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CNN
3 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Trendlines: The smallest markets are winning the NBA finals
Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA Finals, and the emergence of the small market team. Think about the iconic NBA franchises: The Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and, if you indulge me, the New York Knickerbockers. This NBA Finals features two nicknames to never win an NBA title: the Thunder and Pacers. These two teams are from not-so-iconic American cities: Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. So let's start there with a big downswing. I'm being a bit charitable here with being down 3 million. I've rounded down. Indianapolis has a little over 1 million homes in its media market. Oklahoma City has well under a million. Combined they have a little less than 2 million homes. What a change from 2024 when the Finals teams (Boston and Dallas) each have over 2 million homes in their media markets. But it's not just from last year from which we've seen a tremendous shift. Indeed, I plugged in the current media market size for every Finals team since the early 1980s. Based on the current rankings, this is the Finals with the smallest teams' media markets in at least the last 40 years. It's not just the media markets where we can see how the Pacers and Thunder are small markets. Take a look at the valuation for each franchise. Both teams are worth under $4 billion. Now, that is still a billion with a 'b', but last year the two teams were worth about $5 billion on average. The fact that we have one small market team in the Finals isn't that unusual. Both of these teams have been in the finals before. What makes this year truly unique is that we have two teams worth so little at the same time. In fact, there hasn't been an NBA Finals' with two teams in the bottom 10 in the league in terms of worth since at least the early 1990s. Small market doesn't mean unexciting. Tyrese Haliburton ridiculously clutch shooting in Game 1 proves that. What makes Haliburton's production so amazing is he was still 24 on February 1 of this year. He's one of 18 players who have suited up for these squads who were under 25 on that date. That's a record since at least the early 1980s These are young and fresh players beyond just Haliburton. Thunder's star Jalen Williams clocks in at a mere 24 years old. His teammate Chet Holmgren is 23. We're looking at squads that could be good for years to come. Dare I say that, by the time it's all done, it may be Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers… and Pacers or Thunder on the pantheon of iconic NBA teams.
CNN
3 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Trendlines: The smallest markets are winning the NBA finals
Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA Finals, and the emergence of the small market team. Think about the iconic NBA franchises: The Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and, if you indulge me, the New York Knickerbockers. This NBA Finals features two nicknames to never win an NBA title: the Thunder and Pacers. These two teams are from not-so-iconic American cities: Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. So let's start there with a big downswing. I'm being a bit charitable here with being down 3 million. I've rounded down. Indianapolis has a little over 1 million homes in its media market. Oklahoma City has well under a million. Combined they have a little less than 2 million homes. What a change from 2024 when the Finals teams (Boston and Dallas) each have over 2 million homes in their media markets. But it's not just from last year from which we've seen a tremendous shift. Indeed, I plugged in the current media market size for every Finals team since the early 1980s. Based on the current rankings, this is the Finals with the smallest teams' media markets in at least the last 40 years. It's not just the media markets where we can see how the Pacers and Thunder are small markets. Take a look at the valuation for each franchise. Both teams are worth under $4 billion. Now, that is still a billion with a 'b', but last year the two teams were worth about $5 billion on average. The fact that we have one small market team in the Finals isn't that unusual. Both of these teams have been in the finals before. What makes this year truly unique is that we have two teams worth so little at the same time. In fact, there hasn't been an NBA Finals' with two teams in the bottom 10 in the league in terms of worth since at least the early 1990s. Small market doesn't mean unexciting. Tyrese Haliburton ridiculously clutch shooting in Game 1 proves that. What makes Haliburton's production so amazing is he was still 24 on February 1 of this year. He's one of 18 players who have suited up for these squads who were under 25 on that date. That's a record since at least the early 1980s These are young and fresh players beyond just Haliburton. Thunder's star Jalen Williams clocks in at a mere 24 years old. His teammate Chet Holmgren is 23. We're looking at squads that could be good for years to come. Dare I say that, by the time it's all done, it may be Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers… and Pacers or Thunder on the pantheon of iconic NBA teams.
