Recently, every NBA season has brought something new to the table. Since the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty ended with their championship in 2022, no team has yet emerged as dominant.
During the height of their run, fans complained of there being no sense of competition and that it was boring to watch a super-team roll through the playoffs largely uncontested.
Currently, two small-market teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, have met in the NBA Finals, sparking complaints that this is ‘bad’ for the brand of basketball. So what gives?
Every sports team owner’s dream and hopeful goal is to win championships, and lots of them. One way to accomplish this goal is to draft great players and build a championship-worthy team around them. Another method is to sign free agents or super-star players to large contracts, hoping to attract other top-tier players.
The latter method becomes a bit unfair when a big market team, such as the Boston Celtics, has all the money in the world to throw at whichever players they choose to build a fantastic team.
Smaller market teams, like the Indiana Pacers, literally cannot afford to do so. To solve this issue, a salary cap was introduced in the 1984-1985 season. This placed a limit on the amount teams could spend on contracts, aiming to give smaller-market teams a competitive edge.
This did not stop big market teams from forming super teams, as there are quite a few exceptions to the salary cap. The Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, and Golden State Warriors are some examples. Looking back, these dynasties are a huge part of what made the NBA so popular, arguably holding some of the greatest NBA moments in history.
On the other hand, fans of opposing teams despised these juggernauts as they seemed impossible to topple for years. Just when one team would end its reign, it seemed there was another ready to take its place. The most recent dynasty of the Golden State Warriors from 2015 to 2019 fostered conversations around whether super-teams were good for the league.
Fans began to grow tired of big names joining up, like Kevin Durant joining Stephen Curry on the Warriors. Some have gone so far as to say that the championships KD won with the Warriors due nothing for his legacy and were illegitimate because it was the easy option.
The attitude of fans had shifted. It was no longer enough for a player to win a ring; he had to do it without a super-team for it to be considered a worthy accomplishment. This sparked a resentment towards super-teams in the league, with fans yearning for more evenly matched competition.
Since the reign of the Warriors, the fans have gotten what they have wanted, or so they thought.
For the seventh straight season, and for the first time in NBA history, there will be a different team crowned champion. From 2019, the champions have been the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, and now the Thunder.
This is a dream come true for fans who had to endure the super-team era. Sure, there are some big market teams mixed in among the champions, but none were so dominant that they could win consecutively. Each year, the league was full of competition and offered a newfound excitement for fans, keeping them guessing who would come out on top.
That is, until fans decided that smaller-market teams and no superstars were boring and bad for the league. Although Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named MVP and is starting to solidify himself as an all-star guard, the super-star players were all bested by more even-keeled teams or injuries this year.
Fans have felt like, since players like Jason Tatum, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic, or Nikola Jokic aren’t playing, that the basketball being played has deteriorated and is no longer entertaining. Objectively, this is far from the truth.
The Pacers have had one of the most exciting, improbable, and difficult playoff runs ever. The OKC Thunder are led by the MVP, but still play team ball with a strong emphasis on defense. This combo shows that team basketball can win and makes for highly competitive matchups. Superstars or not, there is wildly entertaining basketball being played.
It seems no matter the product the NBA produces, there will always be fans to complain about some aspect of the game. The big takeaway here is that NBA fans should be grateful for what they have, whether a small market or a super-team alike.
Sure, fans can still be critical, but don’t take a legendary run by a team for granted just because they are “too stacked”. Enjoy high-level basketball even if it is two small-market teams that do not make deep playoff runs often. You just may be missing out on some all-time basketball moments because the league is not where you think it should be.
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