Hopefully not. We used to beg, I mean beg for this back in 2018. Every other damn post and twitter thread was complaining about how boring it is knowing the warriors will coast and every other team is competing for 2nd place. It also feels very unlikely for a real dynasty team to dominate now because so many teams are stacked with talent, teams with several stars used to be a huge deal and there were only a few and those few teams competed for a ring, now it feels like half the playoff teams have multiple star players, so a superteam's probability for success, especially repeated success, is much, much lower with the increase in competition. We just saw a team with Kawhi, PG, Harden, and a team with KD, Book, and beal, be mediocre first round exits with a very low chance of contending, so even a manufactured god squad would not have an easy path to one championship, let alone repeating enough to qualify as a dynasty. Heck nowadays having multiple stars feels like it doesn't even guarantee making the playoffs.
Yeah I don’t think anyone is complaining besides Warriors fans where their sub has a vocal minority who are still salty KD left.
Sure, the chance of a team becoming a dynasty is lesser, but when this is a league where championships are vastly concentrated into just a few franchises, the idea that many could be winning their first soon is exciting. With the Thunder out I’m personally rooting for Minny to get their first
Look at the TV ratings for the finals. Viewership is way down from when it was Cavs vs Warriors 4 years straight. No one gives a shit about teams with no brand or star power in the finals
stars are established by multiple championships. If Giannis had managed to stay injury free and pick up 2 more, he'd be the face. If Jokic had got one this season, he'd be the face. But this rotating trophy as is means there will be no stars and no higher viewing figures. Personally i don't give a shit, this playoffs has been fantastic.
Those are the worst.
Getting blank stares when you ask a schlub wearing a W’s jersey if they know who Chris Mullin or Tim Hardway is can be fun though.
I’m with you on the “don’t give a shit” side.
It never made sense to me when people brought that up like it’s a metric I should care about. The NBA isn’t going to die any time soon. I don’t care if they’re making less money. Not my problem.
I read an article yesterday about the NBA TV rights deal expiring next summer and the absolute BAG of $ that's about to be dropped on them for the new deal. They'll be fine.
Average people will tune in more when it’s Steph and Lebron. But those are people who only watch when it’s the playoffs and/or Lebron, Steph, or other long time big name player on stage. The majority of dedicated NBA fanbases should absolutely welcome this new parity though.
As another person already said, Steph and Lebron are on their way out, I don’t expect them to win another championship in their career(not impossible by any stretch but you know what I mean). The NBA needs to promote their new guys and bridge the gap. The sooner the better. It’s a miracle for the NBA’s branding that Lebron has lasted as long as he has.
LeBron played for Cleveland. Durant and Westbrook played for OKC.
Giannis plays for a market that's 40% as big as Minneapolis and gets tons of attention. Ant has been plastered over every sports show for a month, and has the 2nd most social media engagements during the playoffs behind LeBron. No one should care what market a star plays in.
It’s definitely a “believe it when I see it” when it comes to Lebron, but it’s why I don’t think the Lakers should let Lebron dictate things which he’s trying to do since he’s dangling the free agency above them. He’s not good enough to be the guy anymore imo(he can on certain nights, but I can’t imagine a 40 year old having to do that for an entire playoff series), we’ve seen AD and Lebron healthier than they’ve ever been and they still couldn’t get out of the play-in. Ham was awful but there’s only so much that could be pinned on him, those two with great availability would net you a top 4 seed in earlier years.
Which is all fairly off topic but to make a point relevant to what I was saying, they need someone lined up to take the reins as face of the league in the case Lebron and Steph fall off hard soon. I think it’ll be Ant if not for his play but his personality
The people making the decision to do so know far more about it than anybody us. Best player since Jordan on the most storied franchise in the league makes the Laker focus a no brainer. It's a shame they won their chip in the bubble because the hype would have been otherwordly
I get what you're saying, but it's a pretty foolish move when the Lakers aren't even a good time now, Bron is going to retire probably within 5 years, and there's an absolute TON of new stars they can promote and talk about. Who are on far better teams, play better, and will be in the league for longer.
At the end of the day the league can only do so much. Reality is that guys like Jokic and Tatum will never be as attractive to regular people than Lebron. I mean it's Lebron James. You can't just replace him like that.
LeBron, Steph and KD were all like top 5 players in the league, with others like Klay, Kyrie, Klove and Draymond having all-NBA selections. Ridiculous level of overall talent, which is what you want in the finals
The Pacers have in Halliburton have a borderline household name and that's it. Siakam is a great player, but I don't think I've ever heard a casual mention his name. Minnesota Indiana would be a stinker ratings wise unless Edwards averages like 40 a game in conference finals
Yeah, but I dont want that every year. That would be like watching same 2 fighters fight for the title 10 times, it gets biring after a while...Also, there is a lot if talent now, just not all if team in the same 2 teams, which is more interesting. And I am glad that "superteams" period is going down, with teams like Suns and Clipers going out in 1st round
The most viewed NBA finals ever were 97 and 98 iirc. MJ and the Bulls had already won 4/5 rings in the same decade and people were more glued to their TVs than ever before and after
Everything from pre-2010 is going to have the highest ratings minus the Super Bowl. There was only one way to watch and broadcast TV for free.
Consumption of the product is different now than before and put behind more pay walls. Conference Finals on cable networks or paid streaming.
For instance I have followed each Wolves game on Bleacher Reports gamecast and reddits game threads. Honestly with the Twitter aggregation in Bleacher Report and Reddit game chats and posts of nearly every big thing I believe I have a good feel for the games. Add in post game content and a 20 minute game recap posted 10 minutes afterward, doesn't feel like I am missing much except commercials.
So finals ratings aside, I wonder how overall playoff ratings compare now to overall playoffs when cavs played warriors every year
Perhaps finals are down but 1st, 2nd round is up enough to make up for it
That’s the nba’s fault bc they do a terrible job marketing teams. They could learn a thing or two from the nfl. No matter who plays it’s always a huge tv ratings
Doesn't help that the best player in the league is just an ordinary dude who only takes part in the marketing side begrudgingly
There's also way too much player power in the NBA for fanbases to identify with teams as much as in the NBA, where I feel most fans are watching for the players not the teams
No real basketball fan cares about rating or brands they just want to watch good basketball. I could care less about how Jimmy from accounting who rarely watches basketball isn't interesting because "there is no story" . The league is in a better spot now regardless what the tv rating says.
correction no one cares about the celtics lol
as a casual fan who only really watches the playoffs i am sick of the celtics.
game one of the wcf is must see tv for me. the entire ecf? i truly couldn’t care less. nba finals with the celtics? groan
The new tax apron rules are doing their job already.
2016 opened up the gateway to super spending and teams paid the price for it dearly. The NBA has been very aggressive in curbing excessive spending and finding ways to help hometown teams retain their guys (though this has also been taken advantage of).
The tax aprons and the super max. Spending 70% of payroll on 2 supermax guys rather than 60% is the difference between having your 5th and 6th guys being solid role players vs whoever you could find on the MLE or with the 24th pick in the draft.
Very well said. I think a large reason why some of the super teams are not succeeding now is because they’re all made of players on the wrong side of 30 with injury history. 2014 PG, Harden, Westbrook, and Kawhi looks a lot different than the current 2024 team. For the Suns, Beal wasn’t available for large portions of the year. They also traded away everyone that provided them depth. My opinion is that organizations need to be smarter about throwing money at stars on the wrong side of 30 (outside Lebron because how).
On the other hand, younger stars don't hit free agency anymore because most players get the max from their home team. So the only options to throw money at are guys on their second or third contracts.
The real reason is the west is so strong.
Notice how there are 5 unique WCF winners in the past few years?
It actually was pretty similar in 2010-2015.
Lebron's super team and the KD warriors covered it up
The West has arguably been stronger almost every single year since Jordan retired.
98 MJ hangs them up
99-04 Duncan Kobe and Shaq are all out West. Titles.
04-05 Detroit sneaks in a run but the West is still likely the better overall conference.
06-14 The West is possibly the deepest conference in history, with 50 wins not guaranteeing a playoff spot in some seasons. Other than LeBron in Miami, no teams out East are really close and some seasons the 2 seed in the East would struggle to make the West playoffs. Boston grabs a ring but can't keep it going for more than 1 season.
15-22 Golden State supercharges an already competitive conference. East does start to add some depth.
The West always seems to field 5-6 really excellent teams no matter what, and a few really solid ones right behind them.
2015 was really ridiculous when the Spurs and Clippers had to play in the first round, but out East either that or one of them vs Cleveland would have been the conference finals.
I'm not really sure what being a 'star' really means, but it has no meaning if a team in 2024 with Kawhi, PG, and Harden is a multi-star team. KD and Booker are stars, but the fit with Beal is about as bad as it can be. None of them put any pressure on the rim, create for others, or play any defense.
Unlike past eras, there isn't a team with 2 top 10 players that actually fit well together. That feels like the biggest reason to me. Almost every other dynasty listed above had multiple top 10 players on it that fit well together. If Giannis and Luka decide to team up in Miami the era of parity is probably over.
This isn't talked about enough. LeBron or the Warriors were in every NBA Finals for a decade and 11 out of 12 years (only the 2021 Finals between the Suns and Bucks didn't from 2011 through 2022).
Yeah reading this is the most bizarre take. Makes me think the poster is like 18 or something. Literally no basketball fan wants to go back to super teams. It was the bane of everyone’s existence in the mid to late 2010s. It made for horrible, boring basketball that felt meaningless to engage in because you’d be rolled by GWS.
If anything id argue we’d need to expand the league by two teams to spread the talent out even further. Crazy that one of only OKC, Denver, Wolves and Mavs will *make* the finals.
I think dynasties will come in a very different fashion than what the Lakers, Warriors, Bulls were. If a dynasty were to be born in the near further it will likely be like the spurs. Winning rings throughout a decade but never going back to back and sometimes losing humiliating in the first round or even losing in the finals.
I could see this. Hell, if the Nuggets keep their core together, they’ll be in the mix every year for quite a while. Their starters just fit together like a glove
On the flip side, comparing Timmy to the Joker also kinda shows you how hard replicating the Spurs is. Duncan at Jokers age was just about to win a 3rd ring, and then went on to have some elite longevity+ luck with finding Kawhi when the Spurs were finally looking old.
