With the news that Kevin Garnett is being traded from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Boston Celtics, it should be pointed out that the two markets involved in the deal are two of the least dedicated NBA cities.
Minneapolis and Boston routinely finish at the very bottom of the metered-markets in NBA ratings. During the 2006-07 season, Minneapolis finished tied for last with Pittsburgh in regular season ratings on TNT and ESPN, drawing a 0.3 and 0.4 rating respectively. NBA games on ABC drew a 1.1 rating in Minneapolis, third worst among metered markets. During the playoffs, games drew a 1.1 rating on ESPN, (52nd out of 55 markets) a 0.9 on TNT (tied for dead last with Pittsburgh), and a 1.4 rating on ABC, ahead of only Pittsburgh and Boston — the latter of which finished with the worst ratings of any metered market.
From 2004 to 2006, Boston and Minneapolis finished near the bottom of NBA Finals ratings. Boston averaged a mere 4.3 rating for the Pistons/Lakers final in 2004, a 4.0 rating for the Spurs/Pistons final in 2005, and a 3.3 rating for the Heat/Mavericks final in 2006. Boston was dead last among metered markets in 2004 and 2006. Minneapolis, meanwhile, drew a 10.1 rating in 2004 (which, it should be pointed out, was the year the Timberwolves made the Western Conference Finals) before dropping to a 4.8 rating in 2005 and a 4.9 rating in 2006.
Metered-market ratings for the 2007 NBA Finals are currently unavailable.
Boston and Minnesota finished #20 and #24, respectively, in attendance during the 2006-07 NBA season.
Putting the numbers in perspective:
- The 2006 Coca Cola 600 drew a 3.2 rating in Boston, only 3% lower than the 3.3 average for the 2006 NBA Finals.
- The 2006 Daytona 500 drew a 7.2 rating in Boston, 118% higher than the 3.3 for the ’06 NBA Finals. That same race drew 12.9 rating in Minneapolis, 163% higher than the 4.9 rating for the Finals.
- The 2006 Kentucky Derby drew an 11.2 rating in Boston, 239% higher than the local rating for the ’06 NBA Finals. The same event scored a 9.1 in Minneapolis, 86% higher than the local rating for the NBA Finals. The 2006 Preakness drew a 7.8 and 6.4 in Boston and Minneapolis, respectively.
- The 2005 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Championship Game drew a 8.7 rating in Boston, 118% higher than the 4.0 for that year’s NBA Finals; that same game drew a 13.2 rating in Minneapolis, 175% higher than the 4.8 for that year’s NBA Finals.
The trade of Garnett to Boston could result in one of two scenarios: Boston becomes a legitimate NBA city again, with ratings rising significantly across the board, while Minneapolis completely abandons the league. Or, Boston remains apathetic to the NBA, with most citizens keeping their attention on the Red Sox and Patriots, while Minneapolis completely abandons the league. Either way, one of these two weak NBA markets will completely abandon the league for some time, as the fans in Minnesota will likely not care about a rebuilding project.
