Thursday, June 4, 2009

NOTE TO NBA: Lakers are good for business

One thing NBA history has shown us is that people love to watch the Lakers. It doesn't matter if its the "Showtime" Lakers, the "Shaq" Lakers or the "Kobe" Lakers they all get respect. TV ratings go through the roof when the Lakers take the floor for those final seven games. Maybe its the celebrities or maybe its the style of play, all I know is that the NBA makes out like bandits when the Lakers battle for a title as they will do tonight. Just look at what history has shown us; when the NBA is down bring on the Lakers and all is well:

Example #1: 1980 NBA Finals
Boston plays a mediocre Moses Malone led Houston Rockets team and wins in 6 games. The Nielson TV rating was the lowest since 1976 at 6.7. The Lakers make the 1981 NBA finals and the ratings jump to the highest ever at 13.0. That is whole lot of Laker fans.

Example #2 1990 NBA Finals
The Bad Boy Detroit Pistons beat up on the west coast Portland Trailblazers in 5 games. The Ratings for the finals were 12.3 the lowest since the 1981 Lakers/Sixers final. The Lakers make the finals in 1991 and ratings jump to the 2nd highest ever to that point at 15.8 (The Lakers/Celtics final in 87' was the highest at 15.9). That's a whole lot of Laker fans.

Example #3 2003 NBA Finals
The lowest rated final ever of 6.5 was a match up of the San Antonio Spurs and the New Jersey Nets. The Spurs won in 6 but nobody cared or watched. Then along comes the Lakers in 2004 and guess what the rating jump a who five points to 11.5. That's a whole lot of Laker fans.

Example #4 2007 NBA Finals
Even a LeBron led Cleveland Cavalier team can't stop ratings from tumbling to an all-time low 6.2 rating. People turned to American Idol for their entertainment and the NBA was in dire needs so who do they call...you guessed it the Lakers. In 2008 the Lakers take on the Boston Celtics and ratings go up for the 4th time. The ratings for the 2008 series went from 6.2 to 9.3 and everyone in the NBA was again happy.

If history has shown us anything its that the Lakers are a big draw and with questions about the league's integrity the NBA needs all the help it can get. The NBA isn't about the LeBron's or the Howard's its about the Lakers. So bring on the Lakers to once again save the day and the fan base. If history is any indication of future TV success then I think the NBA is good hands with the Lakers.

2 comments:

  1. Retrosportstalk,

    I stumbled across this blog today and read a few of your posts, and I'm very impressed. You have some intriguing and unique topics that you don't see anywhere else. I love that most of your stuff is hoops. I look forward to checking up on this blog regularly.

    -Coach Ro

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  2. Thank you. I try to post every other day so check back frequently. If you have any ideas for topics let me know.

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