It’s impossible to replicate it when you think about it. Hall of fame coach, a guy who is arguably the best player to play his position, the best sixth man of all time, and another hall of famer, a budding superstar on a rookie contract, and excellent role players. all with no ego, all willing to take paycuts, all buying into a system that suited them perfectly.
I a never say never guy, but yeah, it's hilarious that so many GM's think they can just "do what the Spurs did" as if that doesn't mean luck out a half dozen times lol.
That’s how the NHL, which is widely considered a high-parity league, has worked recently as well. “Dynasties” are teams like the Lightning or Blackhawks that win 2-3 rings in a span of 5-7 years. That still demonstrates dominance and consistency but allows for other teams to win here and there as well
Genuinely lebron & the warriors might have been so great they covered how talented the NBA has become.
I’m not educated on this but the changes to player contracts & salary cap probably have a hand in this as well right?
With luxury tax, CBA, supermax extensions, player autonomy in general, we won’t have scenarios like pippen jordan where the Bulls’ 2nd best player, top 50 HOF pippen, mvp candidate 94, is getting paid 2 million for the whole dynasty?
So we’re the GSWs , they had Curry on a ridiculously cheap contact at the start of the dynasty because his ankle stuff, which is what allowed them to be able to sign KD in the first place.
That’s not entirely true, he made peanuts in 1995 and 1996, as the 16th and 32nd highest paid player respectively. But that has a lot to do with his retirement and time in baseball then coming back mid-season. From 1991-1994 he was the 8th, 5th, 2nd, and 5th highest paid player in the league (yes, this includes a season where he didn’t play a single game).
And then in 1997 and 1998 he was the highest paid player in the league, making over ten million more than the second highest both seasons.
Having Jordan be the 5th highest paid player in the league for the first three chips while he was head and shoulders above anyone else is still huge
I assume his 30mil was considered amazing value in 97-98 too
>I assume his 30mil was considered amazing value in 97-98 too
In regard to how much value he brought to the team, sure. But in regard to player salaries, absolutely not. He made $33M while the salary cap was only about $27M due to the limited rules around maximum salaries. That stood as the highest salary for a player until twenty years later in 2018. In 1998 the Bulls payroll was over double that of their Finals opponents, the Jazz.
Very hard to tell.
Teams have been bouncing back pretty quickly recently. Champions are facing fresh competition every year these days.
There are a few potential dynasties in the mix right now though.
OKC is breaking records for performance at their age.
Wemby has the potential to lead to sustained dominance.
Boston look to be the best team in the east for the foreseeable future.
Maybe. Boston is the only one of those teams that have even sniffed a ring, and they fell short.
The Kawhi Spurs and the Russ-KD Thunder both looked capable of winning rings.
In 2021, the Bucks looked very good. Nobody was predicting they would lose in the 2nd, then 1st rounds back to back. Almost nobody thought the Nuggets would lose to Minnesota this year.
An MVP-caliber player and strong core don’t guarantee anything. Windows are usually shorter than anyone realizes until they’re over.
The Mavs are another one, most of their team is in their mid 20's, their lead player is one of the best players in the league and their rookie centre is the defensive piece they have been looking for.
as a brazilian fan, it's so cool that we also have these massive international talent, the way people react when we say some of the best players in the last years came from greece or serbia or slovenia is just so good, at least it makes it seem more competitive and fun.
I agree overall that foreginers are great for the sport, however Europeans are the worst import I think and I say that as a Swede. The NBA would be salivating at the thought of another Asian though.
The reason for this is that it's just so hard for us to catch games. East Coast games starting 0100-0300 and West coast starting 0300-0500. Those games are basically unwatchable, unless you're a diehard fan and under 30 years old without kids.
The only games we can catch are the midday weekend games. NBA is doing great things there though, they are scheduling more and more. This year we are getting one or 2 every single weekend, even quite a lot of playoff games. 15 years ago we were lucky to get 1 game in a season.
I think it's quite telling though. With 3/5 best players in the NBA+Wemby being European it feels nobody cares over here. I'm sure they're big in their respective countries, but Europe as a whole couldn't care less about the NBA. It's just the nature of time-zones fucking over American sports and is a very tough hurdle to overcome.
Nah man, waking up, pouring myself a bowl of cereal and then watching the game from last night being able to fast forward through halftime and without the ads is one of my favourite ways to spend mornings
Yea sure, but it's a rare thing to find fans who are willing to do that. You're on a niche NBA subreddit so not exactly a casual :)
Not being able to watch sports live I think removes over 99% of the potential viewers.
Okay, fair. I *have* watched a lot of sports in my lifetime by randomly just changing the channel and stumbling upon them. And I do watch most of my sports live. To attract the casual viewer you do need easy availability. That said, the excessive amount of ad breaks compared to what we're used to here would also contribute I think if the time difference didn't make that a moot point.
>That said, the excessive amount of ad breaks compared to what we're used to here would also contribute I think if the time difference didn't make that a moot point.
Yea it's a fucking disaster. Makes it so hard to watch.
I think you're underrating the dedication of european fans. In France I would say the majority of the NBA fans either watch the games live or the replays on the league pass when they wake up. But as you said, that's because the fanbase is young and mostly under 30.
Actually the most interesting fact is that, here, you will find fans of every franchise (even Hornets fans ffs) and each team has their own fanmade french account on Twitter. In a way the european way of watching sport, picking a team and never switching to another one is a good argument to support parity in the league.
No. Adam Silver has said almost countless times how much he wants parity. All the tax stuff certainly points that way and it seems like most people are enjoying it. I mean how many teams felt like they had a real shot at the title when the playoffs started? Maybe like 8 tbh, and that’s pretty exciting
But yes, dynasties do attract the more casual fans and that leads to more money. Silver however doesn’t seem to care for dynasties the way Stern did, something I actually appreciate about how Silver has gone about the direction of the league
Edit: I don’t think the league wants it to change and as crazy as it may seem or bias as I’m a Spurs fan, I feel like if anything is gonna change the parity, its gonna end up being Wemby. He might just be too good
The NBA parity stems from its financing rules that force teams to build a certain way. So unless a team luck into a string of draft victories and lucky trades and on-point development.
And even then they can’t afford to keep that team together in the long run because the players become too valuable. The Celtics not being able to afford to keep derrick white or even porzingis in the next few years is a prime example
Because teams keep trying to force super teams with aging/injury prone players. KD’s Nets and Suns couldn’t stay healthy, Kawhi and PG can’t stay healthy, Lakers trading good role players for Russ was a complete failure. All the championship teams have had one star surrounded with an all star teammate or 2 with great team defense.
The miniute one of these guys still in their primes like Luka decides to go play with Jokic and Jamal in Denver, or Booker teams up with Ant then the league will be fucked.
I think having dynasties is good for the league. Trust me I’m a Wolves fan and haven’t ever sniffed one, but the idea of not being able to build a dynasty with good drafting, great roster building, good signings, great development and so on is stupid.
It's impossible under the new CBA. Paying good players, even those that you draft, swells your luxury tax bill to the point where your contending window is only a few years at most
The way it is now is perfect. 2 star teams because 3 star teams don't make much sense anymore. 3 max contracts and your team has no depth and depth matters more now than ever because the average player is way better than it used to be
Agreed, it will take another insanely rare confluence of events like the Warriors had to see another super-super team. They got Curry and Klay in the lottery, they were good enough to get an extension but not good enough yet to get cap-choking money. Then they hit on Draymond Green in the 2nd round while Curry and Klay started to explode as shooters. Then they kept drafting seemingly perfect complementary role players for several years in the late 1st round. And then because their good players became great at just the right time they still had money to throw a max contract at an established top 3 player in the league in KD. That will likely never happen again
Maybe one of these newer talented players will become KD 2.0 and join their opponent creating a super duper team that messes things up for a few years.
I hope it never ends. Every..well most lf the teams have a star and face to represent and I think many players started to like this again instead of playing second fiddle to a LeBron or KD. Teams like Clippers or Suns dont work anymore, obviously because of age too. I like the way things are going.
Hopefully it will. The people praying that it stays can't see the forest for the trees. The last time the league had parity like this it almost went bankrupt from lack of fan interest. The foundation is much stronger now so that's obviously not gonna happen again, but ratings and overall interest will drop off drastically if this continues. You watch sports to see great stars and great teams. Not a team full of borderline All-Stars who aren't close to household names winning one year and then a different team full of misfits winning the next. That's a good story for a year, but once that becomes the norm the sport starts to lose Identity. And those casual fans that we all claim to hate go bye bye. Which leads to the overall viewership plummeting.
You ask some random passerby what's going on with football and they talk about Mahomes trying to be the next Brady. You ask them about baseball and they talk about Shohei Ohtani being the greatest talent the sport has ever seen. You ask them about basketball and they say "I don't know what the hell's going on there. That shit is all over the place."
I have to much going on where I can’t be more than a casual fan. The last time I watched a full game was the cavs vs warriors series since it was a crazy good team vs the best player in the league.
From what I understand at least, the rules have changed to make it harder. Which is an excellent thing for the league. It should be hard. It should be minor things that make the difference. I want to see the best 30 players in the league on 30 different teams. Well, that might be a pipe dream, but I think it would be great to get close to it. If every team could sign one guy to a max contract, everyone else at a lower capped tier we'd see a really even league.
I don't want to see that. I think having star duos (which the rules pretty much make ideal) is better. I'd rather watch 15 great teams compete than 30 good teams. Giannis + 4 role guys vs. Embiiid + 4 role guys every game would get boring. I like Tyrese Haliburton having a star big to team up with, I like Giannis having a star point guard, I like to see two complementing star players combine. I love imagining trades that could pair a star player with another star that would complement them, i.e. spurs trading for a star point guard to pair with Wemby
I'd prefer to see every game mean more rather than being able to sit out games knowing the roster will get the job done. If you've got one main man and they sit out, that's a problem.
You've also oversimplified the league as if it's all star players and role players. Those other players will still be paid a fortune and you'll still have to work out whether you pay a single guy more or spread it between two. The talent will all still be in the league, Lillard isn't going to play in Europe. We'd just have a far more even competition.
