1) the NBA has increased in value by $2.8B in the past 15 years.
viewership on TV has increased by 28%
NBA finals have the 2nd highest rating, only the Super Bowl has higher ratings for a sports final sporting event.
2) Wilt Chamberlain joining Elgin Baylor and Jerry West didn't damage the league.
Neither did signing Shaq for an unprecedented $121M from Orlando.
Neither will Durant joining Golden State. It's not like GS stacked themselves
with free agents... Curry, Thompson, and Green were all draft picks that had their
contracts extended by a smart front office team. It's not like they bought a title like the Heat did
3) Rivalries do exist today, maybe more than the 80's.
not many people predicted any team other than the Celtics and Lakers
reaching the finals. If GS and Cleveland are lucky to reach the finals next year
it would draw bigger ratings than the record setting ratings that happened this year.
4) If the NBA has any weakness it's the balance of power in the conferences. The East is ridiculously weak.
