The NBA is depicted by many as the most corrupt of the four professional sports leagues in the United States and for good reason too. Whether it is because Tim Donaghy admitted to betting on games during his tenure as a referee or the Cleveland Cavaliers getting the #1 pick after Lebron James left, the entire way the league operates leaves suspicions in the minds of many fans.
Who is to blame for the league's second lockout in the last decade? Many point the finger at David Stern. How Mr. Stern is still employed is surprising to me given that he is the only current commissioner to experience two lockouts under his rule that involved missing games. The NFL went through a long lockout this past summer but was able to push a deal through before missing any games. The NHL cancelled the entire 04-05 season because the league was on the brink of shutting down. The league had to overhaul its entire financial system in order to stay afloat which is a completely different circumstance than what the NBA has dealt with the past two lockouts. Major League Baseball also dealt with a lockout in the 94-95 season that led to cancelling of games but since that time, baseball has thrived despite the steroid controversy in the earlier part of the decade. Stern's tenure as commissioner has been a disaster in more ways than just dealing with the two separate lockouts.
A few months ago, it was reported that 22 out of the 30 teams in the NBA lost money this past season. This is surprising given that Stern himself said that this past season was one of the most successful NBA seasons in recent memory. It has also been rumored that unless the NBA can lower player salaries and institute a hard salary cap, lower market teams like the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Hornets would be contracted, which would allow for the creation of more super teams like the Miami Heat since there are fewer teams and more superstars available to sign. This would be a bad business move by the NBA because their reach would be limited to markets that have a team as and also because some teams would drastically be better than others.
Another huge mistake David Stern has made during his reign as commissioner is not working with the NCAA to come up with an age requirement in order to enter the NBA draft. The NBA is the only league that doesn't have a successful minor league system that develops players into superstars. Both Major League Baseball and the NHL have successful minor leagues systems that allow players to be drafted out of high school. If the player decides to forgo college, he is placed in these minor league systems to develop for a lengthy period of time until he is ready for the big show. The NFL uses the NCAA as its minor league system in that the players have to attend college for three years before applying for the NFL draft. These players mature both physically and mentally during their college experience so when they are drafted, they don't have to wait long before contributing to their team.
The NBA has a "minor league system" in the D league, however, the league is a joke and no one that has played in the D league has ever amassed success in the NBA. This is due to a lack of talent in the D league. The NBA hasn't failed in terms of players not producing on the court. We have seen young players like John Wall and Lebron James come in and dominate the league despite their age. The NBA's failure is due to the product not being as good as it can and should be as well as the diluting of the marketplace by the mediocre players who never fully developed and fill the teams rosters. If the NBA was to create an age barrier that required players to attend two to three years of college, this would drastically improve the players skill sets coming out of college and into the NBA as well as add value to the NBA's brand.
Because the NBA has allowed young, immature men to come into the league, it has made it difficult for the NBA to negotiate with the players. Many of the star players joined the NBA right out of high school and despite their age today, they still have the maturity of a teenager because they never had a social or educational structure in place to help them mature during the early stages of their lives. These players have been pampered ever since they first stepped foot in the NBA so they haven't needed to change their attitude or mature like most normal people do as they grow up. This has caused the players to feel entitled and not be reasonable when negotiating since they want what suits them best. The players don't realize or understand that their demands could very well end the NBA in the near future because of the insane salaries that some of the players are requesting.
The biggest mistake of the Stern tenure is the focusing more on individual players rather than the team. In all the major sports, the media focuses on the star player of the team. However, in the other three leagues, the team brand is more valuable and important to the sport than a single players brand. The other leagues are profiting off their plan of focusing on the league first with the players being a supplement to the league compared to the NBA which is declining because they view the player identity as more important than adding value to their brand. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are the main stars of their respected teams and the NHL today. However, the way the NHL markets and brands these players, especially around playoff time is drastically different than the NBA's marketing of Kobe or Lebron. The media commentary around Crosby and Ovechkin revolves around their team during pre game and post game where as the commentary regarding NBA players is specifically about the star player and not about his team. During the 2011 NBA finals, all anyone wanted to talk about was how bad Lebron James played. Granted he was terrible, but no one wanted to talk about how his teammates like Chris Bosh stepped up or how the Mavericks team philosophy overcame the individually minded Miami Heat.
Another example of the NBA failing when it comes to branding a team is when the San Antonio Spurs were making their title runs. The Spurs were a team based organization with low profile "stars" and because they lacked superstardom, the NBA had trouble exploiting the individualistic, superstar nature that they crave which caused the Finals ratings to dip. When people think of the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New York Yankees, they aren't thinking about Ben Roethlisberger or Derek Jeter. They are thinking about the tradition of these organizations because these are global brands that are built on the "team" concept despite the fact that they have had a history of superstars play for them. When people think of the Los Angeles Lakers or the Boston Celtics today, they are thinking more about present individuals like Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce, rather than reflecting on the tradition of the brand like past championships for example.
David Stern has single-handedly diminished the NBA's brand during his tenure and has endorsed an environment that has led to the lockout of today. He should be held responsible and a new leader with a new vision should replace him as commissioner of the NBA.