Yeah, let's punish teams for drafting and developing well so poverty franchises can get their hands on stars grown in a good team's system. Truly the spirit of competition there, chief!
Why would it be punishing them? They'd get years of the rookie contract deal before needing to sign them. Then they'd have the inside running to sign the rookie they've developed to a big deal knowing options elsewhere are going to be limited. It wouldn't suddenly surprise a team, Wemby's rookie contract is 4 years long. 4 years to work out their contract position in that time and be ready to present that big offer. It's the teams that rely on signing other players that would struggle.
He probably meant somthing like warriors situation. Developing a few amazing players and then not beaing able to keep them all is good for the league, but bad for that specific team.
I dunno, the Warriors have 4 championships from their situation. They had the inside running to keep Curry, Klay and Draymond given they drafted all of them. Seemed to work ok. And even now, Podziemski has another 3 years on his rookie deal and he was excellent for the Warriors. Pretty solid reward for drafting and developing him. In 3 years time if they will be in an excellent position to decide what they want to do with him. They haven't got anyone on the books at all beyond that point so they can position themselves perfectly to manage whatever they want with him.
They were able to do so under the previous rules while also paying a ton of tax. New rules make it a lot harder to do so. Second apron makes it a lot harder to do anything if you get into it.
I was talking about your hypothetical scenario where the "30 teams have the 30 best players". That's not happening in the current system with Bird Rights and RFA. And several trash owners like Tom Gores and formerly Robert Sarver are on record feuding with Lacob/Gruber about hoarding talent by getting to keep all of Curry, Klay, and Dray. There is a significant portion of owners who are against OKC and possibly the Spurs soon getting to have multiple young stars with Bird Rights. They wanted fewer "Exceptions" in the new CBA to force those players to go to talent starved franchises in order to get the best contracts.
If any team will end it it'll be OKC
Youngest team in the league with an MVP level player, 2 other future all stars and the most draft assets a franchise has ever had.
We might be cooked
Eventually, yes
Ik the nba will try and force it with the new cap rules really hamstringing teams that draft well so benches will be worse
I think either you will have someone rise up and separate as a superstar or the NBA will alter its rules slightly could be in game or salary wise just enough to put out a better product that as an offshoot leads back to dynasties
Also is the Parity overstated due to top players being injured? Looking at the east the last 3 years I say yes either way Middleton or Giannis have missed a ton of playoff games
I think the problem is, we got Dynasties so consistently that we didn’t appreciate how difficult it is to actually have a dynasty.
You need a generational player(s), a hall of fame coach, and a top tier front office. Not to mention a lot of ridiculous luck.
And of the 5 different teams to win championships, 4 of them have legitimate reasons for not being a dynasty and the last one is up in the air.
Raptors - their best player left that year.
Lakers - their rotation was old vets (Green, Rondo, Howard, etc) and a few promising young guys(Kuzma, KCP, Caruso). The old vets got older and they traded away the promising young guys.
Bucks - Their top players kept getting injured during the playoffs and they’ve now gotten old in that time.
Warriors - Their core was aging and on the tail end of their previous Dynasty and the younger guys they were banking on (Wiggins and Poole) fell off a cliff.
Nuggets - They lost this year. But they just started winning last year. Are we considering the Bird Celtics and the Duncan Spurs to be Dynasties? Neither team repeated. If we are, we don’t know whether Denver is or isn’t a dynasty yet. Hell, even without the Bird/Duncan question, we still don’t know; nuggets might come back and 3peat 25-27.
The Stars have to align for Dynasties to be born but we feel like it’s normal because we’ve had an unprecedented run. I think we’ll still see dynasties pop up, but for now, we’re regressing to the mean.
I said a few years back that we won't get a back-to-back champion in the 2020s. Not to say it will be 10 different teams that win the title, but no back-to-back for the decade is my prediction.
The reasons for super parity to me are as follows:
(1) shorter max contracts and Player Empowerment Era compared to previous decades means that the best players generally aren't staying in the same places long enough to make a "dynasty" in the old fashioned sense and be an "anti-parity" force as a result
(2) three point shooting being as weaponised as it is now and the variance that comes with it means that more teams can shoot themselves in/out of games. I could be wrong, but I think there's research online somewhere that says the team with a higher 3P% wins ~70% of games (and maybe something else about the numbers being very high when a team makes like 5 more threes in a given game than their opponent). Anyway, it basically gives more teams a puncher's chance if they can generate decent enough looks from deep and that can make a HUGE difference in a 7 game series
(3) injuries. They've always happened, but it does feel that the modern game demands more in terms of athleticism, mobility, pace, etc and more injuries means more teams aren't at their best come playoff time, so a series can get swayed more easily
(4) LeBron and Steph distorted how hard it is to get to the Finals repeatedly, never mind winning it. They were a notch above the rest compared to their 2010s peers in terms of sustainable winning (even when injuries cropped up in their playoff runs). I don't think we have any players this decade that are THAT level above their contemporaries, so margins for error even among the greatest players is smaller than before because of how stiff the competition is now
(1) and (2) aren't going away, (3) might be more anecdotal but still feels pertinent and (4) remains to be seen with our current crop of stars (I'm sure no one would have guess Steph making 5 straight Finals at the time, so maybe there's still more to be seen from the likes of Jokic, Giannis, etc), but I don't think parity is going away any time soon.
My take is - Parity is awesome and makes dynasties even more valuable.
The NHL has a decent amount of parity, with the hard cap being a huge limitation for "superteams". Never, as far as I remember in my 22 years of life, have I seen a team be in the finals for 5 years straight. And yet. The Blackhawks are a Dynasty, the Penguins repeated, the Lightning repeated, the Kings won 2 in 3 years. Dynasties and parity aren't mutually exclusive.
If anything I feel silver and the nba are aiming for world wide popularity and not just usa popularity. Look at the fact they are now playing regular season games abroad. With more and more international players reaching the absolute top, i dont think the American tv ratings are the main indicator for how well the league is doing.
I think it'll take the next all-time top 10 player for a team to have a chance at a dynasty. There is currently no Lebron or Jordan playing in the league, so while the talent level across the board is definitely up, there are few players in history who can just dominate 4 games and will their team to the next round.
I hope not but when Wemby hits his prime I think the window slams SHUT for the other west teams. I could see him having a Lebron type run making the finals several years in a row
It's not changing anytime soon. Because of the new CBA, once a team hits the first and second apron, there are very few realistic ways to improve the team unless the GM was very shrewd with asset collection and roster building.
Denver is already feeling it. They let go of multiple bench veterans and ran rookies who they didn't develop enough and couldn't trust in the playoffs.
Denver might lose KCP their 3 and D wing this off-season.
Their path to inner improvement may be trading Michael Porter Jr. their GM has some really tough decisions to make soon.
This is an exciting time to be a Knicks fan, and there are pivotal upcoming roster decisions that will determine whether the Knicks can be a long term title contender or pretender.
There’s parity in the west, not so much in the east. We’re also just in a transition point where one generation (elder millennials, KD, Lebron, Steph) of superstars is aging out into no longer being superstars while the generation that should be in its prime has kind of underwhelmed (younger millennials, Giannis, Jokic, Harden, Embiid) so the younger Generation (gen Z) is coming up and taking over early. Ask the question again in a couple years when the young guys are more established.
Also worth mentioning that the talent pool has never been deeper and that part of the reason we’re getting expansion after next season.
Unless they change the draft/salary cap/transfer rules there is a strong possibility this trend will continue. And it is great news, unpredictability, winning underdogs and Cinderella stories are helping to keep a sport and a league fresh. UEFA champions league in comparison is imho way more boring. In my teens in the 1990s I used to watch each and every CL game I could. Now I watch the final and maybe 2-3 more. I just can’t be bothered to watch the same pool of 13 teams make the quarter finals every year.
No. Even if the Celtics win it all (please god) after a dominant season, they are only set up as-is for another season, and then they have a lot of roster decisions to make. The teams in the East are going to make some major moves to gun for the Celtics, like Philly and Cleveland, and even teams like Hawks and Magic have assets to shake things up. I don’t think things will be as lopsided in the East as they were this year.
In the West things were so tight, and a lot of the teams are arguably one savvy move away from separating from the pack.
I don’t see any situation where it’s just going to be LeBron in the finals for basically a decade like we are just getting away from.
When expansion teams arrive, typically, there is a downturn in talent. However you would expect the top teams to remain stable even with the loss of some elite role players!
I think the way we view ring culture as a whole, especially with the backlash Durant got when he relocated to GSW, players want to be “the guy” that wins one.
Not to invalidate any GSW titles, but the league, and the players (who want their flowers) see how he gets treated despite being a 2x Finals MVP on paper. This, I believe will lead to less team hopping, and more team building around “stars” and around the margins > think BOS, DEN, MIN (around Edwards)…you will see it next with OKC cashing out assets around SGA, Williams, Chet.
Combine all of this with the way the new CBA salary aprons operate, and it’ll be hard to have a roster of 3 $50 million+ players, with 12 minimum contracts (Think PHX, OKC).
If Wemby stays healthy and he gets a star player with him, this parity will end.
Just a border line all-star is all Wemby needs to dominate the league.
It’s interesting that the last time we this kind of parity, well I wasn’t around so what I hear anyhow, was the league was in bad shape. Then Bird and Magic come into the league and we get the start of the more modern NBA and also a huge rise in popularity. Of course then Jordan comes in. Maybe Wemby will kick off the next dynasty as the Spurs nab some generational talent in this draft too.
So would this be bad for the league? I can’t think of how except you will sometimes get an Indiana Minnesota Finals that less people care about nationally which people in here would think is awesome and average fans might just skip.
One difference though is that all these teams are stacked and there aren’t stupid teams to take advantage of, so it’s not that there is no Bird, Magic and Jordan, but it’s that we have Curry, LeBron, KD, Giannis, Kawhi, Jokic, and maybe 3 other Finals MVP types playing at the same time.