CNN
3 days ago
- Sport
- CNN
Trendlines: The smallest markets are winning the NBA finals
Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what's trending up and what's trending down in sports. This week we're talking about the NBA Finals, and the emergence of the small market team. Think about the iconic NBA franchises: The Los Angeles Lakers, the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls and, if you indulge me, the New York Knickerbockers. This NBA Finals features two nicknames to never win an NBA title: the Thunder and Pacers. These two teams are from not-so-iconic American cities: Oklahoma City and Indianapolis. So let's start there with a big downswing. I'm being a bit charitable here with being down 3 million. I've rounded down. Indianapolis has a little over 1 million homes in its media market. Oklahoma City has well under a million. Combined they have a little less than 2 million homes. What a change from 2024 when the Finals teams (Boston and Dallas) each have over 2 million homes in their media markets. But it's not just from last year from which we've seen a tremendous shift. Indeed, I plugged in the current media market size for every Finals team since the early 1980s. Based on the current rankings, this is the Finals with the smallest teams' media markets in at least the last 40 years. It's not just the media markets where we can see how the Pacers and Thunder are small markets. Take a look at the valuation for each franchise. Both teams are worth under $4 billion. Now, that is still a billion with a 'b', but last year the two teams were worth about $5 billion on average. The fact that we have one small market team in the Finals isn't that unusual. Both of these teams have been in the finals before. What makes this year truly unique is that we have two teams worth so little at the same time. In fact, there hasn't been an NBA Finals' with two teams in the bottom 10 in the league in terms of worth since at least the early 1990s. Small market doesn't mean unexciting. Tyrese Haliburton ridiculously clutch shooting in Game 1 proves that. What makes Haliburton's production so amazing is he was still 24 on February 1 of this year. He's one of 18 players who have suited up for these squads who were under 25 on that date. That's a record since at least the early 1980s These are young and fresh players beyond just Haliburton. Thunder's star Jalen Williams clocks in at a mere 24 years old. His teammate Chet Holmgren is 23. We're looking at squads that could be good for years to come. Dare I say that, by the time it's all done, it may be Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers… and Pacers or Thunder on the pantheon of iconic NBA teams.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
NBA Finals: Look Beyond TV Ratings For Keys To Success
The National Basketball Association Finals have arrived, and you know what that means for the media coverage – a lot of headlines about TV ratings. Embittered New York Knicks fans are already preparing their collective 'I told you so' with the likelihood of historically low ratings between two small TV market teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder (47th ranked market) and the Indiana Pacers (from the 25th ranked market and the team that defeated the Knicks). But for the NBA, its business partners and even for the folks at ABC and ESPN who are broadcasting the Finals, focusing so heavily on TV ratings is just so 1990s. There is a much more complex tableaux of media measurement metrics that are ultimately far more relevant to business success and failure here. Yes, the NBA Finals TV ratings will likely be low by any historical standard. In addition to the presence of small-market teams, the Finals matchup lacks marquee franchise names like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. And there is no larger-than-life superstar like LeBron James or Michael Jordan, but how many of those are there? It's true that NBA ratings have been falling for years. Last year's NBA Finals between the Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks averaged 11.3 million viewers, down 27% from 2014 (LeBron James was playing in those), and down 37% from 2004 (with the Lakers and Kobe Bryant). The ratings for the NBA playoffs are actually slightly up this year compared to a year ago. But more broadly, the entire TV ratings universe has fallen 54% in the last 10 years. 'Linear TV' – broadcast and cable – now accounts for less than 50% of all the video viewing in the U.S. Is any of this breaking news anymore? Can we broaden our lens a bit in analyzing success and failure? Most importantly for the solidity of the NBA's future as well as its present is the new media rights deal it announced last July which is going into effect next season. The NBA closed an 11-year, $76 billion agreement for national TV and streaming distribution with Disney (ESPN and ABC), NBCUniversal (including Peacock) and Amazon. That's a dollar amount three times larger than the deal the NBA signed with Turner Networks (now part of Warner Bros. Discovery) and Disney nine years ago. None of the new and returning media partners were unaware of the ratings environment when they signed on the dotted line. As the NBA's SVP for Partnerships, Lauren Sullivan, told me in the midst of busy Finals prep, the new deal will bring 40% more nationally televised games during the regular season, including weekly national prime time broadcasts on NBC on Tuesday and Sunday nights, as well as a massive increase in nationally streamed games via Peacock and Amazon. There's little or no ability to predict the future path of ratings, but in a world of future ratings blindness, the one-eyed live sports broadcast remains King. This enhanced distribution helps drive awareness and fan engagement throughout the year, not just during the Finals. Sullivan emphasized throughout the course of our discussion of the NBA Finals that the league's approach to marketing demands '365-day planning and storytelling [with an] Partnerships have to work for all. NBA team marketing sponsorship revenues topped $1.6 billion last year, and marketers and media partners get access to the breadth of the NBA fan base especially its highly engaged younger audiences, which aren't easy to reach anymore on linear TV broadcasts. Marketers with ongoing NBA partnerships, including through the Finals, include Puma, Michelob Ultra and YouTube TV. The metrics around social media fan engagement are increasingly critical, as both Sullivan as well as the NBA's SVP for Digital and Social Content Bob Carney pointed out to me. According to Carney, the NBA works with 'an unbelievably rich community' comprised of the league, broadcast partners like ESPN, digital and social media partners such as Bleacher Report and House of Highlights, individual media talent and a huge creator community that the NBA has cultivated over the course of the last decade. As Carney pointed out, the NBA social content strategy leans heavily into its Instagram account (with its 90 million followers), and Sullivan proudly trumpeted the league's 'takeover' of Instagram's own Instagram account (that's a thing) which has over 700 million followers. Video highlights are a huge part of the NBA's content strategy given that social media algorithms are driven by the amount of time spent with videos, and the NBA is constantly looking to create stories with its players, teams and marketing partners that will drive extended video viewing. One of the immediate winners in the NBA Finals marketing sweepstakes is Converse which has hit the jackpot with its celebrity endorser, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ('SGA'), the NBA's new MVP and the star of the Finals-playing Thunder, a deal in play long before the Finals. In case you haven't heard much of him, SGA leads all NBA players in social media engagement in these playoffs with 864 million views. You can add in fellow shoe brand Puma (leaning into the now-laughable designation of Pacers' star Tyrese Haliburton as 'overrated" by his fellow players). Halliburton, that 'overrated' guy, is third in social media playoff views with 679 million. Needless to say, partnerships with these stars aren't going to live or die on TV ratings. Yeah, but it's still two small market teams playing in the Finals, right? Carney almost laughed at the notion that young audiences, especially internationally, particularly care about the market size of the NBA Finalists. The Finals will be distributed in 214 countries and territories in 60 languages, with 'NBA House' live fan events in Brazil, Canada, Mexico and India, and official viewing parties in China, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It's all part of the league's long-term strategy of expanding its global footprint. For those still fixated on the U.S. linear TV ratings, you need to get your eye on the bouncing ball.
