me a critical part of sports fandom. And there are so many NBA teams for whom that prospect is so distant, far more teams than in any other sport, that I struggle to see the forest of the league's success as a whole from the individual trees that make up that forest. (If you're a true NBA fan as well as or even more than a fan of an individual team - or possibly if you're a fan of other teams in your city that have won multiple titles this century - I can see why this may not matter to you.)
Boston fans are very provincial and think of Boston teams first and then the sport or league (generalization and in my opinion and I do not count it as negative). Most sports fan just are not like that. In fact, most of the country is like me, someone who grew up in an area without a major sports team (and even in my State the Hornets, Panthers and Hurricanes are all expansion teams during my lifetime).

The NBA is popular because basketball is awesome and the product on the court is at an all-time high. It really helps that the league is very well-run.
 

Drocca

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Raleigh, NC
When the Celtics were god-awful I enjoyed watching them. Me and my buddies used to drink brews, head down to the garden, buy the $10 nosebleed seats and be among the first to yell "Truth!" at the games in the weeks after Shaq christened him, "Potapenko!" whenever he touched the ball or yell "bougie lettuce!" at Kenny Anderson. Usually the garden was half full so we could move up to better seats. It was incredibly gratifying to watch Truth become what he became.
This is a great point in a thread full of them. Because there is so much action and scoring in an NBA game, even if you lose the game there are plenty of really exciting, fun moments to cheer for. It's also super satisfying to watch guys develop.
 
The NBA is popular because basketball is awesome and the product on the court is at an all-time high. It really helps that the league is very well-run.
Can I agree with everything else above but quibble with the bolded? Different people like different sports and want different things from their sports. I've chatted with numerous Brits, for example, who find basketball to be a series of one monotonous possession after another and the volume of scoring to be insipid - there's no scarcity to it, and the difference between two-point and three-point baskets is much less than the difference between a touchdown and a field goal (football) or a try and a penalty (rugby) or a whole lot of nothing punctuated by a sudden goal (soccer). Now, if you want to argue that the volume of scoring in basketball is particularly well-suited to short attention spans and Twitter feeds, therefore making it more accessible to a modern public, I'll buy that as a logical argument about the nature of the sport and why it's become more popular - but that's different than saying basketball is a better sport in and of itself, which is almost entirely subjective.
 

Drocca

darrell foster wallace
SoSH Member
Jul 21, 2005
17,585
Raleigh, NC
"basketball is awesome" is an opinion of mine, so, no, you can't really quibble with it. Other people think "basketball is awesome." Some of those people probably contribute to the popularity of the NBA, which is the question you are asking. You cannot quibble with their opinion either. Some people think "basketball is not awesome" and I can not quibble with them.
 

johnmd20

mad dog
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 30, 2003
62,075
New York City
"basketball is awesome" is an opinion of mine, so, no, you can't really quibble with it. Other people think "basketball is awesome." Some of those people probably contribute to the popularity of the NBA, which is the question you are asking. You cannot quibble with their opinion either. Some people think "basketball is not awesome" and I can not quibble with them.
And, the reality is, basketball is utterly awesome right now. These guys and what they do on the court are insane. It's a pretty enjoyable sport to watch.
 

Infield Infidel

teaching korea american
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
11,463
Meeting Place, Canada
As a Sonics fan I should not like the NBA, and for about 4 years I avoided it, but yeah, it's been so good the past few years I got pulled back in. As a neutral, I know I can watch the good teams at their best come playoff time so, I only watch around 10 or so regular season games. But even bad teams have interesting players. At least a couple times a week I watch single-player full game recaps on YouTube of interesting players like Embiid, Porzingis, Giannis, KAT, Wiggins, Davis, and we are basically spoiled by LeBron and Curry. That feeds into this:
And to Kliq's point, Adam Silver decided years ago to allow fans to upload highlight content to social media as well as push the NBA and team platforms to do the same, creating highlight excitement even from games that overall weren't as engaging.
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Right after YouTube started, the NBA was very hands off and let fans create videos of NBA content. MLB and NFL blocked most stuff and steered people to native content. NBA understood if people were watching NBA content on YouTube, they were watching NBA content. They played the long game and didn't care that they weren't making money directly, they wanted eyeballs and understood that eventually those eyeballs would spend money. At the time, MLBAM was way ahead of NBA technologically speaking, but YouTube bridged that gap significantly, and cost the NBA nothing to develop. There are a lot of parallels between NBA YouTube culture and mixtape culture, not just the music in the videos, but fans repurposing content in easily digestible form to spread to other fans. This spread to other social media; NBA Vine was amazing
 
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Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,797
As a Sonics fan I should not like the NBA, and for about 4 years I avoided it, but yeah, it's been so good the past few years I got pulled back in. As a neutral, I know I can watch the good teams at their best come playoff time so, I only watch around 10 or so regular season games. But even bad teams have interesting players. At least a couple times a week I watch single-player full game recaps on YouTube of interesting players like Embiid, Porzingis, Giannis, KAT, Wiggins, Davis, and we are basically spoiled by LeBron and Curry. That feeds into this:

Right after YouTube started, the NBA was very hands off and let fans create videos of NBA content. MLB and NFL blocked most stuff and steered people to native content. NBA understood if people were watching NBA content on YouTube, they were watching NBA content. They played the long game and didn't care that they weren't making money directly, they wanted eyeballs and understood that eventually those eyeballs would spend money. At the time, MLBAM was way ahead of NBA technologically speaking, but YouTube bridged that gap significantly, and cost the NBA nothing to develop. There are a lot of parallels between NBA YouTube culture and mixtape culture, not just the music in the videos, but fans repurposing content in easily digestible form to spread to other fans. This spread to other social media; NBA Vine was amazing
The work that guys like Ximo Pierto and Free Dawkins do on YouTube is a national service.