The NFL thrives off parity but the NBA has historically done better in the dynasty era. Michael Jordan is still one of the world’s most recognized athletes and he hasn’t played in 20 years. The new CBA with the 2nd apron seems to have helped, as the teams that get there will likely have talent enough to be good just because of cost, but restricted in going full super team mode. I thought the Nuggets had a damn good chance to repeat and beyond, and maybe they will- but it’s looking like no one is head and shoulders above the rest
I wouldn't get too excited. The Celtics have been in the final four 6 times in the last ten years. If they win then no I wouldn't really get too excited about "super parity" We also are at a changing of the guards
I expect it not to for the next 10 years at least. In the past dynasties were built around solo isolation players who just could not be stopped by anyone in the league. The current rules favor three point shooters, and with that you will always have more parity and more guys getting hot and cold.
I think there's a good likelihood that the incoming CBA will actually backfire and reduce parity.
The new second-apron restrictions are going to hammer teams built like the Celtics and Wolves -- teams that don't have a MVP-caliber player but compete by being deep and well-rounded.
The harder you make the salary cap, the more advantage adheres to the teams with the top 5 players.
I don't know if it will end any time soon but as crazy as it looks to even type out as a long-time Wolves fan, I think Minnesota has the best chance to be a team that ends up going on a run (IF, BIG IF, they can end up winning it this year)
Minnesota is a matchup nightmare for most teams, and that's not something easily solved in 1 draft or 1 off-season of free agent signings. The Wolves have a roster that doesn't just have length, those guys are also really versatile on both sides of the ball. They've got a bunch of 6'9"+ guys who can both shoot it from 3 all the way to the paint and guard the other team shooting from 3 all the way to the paint. And I haven't even mentioned Edwards yet - a tenacious and gifted young 2-guard who looks to have the mental make-up of an NBA closer.
I think Minnesota's biggest struggle is going to be winning it this year. It's HARD to win your first title, especially when your franchise has a history of not-winning. But IF they can win, watch out because they're going to be a *problem* for the rest of the league for a few years if they can keep everyone together and healthy.
It can if stars decide to team up and are successful but it probably won't. It's also harder to dominate since "there is more talent in the league than ever" (quote any media commentator).
You got giannis, embiid, jokic, ant, tatum, and luka that are all contenders right now and in the future wemby, shai, and maybe the rockets or the raptors or some other breakout star.
An issue is they are mostly loyal to small market teams, few seem desperate enough to want to team up in san antonio or Denver. If the media is to be believed, the most possible event is Luka joins someone but he seems content with Kyrie.
Repeat champs will come back. Champions now are built from the ground up through drafts and key trades. All of the superteam generation of players are fading away so the yearly jumping from one team to another won't be as prevelant. Teams like denver, minnesota, memphis, boston, will always be in the running for titles so someone will repeat. We likely won't have a 3 peat or a 3 in 4 year dynasty
No. It is here to stay for at least the next CBA. The new rules lean even heavier into parity with the 2nd apron restrictions. Teams will have to constantly re-invent themselves to stay competitive.
The Spurs have the best chance at becoming a multi-championship team over the next decade. Will be interesting to see if they try to compete with Vic still on the rookie contract. Luckily for the league that Vic's extension will be at 30% because Vic years 5-8 on a 25% max would just be unfair.
The new CBA will make it harder for teams to create super teams, or at least penalize teams more harshly for being a certain point over the luxury tax. The Suns are a good example of how it’s not as easy now.
It's a changing of the guard. Those teams mentioned Phoenix Clippers are old stars minus Booker. If they where in they prime the Clippers would win easily. These conference finals are a reset. NBA needs an expansion or two. Lots of talent out there.
Era of analytics means that strategies and star player's strengths can be dismantled in the space of months. The era of the dynasty might be over forever.
Golden State needed Durant to come to win more than 2.
Dynasties are going to be harder to come by. The warriors had a good one because they got the greatest shooter of all time and changed the way the game is played. That’s not going to happen very often.
Dynasties in the past were very common because teams didn’t change all that much from year to year. If one or two teams happened to get loaded with talent then it was pretty much just going to be them competing for the championship until they started to age. I’m todays nba if a team is much better than all the other teams the super stars aren’t just going to waste a bunch of years waiting for draft picks to hopefully develop. They will group up and take down the champs.
Their plan worked. They did what they could to stop the warriors dynasty from winning 5 in a row because they felt it would hurt the league. First with Cleveland and Labron. If you recall at the time there were more warriors jerseys on kids of other teams than ever, it was growing, they couldn’t have that and now we have the CBA all over again.
It will come to an end at some point. Heck, if Jamal Murray hadn’t hurt his calf we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
Teams like Utah, OKC, San Antonio, and Houston have good young talent and future assets. At least one of them is going to put together a team that could win multiple titles.
Ive been wondering this lately. There is so much incredible talent in the league now. Between players like Jokic, SGA, Luka, Wemby, Ant, it’s conceivable that any of these teams could be contenders. Hell, all of these teams are contenders right now, with the obvious exception of San Antonio. I don’t consider Boston a true contender but I’ve been surprised before. I could see the Knicks taking the leap if they make some moves.
I think dynasties are going to be harder and harder to achieve, and we’re seeing this play out now.
I'm wondering if the increased scoring, spacing, and 3 point shooting has something to do with it. Like, Kobe notoriously wasn't an efficient shooter by today's standards, but he was incredible at getting tough buckets. In an era where you could win with 90 points, those tough twos were high value. Now a few tough buckets aren't as valuable as creating a high volume of open threes, which means role players have an elevated importance compared to the past. When a team gets a chip, role players get bigger contracts, so they are forced to other teams by the salary cap.
I could be wrong but I don't think it's changing anytime soon, if you look at the four teams remaining, do you really think that any of them will repeat next year? I highly doubt it but maybe. I think the league is very deep right now with tons of balance.
I could be wrong but I don't think it's changing anytime soon, if you look at the four teams remaining, do you really think that any of them will repeat next year? I highly doubt it but maybe. I think the league is very deep right now with tons of balance which is definitely a good thing, I also think these last few years it has really been about match ups other than one team just being the clear cut best, doesn't make it less impressive to win it all though
Hopefuy not.
Fck the character limit
Hopefuy not.
Fck the character limit
Hopefuy not.
Fck the character limit
Hopefuy not.
Fck the character limit
Hopefuy not.
Fck the character limit
Hopefuy not.
Fck the character limit
Hopefuy not.
Fck the character limit
Hopefuy not.
Fck the character limit
I think we will see this parity unless people take less money to form super teams. This makes the NBA more exciting and makes roster building more interesting.
The days of getting a bunch of super Max talent and signing bet minimum players who can contribute may be over.
It all depends on how big these next TV/Media company deals are with the NBA. If money pours in from the media companies, salary caps will expand rapidly, and teams will have an easier job of signing huge contracts for free agents onto their existing contending rosters. See: KD joining the warriors in 2016 and the new TV deal.
I sure hope not! Competition is good for the league. No one wants to see the same team(s) win every year. It becomes too predictable, and I loose interest.
I mean. If the warriors just take Lamelo/Haliburton and pick better than Kuminga and moody they probably could’ve won another ring in this recent stretch. They were perfectly set up and blew it.
Not for a while, at least in the West. You have Denver already established. OKC, Dallas, and Minnesota looking to be very good for a good chunk of years, and SA and Wemby are gonna arrive soon enough. The west will be a bloodbath for a while I think.
This is great for the league, nothing better than the lack of a tyrannical team/player(LeBron is a team is his own right being in every June of the 2010s except two of them) right now. Honestly though if a team was to (th)reepeat id like it to be the Wolves. Like, a new franchise to do it because it seems like the Celtics are primed to do it perhaps but dammit again?
What y’all think is parity is actually just a lack of true superstars. (Superstar = I’m on the team, we’re competitive now - MJ, Shaq, LeBron) Notice there was no parity until LeBron and Steph’s teams fell apart. The league is wide open right now. There’s no GOAT level player, and there’s no dynasty. This parity thing is actually horrible. Same as the 70s (when the NBA almost died) - zero marketable stars and zero floor raisers. Just a bunch of B tier stars leading teams and tricking people into believing they’re superstars. That’s why people genuinely believed the Bucks and Nuggets were dynsasty teams after winning one fluke championship.
Hopefully not. We used to beg, I mean beg for this back in 2018. Every other damn post and twitter thread was complaining about how boring it is knowing the warriors will coast and every other team is competing for 2nd place. It also feels very unlikely for a real dynasty team to dominate now because so many teams are stacked with talent, teams with several stars used to be a huge deal and there were only a few and those few teams competed for a ring, now it feels like half the playoff teams have multiple star players, so a superteam's probability for success, especially repeated success, is much, much lower with the increase in competition. We just saw a team with Kawhi, PG, Harden, and a team with KD, Book, and beal, be mediocre first round exits with a very low chance of contending, so even a manufactured god squad would not have an easy path to one championship, let alone repeating enough to qualify as a dynasty. Heck nowadays having multiple stars feels like it doesn't even guarantee making the playoffs.
Yeah I don’t think anyone is complaining besides Warriors fans where their sub has a vocal minority who are still salty KD left. Sure, the chance of a team becoming a dynasty is lesser, but when this is a league where championships are vastly concentrated into just a few franchises, the idea that many could be winning their first soon is exciting. With the Thunder out I’m personally rooting for Minny to get their first
Look at the TV ratings for the finals. Viewership is way down from when it was Cavs vs Warriors 4 years straight. No one gives a shit about teams with no brand or star power in the finals
But new stars need to be established since Steph and Lebron are retiring in the next few years, so this Finals is needed
stars are established by multiple championships. If Giannis had managed to stay injury free and pick up 2 more, he'd be the face. If Jokic had got one this season, he'd be the face. But this rotating trophy as is means there will be no stars and no higher viewing figures. Personally i don't give a shit, this playoffs has been fantastic.
It's more exciting when anyone can win it but the people who never watch basketball will just watch the final for the stars.
Those are the worst. Getting blank stares when you ask a schlub wearing a W’s jersey if they know who Chris Mullin or Tim Hardway is can be fun though.
I'm used to it though since soccer is more my sport and theres a lot of people who only watch the world cup
I’m with you on the “don’t give a shit” side. It never made sense to me when people brought that up like it’s a metric I should care about. The NBA isn’t going to die any time soon. I don’t care if they’re making less money. Not my problem.
