Just watch nfl live. They actually break down the game have actually discussions relating to the sport. I blame silver for allowing nba media coverage being a clown show. Kobe tried to change that with details but he was taken too soon
Bringing Detail back with analysts that can do the job would be great. ESPN could promote it within a block of shows that deal with deeper breakdowns. If they did an NFL/NBA twin half hour shows like that I think they’d get a lot of success from it.
It’s weird, because I think the real issue is balance. Let’s admit, the hot takes clearly drive ratings. But they can’t be the only thing out there in the ecosystem of NBA discourse. My criticism with the NBA beyond not being as visible as it could be is that it doesn’t promote itself seriously enough. It’s not the prestige of championship accolades that motivates players as much as rising above the hot takes is.
There has to be moments where the NBA presents itself as a prestige sport. The NBA needs to celebrate its history more, educate fans on its history, restore as much footage as possible, play up heritages with yearly commemorations like throwback nights for example.
I think that’s where the idea of “team” marketing fails. When you present your product as something dependent upon the transient nature of individual stars it makes it hard to promote the value of the teams themselves. They’re merely color/logo coded vessels which carry the individual stars and that’s all. Teams and their legacies don’t have legs to stand on while the focus is solely on individual legacies. The few teams that do have prestige are treated like conveniently placed anomalies while the idea of other teams reaching prestige of their own is viewed as nearly impossible and mostly unnecessary compared to a superstar slaying the latest hot take.
I’ll end my post by posing this question: if the heats had a truly viable megastar right now, would they be promoting the superstar or the “culture”?
