2. League Overview
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was founded on June 6th, 1946 in New York City as
the Basketball Association of America (BAA) until its changed to the NBA after merging with the
competing league known as the National Basketball League (NBL). The league is an active
member of USA Basketball which is recognized by FIBA which is the International Basketball
Federation and is the national governing body for basketball in the United States.
Executive Summary
The NBA is in a very strong spot as it currently has a balance of power in their two conferences
as many teams are able to contend for the NBA title. The NBA has seen their efforts for global
expansion rise drastically as many countries are seeing players enter their own countries
professional leagues and sign professional contracts with the NBA. With Mexico City getting
two regular season games in 2019 and their own G League team in 2020 more fans in Mexico
will be able to follow the NBA. Threats to the NBA are other professional leagues in the country.
Social media controversies will always play a factor if a player may tweet something
controversial and therefore it may cause bad publicity for the league.
3. SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Worldwide fan base
Strong broadcasting around the globe
Great marketing campaigns to expand
reach
Weaknesses
Super teams have created disinterest
by fans
Load management
Opportunities
Global expansion
Make the G league a farm systemfor
players who want to leave college
early
Threats
Other leagues such as the NFL, MLB,
and NHL
Political issues that may arise from
players or owners (ex. Daryl Morey’s
China tweet)
4. Strengths
Worldwide fan base:
The NBA has marketed their game globally and as a result they see many fans from all over the
world. The Asian market has grown tremendously as well as the European market with young
players such as Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic entering the league at a young age and doing
well.
Strong broadcast around the globe:
The NBA has created many ways for fans to access their games if they are not living in the
United States. NBA programming during the 2017-18 season reached more than 1 billion
unique viewers, and more than 35% of visitors to NBA.com come from fans outside North
America (Forbes.com). The NBA has a partnership with Sky Sports in the UK to broadcast their
games. Digital platforms have also made it easier for fans to tune into games. The UK is the
number one market for NBA League Pass followed by Germany and France.
Strong marketing campaigns:
The NBA has global preseason games in London and China as ways to expand the games to fans
from all over the globe. NBA teams also are a part of community initiatives to better their
neighboring communities (NBA Cares). The NBA has also allowed advertisements to appear on
their jerseys in the top right corner. This has allowed them to generate massive revenue
sources from advertisers who want to appear on jerseys.
Weaknesses
Super teams have damaged ratings:
Many fans have become annoyed with the building of super teams in the NBA. The Golden
State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers were in the NBA Finals for four straight seasons and that
resulted in many fans tuning out during the regular season.
Load management:
Players taking games off to rest has become a big issue in the league. This first became an issue
back in 2012 when Greg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs rested his star players on a national
televised game against the defending champions Miami Heat. ESPN paid for that game and took
issue with seeing star players rested and fans were unhappy. The result saw the Spurs fined
$250,000 for sitting their star players who were not listed as injured (ESPN.com). Now we are
seeing star players like Kawhi Leonard taking games off for rest and many General Managers
across the league are not happy with this mindset.
5. Opportunities
Global expansion:
Although the NBA has a strong global presence, they are always looking to expand the game
even further. The European league has created a strong fanbase in Europe and the Chinese
leagues are creating a strong market in Asia. The goal of the NBA is too see more international
players come into the NBA as the game continues to grow. The NBA has started to schedule
games in Mexico as well in efforts to grow the game. The NBA Mexico City Games 2019 with
see the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Phoenix Suns, and San Antonio Spurs play two regular
season games in Mexico City (NBA.Com).
Expanding the G league:
The NBA will be adding a minor league team in Mexico City in 2020 in part of their efforts to
expand the game and the G League. The G League is currently composed of minor league
affiliate organizations for 28 NBA teams. The Mexican club, which will operate independently,
will maintain its current logo and remain unaffiliated with a specific NBA team. It will join the
Toronto Raptors’ Ontario-based affiliate as the only franchises based outside the United States
(Golliver, Washington Post).
Threats
Other professional leagues:
With competing leagues such as the NFL, MLB, and NHL the NBA must compete with the other
leagues to see fans pay to go to their games. The 2018 top ticket prices in each respective
league are as follows. In MLB, the Cubs ($104.07) and Yankees ($91.62) were the most
expensive. In the NFL, the Cowboys ($199.20) and Bears ($195.15) topped the chart. In the
NBA, it was the Knicks ($176.38) and Lakers ($141.50). The Bruins ($144.95) and Maple Leafs
($142.82) worked out to be the most expensive in the NHL (Forbes.com).
Political issues that may arise:
With the increase in social media and the use of players speaking out the NBA risks the fact that
someone may tweet something that can be taken the wrong way and result in poor publicity for
the league. A perfect example was when Daryl Morey the GM of the Houston Rockets tweeted
about his view on the Hong Kong protest which saw the NBA lose advertisements in China.
State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) and the livestreaming platform Tencent
Sports, announced on October 6 that they would no longer broadcast the Rockets games
(businessinsder.com).
6. References:
Dosh, K. (2018, October 1). Measuring The Cost Of Being A Sports Fan. Retrieved January 9,
2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristidosh/2018/09/30/measuring-the-cost-of-being-a-
sports-fan/#4b2e47c95e54.
Golliver, B. (2019, December 13). NBA's G League to add Mexico City franchise in 2020: 'A
historic milestone'. Retrieved January 9, 2020, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/12/12/nbas-g-league-add-mexico-city-franchise-
historic-milestone/.
Murray, P. (2019, January 20). Inside The NBA's Efforts To Reach A Global Audience.
Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickmurray/2019/01/20/inside-
the-nbas-attempts-to-reach-a-global-audience/#3ed8638f7dd2.
Perper, R. (2019, October 23). China and the NBA are coming to blows over a pro-Hong Kong
tweet. Here's why. Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-china-
feud-timeline-daryl-morey-tweet-hong-kong-protests-2019-10#several-of-the-rockets-sponsors-
and-partners-announced-that-they-would-no-longer-broadcast-games-4.
Press, A. (2012, November 30). Spurs fined $250,000 for 'disservice'. Retrieved January 9, 2020,
from https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/8695865/nba-fines-san-antonio-spurs-250000-sitting-
players.
release, O., & NBA.com. (2019, June 7). Mavs, Pistons, Suns, Spurs to participate in NBA
Mexico City Games 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2020, from
https://www.nba.com/article/2019/06/07/nba-mexico-city-games-2019-official-release.