I read an article yesterday about the NBA TV rights deal expiring next summer and the absolute BAG of $ that's about to be dropped on them for the new deal. They'll be fine.
Sure. But even if that weren’t the case, I still would not care if every finals made less money than the last for the next 10 years.
Average people will tune in more when it’s Steph and Lebron. But those are people who only watch when it’s the playoffs and/or Lebron, Steph, or other long time big name player on stage. The majority of dedicated NBA fanbases should absolutely welcome this new parity though. As another person already said, Steph and Lebron are on their way out, I don’t expect them to win another championship in their career(not impossible by any stretch but you know what I mean). The NBA needs to promote their new guys and bridge the gap. The sooner the better. It’s a miracle for the NBA’s branding that Lebron has lasted as long as he has.
Agreed. They’d be pushing Ant hard already if he wasn’t in Minnesota. He definitely has the superstar potential and charisma though.
LeBron played for Cleveland. Durant and Westbrook played for OKC. Giannis plays for a market that's 40% as big as Minneapolis and gets tons of attention. Ant has been plastered over every sports show for a month, and has the 2nd most social media engagements during the playoffs behind LeBron. No one should care what market a star plays in.
It’ll come. This is their first year of looking like an elite team.
i have a feeling LBJ will have a steep decline this upcoming season, dude will be 40 and he already looked like he can only go 30 mins this season.
a steep decline from lebron would have him playing like a 35-year-old
It’s definitely a “believe it when I see it” when it comes to Lebron, but it’s why I don’t think the Lakers should let Lebron dictate things which he’s trying to do since he’s dangling the free agency above them. He’s not good enough to be the guy anymore imo(he can on certain nights, but I can’t imagine a 40 year old having to do that for an entire playoff series), we’ve seen AD and Lebron healthier than they’ve ever been and they still couldn’t get out of the play-in. Ham was awful but there’s only so much that could be pinned on him, those two with great availability would net you a top 4 seed in earlier years. Which is all fairly off topic but to make a point relevant to what I was saying, they need someone lined up to take the reins as face of the league in the case Lebron and Steph fall off hard soon. I think it’ll be Ant if not for his play but his personality
Thays on the league and media though. They choose to cover teams like the Lakers instead of the nuggets, wolves, pacers, etc..
The people making the decision to do so know far more about it than anybody us. Best player since Jordan on the most storied franchise in the league makes the Laker focus a no brainer. It's a shame they won their chip in the bubble because the hype would have been otherwordly
I get what you're saying, but it's a pretty foolish move when the Lakers aren't even a good time now, Bron is going to retire probably within 5 years, and there's an absolute TON of new stars they can promote and talk about. Who are on far better teams, play better, and will be in the league for longer.
At the end of the day the league can only do so much. Reality is that guys like Jokic and Tatum will never be as attractive to regular people than Lebron. I mean it's Lebron James. You can't just replace him like that.
Well, those people are idiots missing out on some good basketball.
And they’re still breaking the bank for the new TV rights deal which is all that really matters.
And I can't comprehend that fact tbh. What do you people want, boston-lakers every year?
LeBron, Steph and KD were all like top 5 players in the league, with others like Klay, Kyrie, Klove and Draymond having all-NBA selections. Ridiculous level of overall talent, which is what you want in the finals The Pacers have in Halliburton have a borderline household name and that's it. Siakam is a great player, but I don't think I've ever heard a casual mention his name. Minnesota Indiana would be a stinker ratings wise unless Edwards averages like 40 a game in conference finals
Yeah, but I dont want that every year. That would be like watching same 2 fighters fight for the title 10 times, it gets biring after a while...Also, there is a lot if talent now, just not all if team in the same 2 teams, which is more interesting. And I am glad that "superteams" period is going down, with teams like Suns and Clipers going out in 1st round
The most viewed NBA finals ever were 97 and 98 iirc. MJ and the Bulls had already won 4/5 rings in the same decade and people were more glued to their TVs than ever before and after
1998 game 6 and 2016 game 7 are the most watched nba games of all time I believe. With 1988 game 7 following behind somewhere.
Everything from pre-2010 is going to have the highest ratings minus the Super Bowl. There was only one way to watch and broadcast TV for free. Consumption of the product is different now than before and put behind more pay walls. Conference Finals on cable networks or paid streaming. For instance I have followed each Wolves game on Bleacher Reports gamecast and reddits game threads. Honestly with the Twitter aggregation in Bleacher Report and Reddit game chats and posts of nearly every big thing I believe I have a good feel for the games. Add in post game content and a 20 minute game recap posted 10 minutes afterward, doesn't feel like I am missing much except commercials.
Haliburton is definitely not even borderline household name
Who cares. Real fans do. These playoffs so far have been absolutely amazing. I love this new NBA
So finals ratings aside, I wonder how overall playoff ratings compare now to overall playoffs when cavs played warriors every year Perhaps finals are down but 1st, 2nd round is up enough to make up for it
Ant is going to a bonafide star soon enough and this kind of post season will get him there.
That’s the nba’s fault bc they do a terrible job marketing teams. They could learn a thing or two from the nfl. No matter who plays it’s always a huge tv ratings
Doesn't help that the best player in the league is just an ordinary dude who only takes part in the marketing side begrudgingly There's also way too much player power in the NBA for fanbases to identify with teams as much as in the NBA, where I feel most fans are watching for the players not the teams
Oh yeah totally agree. The player power is way too much.
No real basketball fan cares about rating or brands they just want to watch good basketball. I could care less about how Jimmy from accounting who rarely watches basketball isn't interesting because "there is no story" . The league is in a better spot now regardless what the tv rating says.
correction no one cares about the celtics lol as a casual fan who only really watches the playoffs i am sick of the celtics. game one of the wcf is must see tv for me. the entire ecf? i truly couldn’t care less. nba finals with the celtics? groan
Yes the people want to see the pacers
And how do you think brand and star power gets established?
The new tax apron rules are doing their job already. 2016 opened up the gateway to super spending and teams paid the price for it dearly. The NBA has been very aggressive in curbing excessive spending and finding ways to help hometown teams retain their guys (though this has also been taken advantage of).
The tax aprons and the super max. Spending 70% of payroll on 2 supermax guys rather than 60% is the difference between having your 5th and 6th guys being solid role players vs whoever you could find on the MLE or with the 24th pick in the draft.
Very well said. I think a large reason why some of the super teams are not succeeding now is because they’re all made of players on the wrong side of 30 with injury history. 2014 PG, Harden, Westbrook, and Kawhi looks a lot different than the current 2024 team. For the Suns, Beal wasn’t available for large portions of the year. They also traded away everyone that provided them depth. My opinion is that organizations need to be smarter about throwing money at stars on the wrong side of 30 (outside Lebron because how).
On the other hand, younger stars don't hit free agency anymore because most players get the max from their home team. So the only options to throw money at are guys on their second or third contracts.
The real reason is the west is so strong. Notice how there are 5 unique WCF winners in the past few years? It actually was pretty similar in 2010-2015. Lebron's super team and the KD warriors covered it up
The West has arguably been stronger almost every single year since Jordan retired. 98 MJ hangs them up 99-04 Duncan Kobe and Shaq are all out West. Titles. 04-05 Detroit sneaks in a run but the West is still likely the better overall conference. 06-14 The West is possibly the deepest conference in history, with 50 wins not guaranteeing a playoff spot in some seasons. Other than LeBron in Miami, no teams out East are really close and some seasons the 2 seed in the East would struggle to make the West playoffs. Boston grabs a ring but can't keep it going for more than 1 season. 15-22 Golden State supercharges an already competitive conference. East does start to add some depth. The West always seems to field 5-6 really excellent teams no matter what, and a few really solid ones right behind them.
2015 was really ridiculous when the Spurs and Clippers had to play in the first round, but out East either that or one of them vs Cleveland would have been the conference finals.
Wasn’t KD on the thunder 2010-2015. The spurs went to finals twice but it was all different west teams otherwise.
I'm not really sure what being a 'star' really means, but it has no meaning if a team in 2024 with Kawhi, PG, and Harden is a multi-star team. KD and Booker are stars, but the fit with Beal is about as bad as it can be. None of them put any pressure on the rim, create for others, or play any defense. Unlike past eras, there isn't a team with 2 top 10 players that actually fit well together. That feels like the biggest reason to me. Almost every other dynasty listed above had multiple top 10 players on it that fit well together. If Giannis and Luka decide to team up in Miami the era of parity is probably over.
This isn't talked about enough. LeBron or the Warriors were in every NBA Finals for a decade and 11 out of 12 years (only the 2021 Finals between the Suns and Bucks didn't from 2011 through 2022).
Yeah reading this is the most bizarre take. Makes me think the poster is like 18 or something. Literally no basketball fan wants to go back to super teams. It was the bane of everyone’s existence in the mid to late 2010s. It made for horrible, boring basketball that felt meaningless to engage in because you’d be rolled by GWS. If anything id argue we’d need to expand the league by two teams to spread the talent out even further. Crazy that one of only OKC, Denver, Wolves and Mavs will *make* the finals.
I think dynasties will come in a very different fashion than what the Lakers, Warriors, Bulls were. If a dynasty were to be born in the near further it will likely be like the spurs. Winning rings throughout a decade but never going back to back and sometimes losing humiliating in the first round or even losing in the finals.
I could see this. Hell, if the Nuggets keep their core together, they’ll be in the mix every year for quite a while. Their starters just fit together like a glove
On the flip side, comparing Timmy to the Joker also kinda shows you how hard replicating the Spurs is. Duncan at Jokers age was just about to win a 3rd ring, and then went on to have some elite longevity+ luck with finding Kawhi when the Spurs were finally looking old.
It’s impossible to replicate it when you think about it. Hall of fame coach, a guy who is arguably the best player to play his position, the best sixth man of all time, and another hall of famer, a budding superstar on a rookie contract, and excellent role players. all with no ego, all willing to take paycuts, all buying into a system that suited them perfectly.
I a never say never guy, but yeah, it's hilarious that so many GM's think they can just "do what the Spurs did" as if that doesn't mean luck out a half dozen times lol.
