Ever since LeBron James aired “The Decision” live on ESPN in 2010, the NBA’s structure has been radically changed. The past decade has been defined by a new wave of player empowerment and mobility, whether it’s through strategically timing free agency, mutually working through trades with team general managers or dramatically forcing themselves out of their organizations.
We know what this has done to the game itself. We’ve seen countless Big Threes formed across the league. We’ve seen superstars cause drama that has propelled them to more favorable situations which have paid off big-time. Los Angeles traded for Anthony Davis, Toronto traded for Kawhi Leonard and Golden State signed Kevin Durant. If you want a ring, you need the star power to do it.
The last time an NBA team won a ring without a player recently named to the list of the NBA’s 75 greatest players of all time was in 2006, by the Detroit Pistons. It’s evident that superstars drive the league forward, and teams are all but lost to mediocrity without them. But what does this do to the fan experience?
First and most obviously, it narrows the league’s range of outcomes. Right off the bat, if you don’t have an all-NBA-caliber player, your team is on thin ice. A majority of fan bases are immediately relegated to rooting for tanking or smaller victories. Even when these star-barren teams make the playoffs, their inability to boast the best player on the court for any given game or series makes those squads hopelessly lost.
Oftentimes, fans of teams lacking superstars begin to look to Twitter or ESPN for the ever-churning rumor mill of disgruntled stars. At any given time, it seems multiple all-star players are unhappy with their situations and want out. This gives fans hope that a turnaround can happen fast if their team can acquire the right superstar. But again, it reduces the range of outcomes. You either win the lottery sweepstakes or you don’t. Fans of smaller markets can find themselves locked in an endless spiral of getting hopes up for acquiring a Damien Lillard or Bradley Beal, only to see the big market teams like Los Angeles and New York swoop in at the last minute.
This is certainly fun for fans of those larger franchises, but I’d argue this level of superstar mobility is more harmful than helpful. The media diet of fans woefully reading tea leaves in hopes of their franchise’s next great savior coming along is full of empty calories. But there is certainly reason for hope.
While Milwaukee did win their championship after swinging big in the trade market, they did the majority of their legwork through homegrown stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton. Meanwhile, in Memphis, another notably small market, superstar Ja Morant became an all-star starter and proclaimed his love and devotion to the city of Memphis. Players like these are changing the narrative, and it gives hope that well-run franchises with strong cultures can skillfully navigate the landmines of Twitter rumors and dramatic superstars to deliver their fans a long-awaited title.