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Timberwolves at Thunder Game 1 picks, odds, how to watch: Anthony Edwards vs. SGA in Western Conference finals
The final four teams left in this year's NBA Playoffs have a combined two championships, and those were from the early 1970s. These fans have been patiently waiting for a conference finals to get excited for. Starting Tuesday night, top-seeded Oklahoma City takes on Minnesota for the right to rep the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle and the Timberwolves are vying to make a first Finals appearance in the franchise's 36-year history. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren and the Thunder come in off a 68-win regular season and a dramatic seven-game second round. It's an awesome (if slightly unexpected) matchup between two small-market squads, both buoyed by aggressive front offices and cohesive roster-building philosophies. Advertisement This game will also be streamed on ESPN+. Series odds: Thunder -350, Timberwolves +280 The Thunder franchise technically claimed a league title in 1979 as the Seattle SuperSonics. Anyone familiar with the Sonics' torturous relocation saga will bristle at the idea of a shared history, though. As it stands, this blue-and-orange outfit has yet to hoist the Larry O'Brien Trophy, even when it had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden on the court together. No. 1 seed Oklahoma City is the favorite to advance, but the competition is both formidable and feeling itself. With Chris Finch pacing the sideline, Minnesota has dropped just two total games in its first two series. It toppled the Lakers and then Warriors with successive 4-1 series wins. Edwards has been a high-usage bucket per usual in the playoffs (26.5 points per game, 44.5 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from 3). The supporting scorers have boosted him with clutch efficiency. Jaden McDaniels looks nothing short of stellar on both ends of the floor. Naz Reid sources perpetual heat checks off the bench. Most saliently, Randle is playing with a relaxed swagger that we've never seen from his checkered postseason tenure. In two playoff runs with New York, Randle stumbled to unsightly shooting splits of 34.4/28.3/75.6. Through 10 games this postseason: 50.9/34.5/88.9 (not gross at all!), with an affirming assist-turnover ratio and a Kevin Garnett-esque triple-double in last round's Game 3. Even better, the defense has been inspired, disciplined and unafraid of the playoff staging. Minnesota is allowing just 101 points per game while forcing an average of 16 turnovers. Among regulars, Rudy Gobert has the best offensive and defensive ratings on the team. Last time out, Minnesota shuffled through Golden State's screen-heavy action and applied searing on-ball pressure along the perimeter. Randle's been better in coverages, Edwards looks invigorated in man-to-man and the whole group has held opponents to 25 percent shooting in clutch minutes. Advertisement The only remaining defense with better marks than Minnesota is Oklahoma City. The Thunder lead the playoffs in defensive rating and points off turnovers. The usual languid, funky efficiency of Nikola Jokić was disrupted by the Thunder's two-big lineup with Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. They were able to stunt Jokić without selling out on other Nuggets — Mark Daigneault's defense yielded a series of recurring nightmares for Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun. OKC's offense was clunkier than expected against Denver. At least Jalen Williams got right in Game 7 (24 points with seven assists to one giveaway). Gilgeous-Alexander was MVP-caliber in Sunday's closeout, too, finishing at 12-for-19 with 35 points, three steals and no turnovers. At large, though, something about the offense feels a bit off. Through 11 playoff games, the Thunder's top three 3-point shooters by volume (Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort) are each below 30 percent. Alex Caruso and Isaiah Joe have been locked in from deep, but conference finals matchups are seldom determined by second-unit guards. To free up cleaner looks from 3, Gilgeous-Alexander will hope to continue living at the free-throw line, while the Holmgren-Hartenstein frontcourt will try to avoid foul trouble. One time for OKC's playoff crowds, which have been wearing the arena-issued playoff T-shirts at a near-100 percent clip. The Thunder are favored at home, which makes sense for Game 1, but underestimate Edwards and his howling Wolves at your own peril. Starting five of players to wear both jerseys 1995 — Rockets 115, Suns 114: In a second-round Game 7's waning moments, Mario Elie buried a 3 and eliminated Phoenix with his 'kiss of death.' Tom Friend in the New York Times: 'Elie, who honed his shot at a park on the corner of 99th and Amsterdam in New York, stole the series by draining a 3-point corner shot with 7.1 seconds remaining. 'I told him he's a wicked man,' Houston center Hakeem Olajuwon said of Elie.' Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Anthony Edwards: Ellen Schmidt / Getty Images)
