World Perks

How the NBA can use existing infrastructures to improve the NBA and take it to the next level.


In recent times, it has become evident David Stern wants to go international and expand NBA franchises into Europe. It's a bold move for an American sports infrastructure that rarely ventures outside of its own borders--and when its does, only our Canadian neighbors get in on the action. But the NBA has made incredible strides since the early 80's to promote its sport and its league across the Ocean (or into Central and South America). Global initiatives at both capitalistic and humanitarian levels involving the Association have proven successful in globalizing the sport of basketball and the influx of foreign talent is proof.

David Stern wants a team in England. In Spain, in Italy, Greece and France. His vision is to concentrate all the greatest talent in the world into one league, and execute it at a geographically global level. Here's the problem with that.

1. Expansion thins talent. The NBA has already suffered a great deal from expansion throughout much of the Jordan and post-Jordan era, and is only now recovering. To further water-down the level of competition would an egregious mistake. The beauty of the NBA lies in the fact that it is the only truly global professional sports league that concentrates all the best talent in the world into a single league.
2. To create a viable basketball infrastructure overseas takes an extraordinary amount of capital. It's costly, and mildly risky at many different levels, including a regular season that would require multiple trips overseas.
   

That being said, I don't think Stern's vision is in the entirely wrong place. A great deal could be done for the game of basketball--for local economies, and the overall quality and entertainment value of the game by using existing infrastructures already in place to move the league in a positive direction without the risks of expansion.

To do this, Stern could learn a lot from the way soccer--the world's most popular sport-- is organized. Here's how the NBA could and in my opinion, should operate its global business.

• Establish day-to-day relationships with heads of the various Series A leagues across the world.
  
• Build an agreement to allow the fluid movement of players across leagues, most importantly between the NBA and other leagues around the world. This more than anything is a contractual agreement, setting terms for players'/owners' fiscal responsibilities when players move.
• Develop NBA International television made widely availible to common sports fans here in America to watch basketball abroad.

The benifits of establishing a formal business relationship with leagues around the world are clear:

• The NBA continues to expand its popularity without having to dilute the level of competition.
• A guarentee that the NBA has all the greatest players in the world--no hidden gems gone undiscovered.
• Basketball's popularity via media expansion allows fans in America to become interested in, and grow leagues overseas. The financial outcomes only improve local and global economies of scale.

The theoretical benefits of "soft-expansion" are pratically limitless. Being able to follow your favorite college players who weren't good enough to make it to the NBA. The ease of scouting internationally. An more competitve avenue for players to improve their game and their stock overseas. The solution is already there. It's up to the NBA to take it.