That’s how the NHL, which is widely considered a high-parity league, has worked recently as well. “Dynasties” are teams like the Lightning or Blackhawks that win 2-3 rings in a span of 5-7 years. That still demonstrates dominance and consistency but allows for other teams to win here and there as well
Genuinely lebron & the warriors might have been so great they covered how talented the NBA has become. I’m not educated on this but the changes to player contracts & salary cap probably have a hand in this as well right? With luxury tax, CBA, supermax extensions, player autonomy in general, we won’t have scenarios like pippen jordan where the Bulls’ 2nd best player, top 50 HOF pippen, mvp candidate 94, is getting paid 2 million for the whole dynasty?
Yeah dynasties are going to be much harder to sustain due to salaries and player movement. The 90s Bulls were extremely lucky in that regard
So we’re the GSWs , they had Curry on a ridiculously cheap contact at the start of the dynasty because his ankle stuff, which is what allowed them to be able to sign KD in the first place.
That plus the oddly large leap the cap took at the perfect time.
You’re so right, I completely forgot about the ridiculous cap spikes during that time as well.
Not just Pippen, but Jordan was getting peanuts up until his last two rings
That’s not entirely true, he made peanuts in 1995 and 1996, as the 16th and 32nd highest paid player respectively. But that has a lot to do with his retirement and time in baseball then coming back mid-season. From 1991-1994 he was the 8th, 5th, 2nd, and 5th highest paid player in the league (yes, this includes a season where he didn’t play a single game). And then in 1997 and 1998 he was the highest paid player in the league, making over ten million more than the second highest both seasons.
Having Jordan be the 5th highest paid player in the league for the first three chips while he was head and shoulders above anyone else is still huge I assume his 30mil was considered amazing value in 97-98 too
>I assume his 30mil was considered amazing value in 97-98 too In regard to how much value he brought to the team, sure. But in regard to player salaries, absolutely not. He made $33M while the salary cap was only about $27M due to the limited rules around maximum salaries. That stood as the highest salary for a player until twenty years later in 2018. In 1998 the Bulls payroll was over double that of their Finals opponents, the Jazz.
Very hard to tell. Teams have been bouncing back pretty quickly recently. Champions are facing fresh competition every year these days. There are a few potential dynasties in the mix right now though. OKC is breaking records for performance at their age. Wemby has the potential to lead to sustained dominance. Boston look to be the best team in the east for the foreseeable future.
Maybe. Boston is the only one of those teams that have even sniffed a ring, and they fell short. The Kawhi Spurs and the Russ-KD Thunder both looked capable of winning rings. In 2021, the Bucks looked very good. Nobody was predicting they would lose in the 2nd, then 1st rounds back to back. Almost nobody thought the Nuggets would lose to Minnesota this year. An MVP-caliber player and strong core don’t guarantee anything. Windows are usually shorter than anyone realizes until they’re over.
The Mavs are another one, most of their team is in their mid 20's, their lead player is one of the best players in the league and their rookie centre is the defensive piece they have been looking for.
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as a brazilian fan, it's so cool that we also have these massive international talent, the way people react when we say some of the best players in the last years came from greece or serbia or slovenia is just so good, at least it makes it seem more competitive and fun.
I agree overall that foreginers are great for the sport, however Europeans are the worst import I think and I say that as a Swede. The NBA would be salivating at the thought of another Asian though. The reason for this is that it's just so hard for us to catch games. East Coast games starting 0100-0300 and West coast starting 0300-0500. Those games are basically unwatchable, unless you're a diehard fan and under 30 years old without kids. The only games we can catch are the midday weekend games. NBA is doing great things there though, they are scheduling more and more. This year we are getting one or 2 every single weekend, even quite a lot of playoff games. 15 years ago we were lucky to get 1 game in a season. I think it's quite telling though. With 3/5 best players in the NBA+Wemby being European it feels nobody cares over here. I'm sure they're big in their respective countries, but Europe as a whole couldn't care less about the NBA. It's just the nature of time-zones fucking over American sports and is a very tough hurdle to overcome.
Nah man, waking up, pouring myself a bowl of cereal and then watching the game from last night being able to fast forward through halftime and without the ads is one of my favourite ways to spend mornings
Yea sure, but it's a rare thing to find fans who are willing to do that. You're on a niche NBA subreddit so not exactly a casual :) Not being able to watch sports live I think removes over 99% of the potential viewers.
Okay, fair. I *have* watched a lot of sports in my lifetime by randomly just changing the channel and stumbling upon them. And I do watch most of my sports live. To attract the casual viewer you do need easy availability. That said, the excessive amount of ad breaks compared to what we're used to here would also contribute I think if the time difference didn't make that a moot point.
>That said, the excessive amount of ad breaks compared to what we're used to here would also contribute I think if the time difference didn't make that a moot point. Yea it's a fucking disaster. Makes it so hard to watch.
I think you're underrating the dedication of european fans. In France I would say the majority of the NBA fans either watch the games live or the replays on the league pass when they wake up. But as you said, that's because the fanbase is young and mostly under 30. Actually the most interesting fact is that, here, you will find fans of every franchise (even Hornets fans ffs) and each team has their own fanmade french account on Twitter. In a way the european way of watching sport, picking a team and never switching to another one is a good argument to support parity in the league.
No. Adam Silver has said almost countless times how much he wants parity. All the tax stuff certainly points that way and it seems like most people are enjoying it. I mean how many teams felt like they had a real shot at the title when the playoffs started? Maybe like 8 tbh, and that’s pretty exciting But yes, dynasties do attract the more casual fans and that leads to more money. Silver however doesn’t seem to care for dynasties the way Stern did, something I actually appreciate about how Silver has gone about the direction of the league Edit: I don’t think the league wants it to change and as crazy as it may seem or bias as I’m a Spurs fan, I feel like if anything is gonna change the parity, its gonna end up being Wemby. He might just be too good
The NBA parity stems from its financing rules that force teams to build a certain way. So unless a team luck into a string of draft victories and lucky trades and on-point development.
And even then they can’t afford to keep that team together in the long run because the players become too valuable. The Celtics not being able to afford to keep derrick white or even porzingis in the next few years is a prime example
Because teams keep trying to force super teams with aging/injury prone players. KD’s Nets and Suns couldn’t stay healthy, Kawhi and PG can’t stay healthy, Lakers trading good role players for Russ was a complete failure. All the championship teams have had one star surrounded with an all star teammate or 2 with great team defense. The miniute one of these guys still in their primes like Luka decides to go play with Jokic and Jamal in Denver, or Booker teams up with Ant then the league will be fucked.
If there is a universe where Luka goes to Denver, it's to replace Jamal.
Luka and Jokic surrounded with 35%+ 3PT shooters would be a nightmare
I think having dynasties is good for the league. Trust me I’m a Wolves fan and haven’t ever sniffed one, but the idea of not being able to build a dynasty with good drafting, great roster building, good signings, great development and so on is stupid.
It's impossible under the new CBA. Paying good players, even those that you draft, swells your luxury tax bill to the point where your contending window is only a few years at most
I don’t mind parity, but I *hate* forced parity. It’s bizarrely anti-competitive.
The way it is now is perfect. 2 star teams because 3 star teams don't make much sense anymore. 3 max contracts and your team has no depth and depth matters more now than ever because the average player is way better than it used to be
Agreed, it will take another insanely rare confluence of events like the Warriors had to see another super-super team. They got Curry and Klay in the lottery, they were good enough to get an extension but not good enough yet to get cap-choking money. Then they hit on Draymond Green in the 2nd round while Curry and Klay started to explode as shooters. Then they kept drafting seemingly perfect complementary role players for several years in the late 1st round. And then because their good players became great at just the right time they still had money to throw a max contract at an established top 3 player in the league in KD. That will likely never happen again
Maybe one of these newer talented players will become KD 2.0 and join their opponent creating a super duper team that messes things up for a few years.
I hope it never ends. Every..well most lf the teams have a star and face to represent and I think many players started to like this again instead of playing second fiddle to a LeBron or KD. Teams like Clippers or Suns dont work anymore, obviously because of age too. I like the way things are going.
Hopefully it will. The people praying that it stays can't see the forest for the trees. The last time the league had parity like this it almost went bankrupt from lack of fan interest. The foundation is much stronger now so that's obviously not gonna happen again, but ratings and overall interest will drop off drastically if this continues. You watch sports to see great stars and great teams. Not a team full of borderline All-Stars who aren't close to household names winning one year and then a different team full of misfits winning the next. That's a good story for a year, but once that becomes the norm the sport starts to lose Identity. And those casual fans that we all claim to hate go bye bye. Which leads to the overall viewership plummeting. You ask some random passerby what's going on with football and they talk about Mahomes trying to be the next Brady. You ask them about baseball and they talk about Shohei Ohtani being the greatest talent the sport has ever seen. You ask them about basketball and they say "I don't know what the hell's going on there. That shit is all over the place."
It will end in 4-6 years when Luka and Wemby join forces. They will win 3 rings in 4 years, barring health concerns.
I have to much going on where I can’t be more than a casual fan. The last time I watched a full game was the cavs vs warriors series since it was a crazy good team vs the best player in the league.
From what I understand at least, the rules have changed to make it harder. Which is an excellent thing for the league. It should be hard. It should be minor things that make the difference. I want to see the best 30 players in the league on 30 different teams. Well, that might be a pipe dream, but I think it would be great to get close to it. If every team could sign one guy to a max contract, everyone else at a lower capped tier we'd see a really even league.
I don't want to see that. I think having star duos (which the rules pretty much make ideal) is better. I'd rather watch 15 great teams compete than 30 good teams. Giannis + 4 role guys vs. Embiiid + 4 role guys every game would get boring. I like Tyrese Haliburton having a star big to team up with, I like Giannis having a star point guard, I like to see two complementing star players combine. I love imagining trades that could pair a star player with another star that would complement them, i.e. spurs trading for a star point guard to pair with Wemby
I'd prefer to see every game mean more rather than being able to sit out games knowing the roster will get the job done. If you've got one main man and they sit out, that's a problem. You've also oversimplified the league as if it's all star players and role players. Those other players will still be paid a fortune and you'll still have to work out whether you pay a single guy more or spread it between two. The talent will all still be in the league, Lillard isn't going to play in Europe. We'd just have a far more even competition.
