Thought Exercise; Create The 2nd Best Basketball League

Baltimore has been without an NBA team of their own, since the Bullets left for DC in 1973.

As I was born in ’79, that means my lifetime has been spent without an NBA team here in Charm City.

Despite that, I’ve always enjoyed the NBA.

The Lakers and Celtics 80’s rivalry isn’t something I personally recall, but I do have faint memories of discussions of Magic and Bird in school.

I remember having Jordan vs. Bird on a Commodore 64. 

I do recall watching the ’88 and ’89 Finals between the Lakers and Pistons; and those Bad Boy Pistons beating Jordan’s Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals.

’91 was the first of Jordan’s 6 Championships, and he dominated the sports world, living in the most rarified air.

’92 was the Barcelona Olympics, and the Dream Team.  I recall being on vacation with family, and taking the time to watch any snippets NBC provided – because it seemed unfathomable there could be that collection of talent on one team.

I’m pretty sure it was earlier in ’92, that I saw the Bullets vs. the 76ers (with Manute Bol) at the Baltimore Arena (now CFG Bank Arena).
I know that in the ’92-’93 season, I saw a rookie Shaquille O’Neil vs. the Bullets in Landover at the old Cap Center.

Jordan’s first title came against the LA, at the end of that Laker dynasty.
It was followed by wins over quality teams – Portland with Drexler, and Phoenix with Barkley.
Then Jordan steps away, and people my age will forever debate how those Bulls teams would have done against the back-to-back Houston championship teams*.

*(Jordan returned to action in late March ’95, and he was excellent… but he wasn’t completely sharp / dialed in after 21 months away. Yes, that Magic team with Shaq, and Penny beat the Bulls, and yes the Rockets dismantled the Magic…  but if Jordan hadn’t been away, I’m not sure he doesn’t go ahead and win 8 straight titles. Yes, he needed Rodman for the second 3 peat after having lost Grant. Yes, the Bulls would have had no answer for Olajuwon.)

The second Jordan 3 peat was more difficult than people seem to remember now.
The Supersonics with Payton and Kemp pushed Chicago.
The Jazz with Stockton and Malone were tough, demanding series.
Those were all better teams than remembered now, but Jordan took every challenge.

The early 2000s were the Lakers with their 3 peat – Shaq, Kobe, and Phil Jackson.
In the middle of that LA run, you have 17 year old LeBron James (a Junior in HS) appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. 

Some great teams, with extended runs.
The Spurs won 3 titles from ’02-’03 to ’06-’07.
The Lakers and Kobe follow with 2 more titles, as he was now paired with Paul Gasol.
LeBron makes his decision, and joins Miami – going to 4 straight Finals with the Heat.
The last two series of that Finals run for Miami being against the Spurs.

Between the ’10-’11 season, and the ’17-’18 season, LeBron goes to 8 Finals in a row!
A remarkable achievement.

He faced off against Stephen Curry and the Warriors four successive years.
Golden State is in the Finals for 5 straight years, and wins their 4th championship since ’14-’15 in the ’21-’22 season.

3x MVP Nikola Jokic and Denver won their title in ’22-’23.

Last year we saw a terrific young Oklahoma City Thunder win their first title. Shai Gilchrist-Alexander has just won his 2nd straight MVP.

This year, we’re seeing the Knicks attempt to win their first title since ’73, facing off against Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs, who seem poised to battle back-and-forth with OKC for league supremacy for years.

An American born player has not won MVP since James Harden in 2018.
That is a pretty strong reminder that basketball is truly a global game at this point.
I’ll always be of the opinion that the Dream Team helped grow the game in global consciousness.

The US had a disappointing Bronze performance in Athens in 2004, but has won the last 5 Gold Medal’s in Men’s Olympic Basketball (Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo, Paris).
Because of that run of Gold, some have suggested the US shouldn’t continue to send our best.
I think that would be a mistake. One, it’s become more difficult each cycle, as the overall world talent expands, and two – the Olympics are about the best of the best.
No reason to hold back.
Build your best team, and make someone beat you.

The NBA has further global aspirations, as it anticipates a 2027 launch of NBA Europe.
Remains to be seen what that will look like exactly, and for the existing EuroLeague.

All of that to say, I’m an NBA / Basketball fan.

Last night San Antonio won Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks will take a 2-1 series advantage into Game 4 tomorrow night, and I’ll be watching.

But as I watched last night, and I digested the latest talk about NBA Europe – I wondered if there was an opportunity for a group of owners to fairly instantly create the world’s 2nd best basketball league; and maybe an eventual challenger to the NBA?

I understand the ABA’s run from ’67 to ’76 was a different era, and that the NBA is in a completely different stratosphere today.

In that sense, building a new league with a goal of eventually maybe challenging the NBA sounds preposterous.

But building the world’s 2nd best league?
That seems potentially plausible to me for two main reasons.

Firstly, just like I’ve grown up without a team of my own, there are countless others in other markets who have had the same experience.
Secondly, the growth of the game globally means there is an abundance of available professional talent.

 

Could this work?

This was fun to think through, but I realize it’s not happening tomorrow, or likely ever.

But if I’m a billionaire in the aforementioned markets and I’m looking at that news about NBA Europe; I’d be interested in building an alternative.