NBA: BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the most important and well-known professional men’s basketball league in the world. It was founded in New York on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA), and in August 1949, it was renamed the NBA following a merger with its rival league, the National Basketball League.

The NBA consists of 30 teams, 29 of which are located in North America and 1 in Canada. The regular season runs from October to April, with each team playing a total of 82 games. At the end of the regular season, the playoffs begin, followed by the Finals, the game that determines the team that will lift the season’s championship trophy.

The 1980s marked the beginning of a major expansion for the league beyond the borders of North America, with the intensifying rivalry between the Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird, and the Los Angeles Lakers, led by Magic Johnson. Iconic players like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julius Erving rose to prominence, and the 1984 draft saw the Chicago Bulls select Michael Jordan with the third overall pick, who later became the symbol of the game.

In 1984, David Stern was appointed as NBA commissioner, a role that would shape the league as we know it today. Stern understood that for the NBA to grow, it needed to open its doors to the world, attracting as many international players as possible to gain the attention of other countries. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Stern approved the inclusion of the NBA’s greatest stars in the U.S. Olympic team, creating the “Dream Team,” a squad made up of Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Pat Ewing, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Christian Laettner, and Clyde Drexler. 

During his tenure, Stern also expanded the league by introducing seven new franchises, extending basketball’s reach into Canada. He initiated overseas training camps, organized games abroad (today, an NBA regular-season game is held annually in Europe), and opened offices across Europe. In 2002, he played a crucial role in facilitating the arrival of Chinese center Yao Ming, thereby establishing the NBA’s presence in China. One of the effects of this rapid global expansion was that, in the 2006 draft, Andrea Bargnani, an Italian player, was selected first overall by the Toronto Raptors.

Thanks to access to these new markets, the NBA sold its broadcasting rights to 215 television stations worldwide. By the end of his term in 2014, the NBA was generating $5.5 billion in annual profits.

A clear indicator of the NBA’s increasing globalization is the election of the MVP (Most Valuable Player). From the 1955-1956 season until the 2017-2018 season (with the exception of 2006-2007 when Dirk Nowitzki, a German, won, and the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons, where Canadian Steve Nash was awarded), the MVP was always an American player. However, since the 2018-2019 season, the MVP has not been an American but instead a Greek (Giannis Antetokounmpo), who won in 2019 and 2020, and a Serbian (Nikola Jokić), who took home the award in 2021 and 2022.

Additionally, the 2022-2023 season opened with 120 international players from 40 countries and six different continents.

Today, 7 NBA franchises have international players as their highest-paid athletes, such as the Denver Nuggets with Nikola Jokić, the Dallas Mavericks with Luka Dončić, and the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In June, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver proposed a change to the format of the All-Star Game, suggesting a match between Team USA and Team World. Who will win?

By Giulia Rubertelli