Since 1999, the Los Angeles Lakers have been the team of choice for network executives. The team has had the maximum amount of television appearances each season since Michael Jordan retired (with the lone exception of 2002-03, when ABC aired four Laker games instead of the maximum five).
During the playoffs, the Lakers have been featured almost every single possible week on broadcast television. When they won their three titles, the team monopolized the marquee 5:30 PM Sunday timeslot on NBC. Even after the team slid into mediocrity, the Lakers were featured on ABC every possible Sunday — in fact, the Lakers have had four playoff appearances on ABC in the last two years, while teams like the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers (both of whom have been in the second round in the past two years, unlike the Lakers) have still not had a game on broadcast television since the mid-1990s.
The Lakers have been the NBA’s marquee team since the Bulls were dismantled, and they have been led by the NBA’s marquee player — Kobe Bryant. Bryant, despite not ever making it out of the first round of the playoffs without Shaquille O’Neal, is arguably the biggest star in the NBA. Games involving his Lakers were the highest rated games on ABC this past regular season, despite the fact that the Lakers were a mediocre team on which Bryant was surrounded by NBDL-level talent.
With Bryant now demanding a trade from the Lakers, the league’s marquee team is on its way to oblivion. Assuming Bryant is traded, the Lakers immediately fall off the map, and the NBA is left without a sure-thing.
The Lakers are virtually guaranteed to get a decent rating every time they play on national TV. While a large part of that can be attributed to Bryant, the fact is that the Lakers are the Yankees of the NBA — extremely important to the success of the league. What happens to the NBA if the Lakers are suddenly the New York Knicks? And what happens to the NBA if the Lakers, Knicks, Celtics and 76ers are all lottery teams?
Teams like the Cavaliers, Mavericks, Suns and Heat can all draw fairly good audiences. However, none of those teams have the power of a huge market like Los Angeles to go with their star players. If Bryant is traded, the only way it can be a good thing for the NBA is if he is traded to the Knicks, 76ers, Bulls or Celtics. The last thing the NBA needs is the loss of its only legitimate big-market draw — especially with potential future stars Greg Oden and Kevin Durant headed to Portland and Seattle/Oklahoma City.
See also: “The Late Lake Show.“