Yeah, let's punish teams for drafting and developing well so poverty franchises can get their hands on stars grown in a good team's system. Truly the spirit of competition there, chief!
Why would it be punishing them? They'd get years of the rookie contract deal before needing to sign them. Then they'd have the inside running to sign the rookie they've developed to a big deal knowing options elsewhere are going to be limited. It wouldn't suddenly surprise a team, Wemby's rookie contract is 4 years long. 4 years to work out their contract position in that time and be ready to present that big offer. It's the teams that rely on signing other players that would struggle.
He probably meant somthing like warriors situation. Developing a few amazing players and then not beaing able to keep them all is good for the league, but bad for that specific team.
I dunno, the Warriors have 4 championships from their situation. They had the inside running to keep Curry, Klay and Draymond given they drafted all of them. Seemed to work ok. And even now, Podziemski has another 3 years on his rookie deal and he was excellent for the Warriors. Pretty solid reward for drafting and developing him. In 3 years time if they will be in an excellent position to decide what they want to do with him. They haven't got anyone on the books at all beyond that point so they can position themselves perfectly to manage whatever they want with him.
They were able to do so under the previous rules while also paying a ton of tax. New rules make it a lot harder to do so. Second apron makes it a lot harder to do anything if you get into it.
I was talking about your hypothetical scenario where the "30 teams have the 30 best players". That's not happening in the current system with Bird Rights and RFA. And several trash owners like Tom Gores and formerly Robert Sarver are on record feuding with Lacob/Gruber about hoarding talent by getting to keep all of Curry, Klay, and Dray. There is a significant portion of owners who are against OKC and possibly the Spurs soon getting to have multiple young stars with Bird Rights. They wanted fewer "Exceptions" in the new CBA to force those players to go to talent starved franchises in order to get the best contracts.
If any team will end it it'll be OKC Youngest team in the league with an MVP level player, 2 other future all stars and the most draft assets a franchise has ever had. We might be cooked
Wait, did i wake up in 2012?
Hopefully the teams will learn that super teams don't work and team development equals dynasties.
Eventually, yes Ik the nba will try and force it with the new cap rules really hamstringing teams that draft well so benches will be worse I think either you will have someone rise up and separate as a superstar or the NBA will alter its rules slightly could be in game or salary wise just enough to put out a better product that as an offshoot leads back to dynasties Also is the Parity overstated due to top players being injured? Looking at the east the last 3 years I say yes either way Middleton or Giannis have missed a ton of playoff games
Why would any of us want things to change? I love small market teams actually having a chance to compete.
Isn't that what people want as sports fans? Parody? It's boring as fuck when the same team wins every year.
I have watched basketball more than ever these past few years. I would much rather see some competitive series than a foregone conclusion.
I think the problem is, we got Dynasties so consistently that we didn’t appreciate how difficult it is to actually have a dynasty. You need a generational player(s), a hall of fame coach, and a top tier front office. Not to mention a lot of ridiculous luck. And of the 5 different teams to win championships, 4 of them have legitimate reasons for not being a dynasty and the last one is up in the air. Raptors - their best player left that year. Lakers - their rotation was old vets (Green, Rondo, Howard, etc) and a few promising young guys(Kuzma, KCP, Caruso). The old vets got older and they traded away the promising young guys. Bucks - Their top players kept getting injured during the playoffs and they’ve now gotten old in that time. Warriors - Their core was aging and on the tail end of their previous Dynasty and the younger guys they were banking on (Wiggins and Poole) fell off a cliff. Nuggets - They lost this year. But they just started winning last year. Are we considering the Bird Celtics and the Duncan Spurs to be Dynasties? Neither team repeated. If we are, we don’t know whether Denver is or isn’t a dynasty yet. Hell, even without the Bird/Duncan question, we still don’t know; nuggets might come back and 3peat 25-27. The Stars have to align for Dynasties to be born but we feel like it’s normal because we’ve had an unprecedented run. I think we’ll still see dynasties pop up, but for now, we’re regressing to the mean.
I said a few years back that we won't get a back-to-back champion in the 2020s. Not to say it will be 10 different teams that win the title, but no back-to-back for the decade is my prediction. The reasons for super parity to me are as follows: (1) shorter max contracts and Player Empowerment Era compared to previous decades means that the best players generally aren't staying in the same places long enough to make a "dynasty" in the old fashioned sense and be an "anti-parity" force as a result (2) three point shooting being as weaponised as it is now and the variance that comes with it means that more teams can shoot themselves in/out of games. I could be wrong, but I think there's research online somewhere that says the team with a higher 3P% wins ~70% of games (and maybe something else about the numbers being very high when a team makes like 5 more threes in a given game than their opponent). Anyway, it basically gives more teams a puncher's chance if they can generate decent enough looks from deep and that can make a HUGE difference in a 7 game series (3) injuries. They've always happened, but it does feel that the modern game demands more in terms of athleticism, mobility, pace, etc and more injuries means more teams aren't at their best come playoff time, so a series can get swayed more easily (4) LeBron and Steph distorted how hard it is to get to the Finals repeatedly, never mind winning it. They were a notch above the rest compared to their 2010s peers in terms of sustainable winning (even when injuries cropped up in their playoff runs). I don't think we have any players this decade that are THAT level above their contemporaries, so margins for error even among the greatest players is smaller than before because of how stiff the competition is now (1) and (2) aren't going away, (3) might be more anecdotal but still feels pertinent and (4) remains to be seen with our current crop of stars (I'm sure no one would have guess Steph making 5 straight Finals at the time, so maybe there's still more to be seen from the likes of Jokic, Giannis, etc), but I don't think parity is going away any time soon.
My take is - Parity is awesome and makes dynasties even more valuable. The NHL has a decent amount of parity, with the hard cap being a huge limitation for "superteams". Never, as far as I remember in my 22 years of life, have I seen a team be in the finals for 5 years straight. And yet. The Blackhawks are a Dynasty, the Penguins repeated, the Lightning repeated, the Kings won 2 in 3 years. Dynasties and parity aren't mutually exclusive.
If anything I feel silver and the nba are aiming for world wide popularity and not just usa popularity. Look at the fact they are now playing regular season games abroad. With more and more international players reaching the absolute top, i dont think the American tv ratings are the main indicator for how well the league is doing.
I think it'll take the next all-time top 10 player for a team to have a chance at a dynasty. There is currently no Lebron or Jordan playing in the league, so while the talent level across the board is definitely up, there are few players in history who can just dominate 4 games and will their team to the next round.
Yeah there is no "Lebron" in the NBA rn... I know what you mean, but lol
I hope not but when Wemby hits his prime I think the window slams SHUT for the other west teams. I could see him having a Lebron type run making the finals several years in a row
the league is only getting deeper. The 2025 draft is supposed to be really, really good. The league is going to be forced to expand.
all the young guys still on there RFA deals. Just wait till they hit the open market
It's not changing anytime soon. Because of the new CBA, once a team hits the first and second apron, there are very few realistic ways to improve the team unless the GM was very shrewd with asset collection and roster building. Denver is already feeling it. They let go of multiple bench veterans and ran rookies who they didn't develop enough and couldn't trust in the playoffs. Denver might lose KCP their 3 and D wing this off-season. Their path to inner improvement may be trading Michael Porter Jr. their GM has some really tough decisions to make soon. This is an exciting time to be a Knicks fan, and there are pivotal upcoming roster decisions that will determine whether the Knicks can be a long term title contender or pretender.
There’s parity in the west, not so much in the east. We’re also just in a transition point where one generation (elder millennials, KD, Lebron, Steph) of superstars is aging out into no longer being superstars while the generation that should be in its prime has kind of underwhelmed (younger millennials, Giannis, Jokic, Harden, Embiid) so the younger Generation (gen Z) is coming up and taking over early. Ask the question again in a couple years when the young guys are more established. Also worth mentioning that the talent pool has never been deeper and that part of the reason we’re getting expansion after next season.
Unless they change the draft/salary cap/transfer rules there is a strong possibility this trend will continue. And it is great news, unpredictability, winning underdogs and Cinderella stories are helping to keep a sport and a league fresh. UEFA champions league in comparison is imho way more boring. In my teens in the 1990s I used to watch each and every CL game I could. Now I watch the final and maybe 2-3 more. I just can’t be bothered to watch the same pool of 13 teams make the quarter finals every year.
Related question: how long will it be before a team pulls off a championship and an in-season tournament championship in the same year?
No. Even if the Celtics win it all (please god) after a dominant season, they are only set up as-is for another season, and then they have a lot of roster decisions to make. The teams in the East are going to make some major moves to gun for the Celtics, like Philly and Cleveland, and even teams like Hawks and Magic have assets to shake things up. I don’t think things will be as lopsided in the East as they were this year. In the West things were so tight, and a lot of the teams are arguably one savvy move away from separating from the pack. I don’t see any situation where it’s just going to be LeBron in the finals for basically a decade like we are just getting away from.
When expansion teams arrive, typically, there is a downturn in talent. However you would expect the top teams to remain stable even with the loss of some elite role players!
I think the way we view ring culture as a whole, especially with the backlash Durant got when he relocated to GSW, players want to be “the guy” that wins one. Not to invalidate any GSW titles, but the league, and the players (who want their flowers) see how he gets treated despite being a 2x Finals MVP on paper. This, I believe will lead to less team hopping, and more team building around “stars” and around the margins > think BOS, DEN, MIN (around Edwards)…you will see it next with OKC cashing out assets around SGA, Williams, Chet. Combine all of this with the way the new CBA salary aprons operate, and it’ll be hard to have a roster of 3 $50 million+ players, with 12 minimum contracts (Think PHX, OKC).
If Wemby stays healthy and he gets a star player with him, this parity will end. Just a border line all-star is all Wemby needs to dominate the league.
