The profound impact of the NBA's nomadic era

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The profound impact of the NBA's nomadic era




Kawhi Leonard. Photo: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images



We've reached the point in the NBA's ever-evolving player empowerment era where fans must simply accept that their team's best players will probably leave at some point.

Why it matters: These days, it feels like the best — heck, maybe the only— way to follow the NBA is to be a fan of the league as a whole rather than rooting for one team.

When new players arrive and are offered ungodly sums of money to stick around, there's no guarantee that they will (see: Kawhi Leonard only signing for two guaranteed years with the Clippers instead of four).

This is having a profound impact on everything from team building to player legacies, but I'm not sure we've fully grasped how big of an impact it's having on modern NBA fandom.


There are pros and cons to this situation...

Pro: When you follow the league as a whole and watch the drama unfold like a reality show, suddenly a Tuesday night game between two random teams becomes interesting. That's a plus for fans (always something to watch) and the NBA (can sell more League Pass subscriptions).

Con: With players switching teams like never before and rosters constantly in flux, it's become increasingly difficult for fans to fully invest in one team. As a result, will we see the connective tissue between teams and cities begin to deteriorate? Could ticket sales plummet?

Pro: Thanks to the insanity of free agency, the NBA offseason has become almost as popular, if not more popular, than the season itself. This has helped the league stay relevant year-round.

Con: Is that actually a good thing? If fans are constantly looking to the future rather than focusing on the present, the whole idea of, ya know, winning games can get lost amidst the trade proposals and free agency rumors.
The bottom line: The NBA's nomadic era means more headlines, more tweets and more drama than ever before. But at what cost?



bob




.

Obviously the author of this piece knows nothing about being a fan of the Boston Celtics, the Knicks or arch rival the LA Lakers, for example.

Fan loyalty transcends player movement for those well established franchises that boast generational fan support.

Player movement is a sideshow that fills in the dead time between when the first jump ball goes in the air and when the final buzzer sounds to crown the champion.

The bottom line impacts teams differently.  Teams with fantom make believe bandwagon travelers are cursed with a collection of fans that become nomads in search of a team that brings forth a measure of continuity.

Celtics fans are not like that.

Count me as one of the few fans that has had the good fortune to witness the Celtics when they won championship rings in 11 of 13 years - and then watched ( bad fortune) as they won just once in the last 33 years. A Celtic fan - you bet. But then, I love basketball period and over the years have gotten enomous enjoyment listening to or watching High School, college and pro basketball. So the movement of players does not affect me nearly as much as those that are locked in to the fortunes of just one team.
I'll be signing up for league pass in just about a month - happy days are on the way.

swish'

dboss wrote:Obviously the author of this piece knows nothing about being a fan of the Boston Celtics, the Knicks or arch rival the LA Lakers, for example.

Fan loyalty transcends player movement for those well established franchises that boast generational fan support.

Celtics fans are not like that.

Totally agree, but would argue that fan loyalty extends well beyond the gold-standard franchises. It all depends on who you grew up rooting for. Any real sports fan will tell you that switching teams is beyond comprehension - it just does not compute!!! And I hope that never changes, it is part of the beauty of sports.

Shamrock1000 wrote:

dboss wrote:Obviously the author of this piece knows nothing about being a fan of the Boston Celtics, the Knicks or arch rival the LA Lakers, for example.

Fan loyalty transcends player movement for those well established franchises that boast generational fan support.

Celtics fans are not like that.

Totally agree, but would argue that fan loyalty extends well beyond the gold-standard franchises. It all depends on who you grew up rooting for. Any real sports fan will tell you that switching teams is beyond comprehension - it just does not compute!!! And I hope that never changes, it is part of the beauty of sports.

Shamrock 1000

Fan loyalty through the years - I'll buy that - but the enthusiam level and devotion of fans sure flucuates depending on a teams level of success.

swish

swish wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:

dboss wrote:Obviously the author of this piece knows nothing about being a fan of the Boston Celtics, the Knicks or arch rival the LA Lakers, for example.

Fan loyalty transcends player movement for those well established franchises that boast generational fan support.

Celtics fans are not like that.

Totally agree, but would argue that fan loyalty extends well beyond the gold-standard franchises. It all depends on who you grew up rooting for. Any real sports fan will tell you that switching teams is beyond comprehension - it just does not compute!!! And I hope that never changes, it is part of the beauty of sports.

