The player resting issue has been at the forefront of NBA news lately. As more and more teams opt to rest their players, the NBA is getting involved, sending memos to organizations. The debate has run rampant as these periodic rests for star players have coincided with national broadcasts, putting the league in a tough spot as they look to keep increasing revenue from those avenues.
One thing that has factored into the national TV issue is the low number of teams that are even broadcast on television. The ABC Saturday primetime games, for example, feature only a handful of the elite teams, several of whom are confident enough to give up games for the sake of long-term health.
So one solution to this debacle could be as simple as showcasing more of the league’s good teams on prime time television. Washington Wizards’ owner Ted Leonsis agrees, saying so in a joking manner on CNBC recently (as transcribed by John Chick of The Score):
“I responded immediately to Adam (Silver) and said just put the Washington Wizards on national television and I’ll make sure our players show up. I think it’s an honor to play on national TV.”
Despite the joke, Leonsis does have a point. The Wizards have exploded after a terrible start and are now a top-four team in the Eastern Conference. They have a star player in John Wall. They should be marketed as such.
It’s a difficult situation for the league. They know that the major sellers are a handful of teams and superstars. But at the same time, oversaturating that part of the league with the added risk that LeBron James could be replaced by Richard Jefferson in the starting lineup on any given night, is causing a slight problem for the league. Adam Silver will look to get ahead of this issue and solve it before it has any major implications; giving good but not great teams more air time could be a solution.