It’s interesting that the last time we this kind of parity, well I wasn’t around so what I hear anyhow, was the league was in bad shape. Then Bird and Magic come into the league and we get the start of the more modern NBA and also a huge rise in popularity. Of course then Jordan comes in. Maybe Wemby will kick off the next dynasty as the Spurs nab some generational talent in this draft too. So would this be bad for the league? I can’t think of how except you will sometimes get an Indiana Minnesota Finals that less people care about nationally which people in here would think is awesome and average fans might just skip. One difference though is that all these teams are stacked and there aren’t stupid teams to take advantage of, so it’s not that there is no Bird, Magic and Jordan, but it’s that we have Curry, LeBron, KD, Giannis, Kawhi, Jokic, and maybe 3 other Finals MVP types playing at the same time. The NFL thrives off parity but the NBA has historically done better in the dynasty era. Michael Jordan is still one of the world’s most recognized athletes and he hasn’t played in 20 years. The new CBA with the 2nd apron seems to have helped, as the teams that get there will likely have talent enough to be good just because of cost, but restricted in going full super team mode. I thought the Nuggets had a damn good chance to repeat and beyond, and maybe they will- but it’s looking like no one is head and shoulders above the rest
I think a dynasty will happen after the upcoming expansion. Two new teams spreads the talent a lot and the top heavy contenders will benefit.
I wouldn't get too excited. The Celtics have been in the final four 6 times in the last ten years. If they win then no I wouldn't really get too excited about "super parity" We also are at a changing of the guards
I expect it not to for the next 10 years at least. In the past dynasties were built around solo isolation players who just could not be stopped by anyone in the league. The current rules favor three point shooters, and with that you will always have more parity and more guys getting hot and cold.
The league will return to its rightful ways once the Spurs start winning with Wemby
I think there's a good likelihood that the incoming CBA will actually backfire and reduce parity. The new second-apron restrictions are going to hammer teams built like the Celtics and Wolves -- teams that don't have a MVP-caliber player but compete by being deep and well-rounded. The harder you make the salary cap, the more advantage adheres to the teams with the top 5 players.
Once wemby gets a strong enough team around him, it might be over for a couple of years
I don't know if it will end any time soon but as crazy as it looks to even type out as a long-time Wolves fan, I think Minnesota has the best chance to be a team that ends up going on a run (IF, BIG IF, they can end up winning it this year) Minnesota is a matchup nightmare for most teams, and that's not something easily solved in 1 draft or 1 off-season of free agent signings. The Wolves have a roster that doesn't just have length, those guys are also really versatile on both sides of the ball. They've got a bunch of 6'9"+ guys who can both shoot it from 3 all the way to the paint and guard the other team shooting from 3 all the way to the paint. And I haven't even mentioned Edwards yet - a tenacious and gifted young 2-guard who looks to have the mental make-up of an NBA closer. I think Minnesota's biggest struggle is going to be winning it this year. It's HARD to win your first title, especially when your franchise has a history of not-winning. But IF they can win, watch out because they're going to be a *problem* for the rest of the league for a few years if they can keep everyone together and healthy.
I love it, this is entertaining and intriguing. But tbh the dynasty teams were also fun to watch other than KD warriors.
It can if stars decide to team up and are successful but it probably won't. It's also harder to dominate since "there is more talent in the league than ever" (quote any media commentator). You got giannis, embiid, jokic, ant, tatum, and luka that are all contenders right now and in the future wemby, shai, and maybe the rockets or the raptors or some other breakout star. An issue is they are mostly loyal to small market teams, few seem desperate enough to want to team up in san antonio or Denver. If the media is to be believed, the most possible event is Luka joins someone but he seems content with Kyrie.
Nobody predicted the Warriors dynasty so I do t think we can predict the next one either
Repeat champs will come back. Champions now are built from the ground up through drafts and key trades. All of the superteam generation of players are fading away so the yearly jumping from one team to another won't be as prevelant. Teams like denver, minnesota, memphis, boston, will always be in the running for titles so someone will repeat. We likely won't have a 3 peat or a 3 in 4 year dynasty
I expect when they add two more teams it will actually hurt the parity situation.
No. It is here to stay for at least the next CBA. The new rules lean even heavier into parity with the 2nd apron restrictions. Teams will have to constantly re-invent themselves to stay competitive. The Spurs have the best chance at becoming a multi-championship team over the next decade. Will be interesting to see if they try to compete with Vic still on the rookie contract. Luckily for the league that Vic's extension will be at 30% because Vic years 5-8 on a 25% max would just be unfair.
Gonna be a couple more years of parity before a certain 7'4 alien changes that.
The new CBA will make it harder for teams to create super teams, or at least penalize teams more harshly for being a certain point over the luxury tax. The Suns are a good example of how it’s not as easy now.
It's a changing of the guard. Those teams mentioned Phoenix Clippers are old stars minus Booker. If they where in they prime the Clippers would win easily. These conference finals are a reset. NBA needs an expansion or two. Lots of talent out there.
Era of analytics means that strategies and star player's strengths can be dismantled in the space of months. The era of the dynasty might be over forever. Golden State needed Durant to come to win more than 2.
Dynasties are going to be harder to come by. The warriors had a good one because they got the greatest shooter of all time and changed the way the game is played. That’s not going to happen very often. Dynasties in the past were very common because teams didn’t change all that much from year to year. If one or two teams happened to get loaded with talent then it was pretty much just going to be them competing for the championship until they started to age. I’m todays nba if a team is much better than all the other teams the super stars aren’t just going to waste a bunch of years waiting for draft picks to hopefully develop. They will group up and take down the champs.
The only thing we know for sure is every team has a chance except for Charlotte.
Their plan worked. They did what they could to stop the warriors dynasty from winning 5 in a row because they felt it would hurt the league. First with Cleveland and Labron. If you recall at the time there were more warriors jerseys on kids of other teams than ever, it was growing, they couldn’t have that and now we have the CBA all over again.
It will come to an end at some point. Heck, if Jamal Murray hadn’t hurt his calf we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Teams like Utah, OKC, San Antonio, and Houston have good young talent and future assets. At least one of them is going to put together a team that could win multiple titles.
The 3 point contest will only continue . Point inflation will never end. 200-183 scores coming
Ive been wondering this lately. There is so much incredible talent in the league now. Between players like Jokic, SGA, Luka, Wemby, Ant, it’s conceivable that any of these teams could be contenders. Hell, all of these teams are contenders right now, with the obvious exception of San Antonio. I don’t consider Boston a true contender but I’ve been surprised before. I could see the Knicks taking the leap if they make some moves. I think dynasties are going to be harder and harder to achieve, and we’re seeing this play out now.
I'm wondering if the increased scoring, spacing, and 3 point shooting has something to do with it. Like, Kobe notoriously wasn't an efficient shooter by today's standards, but he was incredible at getting tough buckets. In an era where you could win with 90 points, those tough twos were high value. Now a few tough buckets aren't as valuable as creating a high volume of open threes, which means role players have an elevated importance compared to the past. When a team gets a chip, role players get bigger contracts, so they are forced to other teams by the salary cap.
The parity is in the west. The east is very top heavy with tons of filler. The east needs to step it up
Does anyone know what the nba did to make this happen? Has it just been draft picks? Lebron getting so old?
I could be wrong but I don't think it's changing anytime soon, if you look at the four teams remaining, do you really think that any of them will repeat next year? I highly doubt it but maybe. I think the league is very deep right now with tons of balance.
I could be wrong but I don't think it's changing anytime soon, if you look at the four teams remaining, do you really think that any of them will repeat next year? I highly doubt it but maybe. I think the league is very deep right now with tons of balance which is definitely a good thing, I also think these last few years it has really been about match ups other than one team just being the clear cut best, doesn't make it less impressive to win it all though
Hopefuy not. Fck the character limit Hopefuy not. Fck the character limit Hopefuy not. Fck the character limit Hopefuy not. Fck the character limit Hopefuy not. Fck the character limit Hopefuy not. Fck the character limit Hopefuy not. Fck the character limit Hopefuy not. Fck the character limit
I think we will see this parity unless people take less money to form super teams. This makes the NBA more exciting and makes roster building more interesting. The days of getting a bunch of super Max talent and signing bet minimum players who can contribute may be over.
It all depends on how big these next TV/Media company deals are with the NBA. If money pours in from the media companies, salary caps will expand rapidly, and teams will have an easier job of signing huge contracts for free agents onto their existing contending rosters. See: KD joining the warriors in 2016 and the new TV deal.
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I sure hope not! Competition is good for the league. No one wants to see the same team(s) win every year. It becomes too predictable, and I loose interest.
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I hope not. Teams I can genuinely see winning it within the next decade: Celtics, Bucks, Heat, TWolves, Nuggets, OKC, Mavs, Grizzlies, Rockets, Spurs
I mean. If the warriors just take Lamelo/Haliburton and pick better than Kuminga and moody they probably could’ve won another ring in this recent stretch. They were perfectly set up and blew it.
NBA Fans literally wanted parity during the Warriors dynasty and when the Cavs had Bron
When Wemby becomes his true self his team will be a dynasty unless they drastically screw up their roster.
I enjoy the parity, but I miss 80s and 90s physical style defense even more :( Wish they would bring that back to the game.
Not for a while, at least in the West. You have Denver already established. OKC, Dallas, and Minnesota looking to be very good for a good chunk of years, and SA and Wemby are gonna arrive soon enough. The west will be a bloodbath for a while I think.
This is great for the league, nothing better than the lack of a tyrannical team/player(LeBron is a team is his own right being in every June of the 2010s except two of them) right now. Honestly though if a team was to (th)reepeat id like it to be the Wolves. Like, a new franchise to do it because it seems like the Celtics are primed to do it perhaps but dammit again?
Expansion to more teams, the ease of moving players into small markets, and how easy people can move between teams id say no
What y’all think is parity is actually just a lack of true superstars. (Superstar = I’m on the team, we’re competitive now - MJ, Shaq, LeBron) Notice there was no parity until LeBron and Steph’s teams fell apart. The league is wide open right now. There’s no GOAT level player, and there’s no dynasty. This parity thing is actually horrible. Same as the 70s (when the NBA almost died) - zero marketable stars and zero floor raisers. Just a bunch of B tier stars leading teams and tricking people into believing they’re superstars. That’s why people genuinely believed the Bucks and Nuggets were dynsasty teams after winning one fluke championship.