Shamrock 1000

Fan loyalty through the years - I'll buy that - but the enthusiam level and devotion of fans sure flucuates depending on a teams level of success.

  swish

For sure Swish - no doubt fans pay more attention to winning teams. But I will stick to my guns and say that anyone who switches loyalties based on where they move, team quality, current players, etc, etc, doesn't really understand what it means to be a sports fan. To me, it is like like the biological phenomenon of "imprinting" - if you are a fan of a team at a young age, it is impossible to switch loyalties to another team.

Shamrock1000 wrote:

swish wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:

dboss wrote:Obviously the author of this piece knows nothing about being a fan of the Boston Celtics, the Knicks or arch rival the LA Lakers, for example.

Fan loyalty transcends player movement for those well established franchises that boast generational fan support.

Celtics fans are not like that.

Totally agree, but would argue that fan loyalty extends well beyond the gold-standard franchises. It all depends on who you grew up rooting for. Any real sports fan will tell you that switching teams is beyond comprehension - it just does not compute!!! And I hope that never changes, it is part of the beauty of sports.

Shamrock 1000

Fan loyalty through the years - I'll buy that - but the enthusiam level and devotion of fans sure flucuates depending on a teams level of success.

  swish

For sure Swish - no doubt fans pay more attention to winning teams. But I will stick to my guns and say that anyone who switches loyalties based on where they move, team quality, current players, etc, etc, doesn't really understand what it means to be a sports fan. To me, it is like like the biological phenomenon of "imprinting" - if you are a fan of a team at a young age, it is impossible to switch loyalties to another team.

Maybe one excption Shamrock - How about if a loved one signs with a rival team?

swish

swish wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:

swish wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:

dboss wrote:Obviously the author of this piece knows nothing about being a fan of the Boston Celtics, the Knicks or arch rival the LA Lakers, for example.

Fan loyalty transcends player movement for those well established franchises that boast generational fan support.

Celtics fans are not like that.

Totally agree, but would argue that fan loyalty extends well beyond the gold-standard franchises. It all depends on who you grew up rooting for. Any real sports fan will tell you that switching teams is beyond comprehension - it just does not compute!!! And I hope that never changes, it is part of the beauty of sports.

Shamrock 1000

Fan loyalty through the years - I'll buy that - but the enthusiam level and devotion of fans sure flucuates depending on a teams level of success.

  swish

For sure Swish - no doubt fans pay more attention to winning teams. But I will stick to my guns and say that anyone who switches loyalties based on where they move, team quality, current players, etc, etc, doesn't really understand what it means to be a sports fan. To me, it is like like the biological phenomenon of "imprinting" - if you are a fan of a team at a young age, it is impossible to switch loyalties to another team.

Maybe one excption Shamrock - How about if a loved one signs with a rival team?

  swish

A loved one signing with a rival team is a 100% acceptable reason for switching allegiance. Have you had that experience?

Shamrock1000 wrote:

swish wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:

swish wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:

dboss wrote:Obviously the author of this piece knows nothing about being a fan of the Boston Celtics, the Knicks or arch rival the LA Lakers, for example.

Fan loyalty transcends player movement for those well established franchises that boast generational fan support.

Celtics fans are not like that.

Totally agree, but would argue that fan loyalty extends well beyond the gold-standard franchises. It all depends on who you grew up rooting for. Any real sports fan will tell you that switching teams is beyond comprehension - it just does not compute!!! And I hope that never changes, it is part of the beauty of sports.

Shamrock 1000

Fan loyalty through the years - I'll buy that - but the enthusiam level and devotion of fans sure flucuates depending on a teams level of success.

  swish

For sure Swish - no doubt fans pay more attention to winning teams. But I will stick to my guns and say that anyone who switches loyalties based on where they move, team quality, current players, etc, etc, doesn't really understand what it means to be a sports fan. To me, it is like like the biological phenomenon of "imprinting" - if you are a fan of a team at a young age, it is impossible to switch loyalties to another team.

Maybe one excption Shamrock - How about if a loved one signs with a rival team?

  swish

A loved one signing with a rival team is a 100% acceptable reason for switching allegiance. Have you had that experience?

Shamrock - No, but the thought of having close ties with a professional team would likely have had quite an effect on my rooting interest.

swish