San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Showcase reminds league is a business
Last month, when players started blasting the NBA’s decision to stage its All-Star Game in the middle of a pandemic, Stephen Curry shrugged and reacted with pragmatism. He didn’t sound excited, but he also wasn’t heated. He just referred to what 12 years in the league have taught him.
“It’s a business,” the Golden State Warriors superstar told reporters. “And we understand that. We know what we signed up for.”
During the NBA’s socially progressive moments, it’s tempting to crank up the hyperbole and extol its idealism. The league answers the moment quite well. But that makes it more of a chameleon than a sport forever committed to a cause. It always resets to its ultimate goal, which is to make as much money as possible. And that is what this season and all of its conflicts have been about: getting back to business. The business must be preserved, come what may.
It shouldn’t excuse Commissioner Adam Silver and the league from scrutiny of their recent decisions. But the reality is that the NBA is moving back toward the center of the fan base and focusing on protecting revenue streams. The All-Star Game, despite the money earmarked for historically Black colleges and universities, is mostly an opportunity to take care of TV partner Turner Sports. The decision to return for a new season just 71 days after Game 6 of the 2020 NBA Finals was about satisfying the TV partners. Silver’s edict to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and the rest of the league that
“all teams will play the national anthem” was an attempt to reestablish behavioral norms after a year of protest.
Naturally, there has been friction. Most owners are trying to reassert their control. Players continue to push for more freedom and a stronger voice within their organizations. After everyone came together in the bubble, there’s no unifying force right now, except for the matter of salvaging revenue. So the NBA, like every other league, is desperate to normalize during an abnormal time.
The league is just doing what it knows and hoping to get to daylight. And with the vaccine rollout speeding up, there is reason to believe daylight might arrive in time for a more spirited playoff atmosphere at season’s end.
After the shortest offseason in league history, the NBA has spent the first half of this campaign trudging, sometimes foolishly. The best thing about the season is that it’s half over. This is a strangely triumphant fact, not a criticism. This is verification that the NBA, same as every other weary league, weary business and weary person, has accomplished forward movement, somehow.
For the past year in sports, seasons have not been experienced, not in a familiar sense. They have been simulated. These games have been staged in largely empty venues and made to look nice — or nice enough — for television.
How will an All-Star Game in this environment look? It’s a minor curiosity, but I’m not sure it’s worth the COVID-19 risk to find out. This is why LeBron James initially declared he had “zero energy and zero excitement” about it. But he will be in Atlanta on Sunday, leading Team LeBron. It’s a business. He knows what he signed up for.