NBA Cup is boring

NBA Cup group play began

Group play began this week and on the NBA website, the “sexy headline” was that the 2024 Champs Milwaukee Bucks would begin play to defend their title. There is a decent amount of money that each team can get based on how far they advance in the tournament. That is the biggest draw of the NBA Cup, not the trophy, not the sponsor. Every talking point on the NBA Cup should be about each stars performance for money.

Fans have to put up with going to the arena and spending a bit more than $800 on their family for a game. The NBA’s new media deal is worth 76 billion. Star players sit out during the season because of “load management” which are a cheap deal for the fans.

As per the NBA website, the media deal will:

“The new media deals will expand the reach of NBA telecasts, with all national games available on broadly distributed streaming services – Prime Video, Peacock and ESPN’s forthcoming direct-to-consumer service – and with dramatically increased exposure on broadcast television.  Approximately 75 regular-season games will be on broadcast TV each season, up from the minimum of 15 games under the current agreement.”

Ideas to improve NBA Cup

For one, the two NBA teams that advance to the Championship game should present a Championship ticket package for fans that lower the ticket prices for lower bowl seats. For teams that make the semifinals, fans should be able to purchase team merchandise for an affordable price for a specified time period. Quarterfinalists get a special NBA Cup poster on a specific night to celebrate the team and the tournament.

The Kaseya Center is located on Biscayne Boulevard in Downtown Miami. Beyond the Downtown area lies neighborhoods at low socio-economic levels. Most of the children in those communities are able to attend NBA games. The NBA’s star players highly influence the motivation of their fans to buy tickets to attend games.

The Miami Heat Charitable foundation does good work in helping out these families, but an in-season tournament like the NBA Cup could provide a tremendous boost. Otherwise the tournament looks like a poor attempt to copy other leagues in-season tournaments (with no other aim.)