The NBA’s Minor League Could Soon Transform Pro Basketball

Most kids in his shoes go to one of a handful of universities (see: Duke, Kentucky, Kansas) that have made themselves into extended-stay residences for NBA draftees-in-waiting. They play in nationally televised games, then leave after a year. All the while, the National Collegiate Athletic Association insists they’re “student athletes” who can’t be compensated beyond scholarships and modest stipends. Occasionally, top prospects go to Europe, where they play professionally for six-figure salaries.

Ultimately, Bazley chose to do neither. He backed out of a commitment to Syracuse University to go to the NBA’s minor league circuit, the G League. He’s not the first player to join the league straight from high school. Latavious Williams did it in 2009, but Williams, who never made it into an NBA game and now plays in Europe, had been deemed academically ineligible by the NCAA. Bazley is the first player to turn down scholarships in favor of the G League. “This kid’s decision was a little startling,” says Michele Roberts, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association.

If basketball fans think about the G League at all, it’s usually as a place where nobodies play for no money in front of no one. In April the NBA raised the G League’s minimum salary from $19,000 to $35,000 for the five-month season that will start in November, which mainly underscored how little the league has paid since it started in 2001. Bazley’s decision may help prove that the G League is an untapped asset: If others follow his path, the league could go from afterthought to destination, unlock tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the NBA, and help college basketball rid itself of its recruiting scandals.

The NBA is cruising at a time when other U.S. sports leagues have begun to sputter. Revenue for its 30 teams is expected to hit $8.5 billion for the just-completed season, up more than 7 percent from 2016-17. Ratings for nationally televised NBA games rose 8 percent from last season, while NFL ratings fell almost 10 percent in 2017, according to Nielsen Holdings Plc. The NBA’s median viewer is 43, compared with 51 for the NFL and 57 for MLB. The NBA doesn’t have the player safety problems that plague the NFL, nor has it faced—and fumbled over—player protests during the national anthem; its fast-paced games fit better into the social media age than baseball’s slow-building drama; and it has international popularity the NFL, MLB, and NHL can only dream of.

This year’s NBA Finals, the fourth consecutive matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, averaged 17.6 million viewers in the U.S. despite ending in a ho-hum Warriors sweep. The last time the Finals ended in four games, in 2007, average viewership was less than 10 million. The series served as a showcase for three global celebrities—LeBron James of the Cavaliers and Kevin Durant and Steph Curry of the Warriors—who rank second, seventh, and ninth, respectively, on ESPN’s recent “World Fame 100” list. Tom Brady, the list’s top NFL player, comes in at No. 38; no baseball player makes the cut. Even the NBA’s most urgent issue—an overstuffed talent pipeline—is a sign of health.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *