NBA Parity

[Hawk]

the NBA as a whole has a long way to go! lack of parity, preferential treatment to the stars, piss poor and inconsistent officiating, the whole league truly is a sham really. I'm a huge fan of the game but not much of a fan of the league.

[SOJA]

OKC babyyyyy

[OchoNueve]

Parity increases the number of fans and creates better rivalries which in my opinion makes the sport better. It is difficult for rivalries to form when certain teams dominate on a consistent basis. Before creating parity, the NBA needs to contract at least 2 teams minimum due to the diluted talent pool the NBA is currently working with. After contraction, they need to create franchise tags and work out different compensation structures for losing superstar talents.

[Johnny Rockets]

The NBA has a good product right now.....hopefully they can keep the momentum.

Personally I think parity sucks.....give me that top team that every wants to knock off....back in the day it was Celtics and Lakers then it was the Bulls...there was no parity and there were some great rivalries and the NBA was at it's peak right?

I just think parity in sports is generally overated.

[theyhateme45]

BUMP!

Give the NBA & David Stern credit this year boys & girls. They finally listened to the fans and have delivered "parity" this year. We saw the Fall of the Lakers empire, the Spurs knocked out by an 8th seed, and the Celtics get smoked by King & Wade. No Shaq, no Duncan, no Kobe, no Garnett in the Finals. Been a good 12-13 years since you could say that. And in turn, ratings have SKYROCKETED this regular season and playoff. ESPN, ABC, & TNT are all reporting HUGE increases in rating this season. We got teams like Miami (an expansion), Chicago (who hasnt really been relevant since Jordan left), Dallas, & OKC (a successful small market franchise) in this playoff instead of the usual traditional teams we get. I hope that this next decade of NBA b-ball continues this path of parity.

Honestly, I think it is the opposite of Parity that has the ratings at all time highs.

Truth is fans want to watch talented teams.... Think back to the early Celtics, Pistons, Lakers, Bulls, Spurs, Lakers... Those teams had starting lineups where you could name or you knew the starting 5. Before the season Miami was the new super power team... They are so polarizing, but people love to watch them more than any other team.

Now if Wade stayed in Miami, Bosh in toronto, and James in Cleveland would the ratings for those teams be like this??? IMO No. Do people enjoy watching wade & Company or bosh and company??? NO!! Look back at previous years ratings... they didn;t.

Parity is when any team any given year can have a chance.... More like how the hockey playoffs are... you never know who is going to win. The top teams lose, you just have to be hot. So many time I've heard the NHL needs Crosby or Ovesh.... (Sp?) in the finals to boost ratings. Parity is fun, but people want to see stars.

Yes people in Charlotte would like to see us in the finals... But if everyteam only had 1 superstar/all star and just Meh players and Charlotte made a run very few would watch that.

This happened back in the early 2000's.... no great teams, some stars but they played on teams by themselves, and ratings sucked!!!!!

Minnesota and KG, Ray with Seattle, Piece in Boston... all irrelevant outside of their respective teams until they joined up and become a power team. Then there was interest.

Chris Paul in NO... not to many people care now, but Chris Paul in NY with Amari and Mello, or with Dwight somewhere now the casual fan cares.

Think of the bulls teams we loved... there was no parity... Maybe a few teams that could compete year end and out, but parity was dead and the NBA thrived.

The NFL is different than the NBA. Shorter season and it's more about the team than the players. The NBA is more about the Players than the teams. This is why teams like OKC now has a lot of fans. People in the NBA like and follow players, specifically players on good teams. NFL doesn;t matter... Fans follow teams. Because of this parity works in the NFL as most fans like 1 team always, while the NBA fans like good players on good teams.

All 4 of the teams left this year were contenders from the beginning have very good teams... The Lakers, Spurs, and celtics, are just making way for the younger talented teams.... It's not like the pacers, bobcats, clippers, and warriors or making noise... that would be parity.

In the end Parity may sound good, but the past and the present shows it is not for the nba.... Superstar talent is limited, so if you spread them all back out... you end with Bosh & the raptors, Lebron & Cav's, Wade & the heat, KG and the wolves, Pierce & the celtics, Kobe (before Gasol & Co) with the lakers.... all surrounded with average/mediocre players! Seen it and it was not fun, as only true NBA fans watched those teams.

[Panthers128]

Then just do away with the Bobcats because they don't even have a superstar. I don't think you can have it both ways. Reduce the league to 16 teams or balance the league.

Even in advertising practices, teams like the Bobcats only exist so that players like LeBron and Kobe can bring their traveling circus to town.

[Zaximus]

Then just do away with the Bobcats because they don't even have a superstar. I don't think you can have it both ways. Reduce the league to 16 teams or balance the league.

Even in advertising practices, teams like the Bobcats only exist so that players like LeBron and Kobe can bring their traveling circus to town.

I don't think you can win the "ref" game without a superstar. The NBA is the worst league EVER with bad calls. It takes a superstar and maybe a more known city before they give a crap.