NBA commissioner Adam Silver has heard your “small market” NBA Finals talk, and wants to make clear that he, for one, is unconcerned. If anything, such a matchup—the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Indiana Pacers—demonstrates the success of the league’s CBA in creating parity among teams.
Speaking on Fox Sports 1’s Breakfast Ball on Wednesday, Silver used an apt—and extremely timely—NFL comparison to call out how the markets involved in a Finals shouldn’t matter at all.
“If we were going into a Super Bowl and it was Packers against Steelers, you guys would be celebrating that,” Silver said. “Those would be storied franchises. People wouldn’t be talking about the fact that Pittsburgh is a small market. I’m happy whatever team ends up in the Finals, but it’s been intentional from our standpoint to create a system, a collective bargaining agreement, that allows more teams to compete.
“We’re going to have to go through a process of getting to the point where people are accustomed to tuning into the finals because the two teams deserve to be there, and it’s the best basketball,” he continued.
Next. small market finals. How Small-Market Thunder and Pacers Brought Parity to Finals. dark
“If I asked somebody if they were going to watch the Super Bowl, they wouldn’t say ‘who’s playing?’ It’s a national holiday. That’s nirvana. … If the Knicks are in the finals, there’s a segment of our fan base that’s going to watch that may not watch if it’s other teams, but my job is to get people to love and follow this game, so that if you’re a huge basketball fan, you should want to tune in to the Finals because that’s the best basketball.”
Watch that answer below:
A lot to unpack here. For one, it’s funny that Silver used a Pittsburgh/Green Bay comparison, considering (1) the pairing has played a Super Bowl together, and (2) Pittsburgh is currently courting longtime Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers for its open position. Plus, Pittsburgh is tied for most wins with six Super Bowls, so it’s not like it’s unheard of to see them compete for a Lombardi. You can get his point, though.
But back to the NBA—last week, after the finals match-up was set, the narrative online became one that claimed league leadership was displeased by a Thunder-Pacers series because both teams are in midsize cities. But on Tuesday, Silver pretty vehemently shut that down.
If anything, his remarks on Breakfast Ball are claiming this year’s matchup benefits the NBA, because it is proof that the same teams don’t have to win over and over. That, in turn, makes the game more exciting and, better yet, could draw in strong ratings. Still, though, it sounds like he is aware the league has a ways to go before people treat the Finals the same as the must-watch Super Bowl.
Game 1 tips off Thursday night at 8:30 p.m ET.
