NBA Commissioner Adam Silver hints at adding international expansion teams originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
With the Toronto Raptors being the only team outside the United States, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is not ready to rule out the possibility of international league expansion. Silver joined Mike Gorman and Brian Scalabrine during NBC Sports Boston’s broadcast of the game. Boston Celtics‘ match against the New York Knicks to discuss the possibility.
Gorman started the conversation by asking Silver if fans could expect more matches outside of the United States. In the past, the NBA has hosted preseason and regular season games in over 17 different countries, with each game always drawing large crowds. With plenty of evidence showing interest in the league extends beyond our borders, could we see greater involvement overseas?
“Probably,” Silver replied. “It’s interesting. It’s a balance, because we also know the impact of traveling on the players. So, in that regard, I was in pre-season in Abu Dhabi, it’s a little easier for the bodies of the players because they have time to recover, especially when there are big time differences.”
Although expanding to Europe, for example, would be difficult due to long travel times and large time differences, expanding to Mexicoor several teams in Canada, could be much more within the realm of possibility.
“Mexico City is easy in terms of, I mean, it’s a high altitude, it’s 2,000 feet higher than Denver, so it affects the players a little bit, but it’s a shorter flight to Mexico City from New York than Los Angeles, so… “One day, I think it would be amazing to be able to expand into a market like Mexico.”
Last week, on November 9, the Atlanta Falcons overcome the Magic of Orlando in a thrilling 119-120 match held in Mexico City in front of a packed house of 22,300 spectators. During the 32nd match of the league held in Mexico, NBA viewership on ESPN in the country increased 25% year over year.ranking among the top 10 League Pass subscriptions in the international market.
“In the meantime, we’re playing in Paris again in January,” Silver said. “It’s truly a global league, we have players from about 40 countries, over a quarter of the players were born outside of the United States, and especially now with digital media, streaming media, you know , I’m sure you get fan mail from over 200 countries, that’s where our games are broadcast.”
After concluding the discussion on international expansion, Scalabrine focused on the new in-season tournament.
“I think the response has been great,” Silver added. “As I said before, the courts can be an acquired taste for some, they are quite distinctive so we may have to modify them a little, depending on the terrain, but I like the fact that it is an experience very different when you log in.”
The design of the courts for the in-season tournament has been a topic of discussion among fans, with some liking the distinctive look and others hating the change. For the Celtics, one of the most notable exceptions to their court design was the lack of hardwood flooring, what would have been requested by the franchise and refused by the league.
“The response in terms of attendance has been tremendous,” Silver continued. “Ratings were up over 100 percent the first weekend, we were up over 50 percent last week, so people are paying attention.”
By SportsMediaWatchTHE the Los Angeles Lakers against. Phoenix Suns The game, broadcast on a Friday night, was the most-watched in-season tournament game to date, averaging 1.93 million viewers on ESPN, up 55 percent from comparable Friday games evening last season.
“Probably the most important thing is that the players are interested,” Silver said of the in-season tournament. “I don’t know what you mean, but I think the American players, from their experience in college, the tournament around Thanksgiving or the holidays, the international players know this cutting system because it comes from international football, I think they’re looking forward to the last four games in Las Vegas.”
The group stages of the In-Season tournament will run through November 28, with the single elimination bracket beginning on December 4. The first In-Season tournament champion will be crowned on December 9 in Las Vegas.
