The NBA, Now VS. Then

[MVP]

I agree. I don't see MLS becoming on par with top European leagues. I still see it as a stipulation for Soccer to surpass any of the top two in the US (NFL, NBA)

It will happen in next 20-30 years. It is already beating Italian and France leagues in attendance numbers. And NBA and NHL if we are speaking about american leagues. Best money in sports is in USA and it is just a matter of time before most of soccer stars will chose to play in USA instead of Spain or England.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016...ason-attendance-records-third-straight-season

 

[Safetydan]

I think it was better in the 90's.

The players seemed to care more. The stars then and now obviously care, but the other players in the 90's seemed to care more.

The teams had real dislike between teams, the rivalry aspect of the NBA has vanished. It's not less it's simply gone. Having players play against each other that play like losing to "those guys" would be a disgrace makes the games more entertaining.

The NBA has changed the rules to make the games more offensive minded, they've done this to make the games more appealing to the masses. But IMO that has diminished the competitiveness of the league. You have guys that simply don't even care about defense in today's NBA and they get away with it because they have made it almost impossible to play real defense. It's turning the game into more and more of a shooting competition, instead of a basketball game. Pretty soon they'll just line guys up at the 3 point line and take turns shooting 3's to determine a winner (can't have any contact (gasp) our stars might get hurt).

The fact that super star calls is now accepted as a fact shows that the league just simply doesn't care about the image that they cheat to favor the more marketable teams and players.

All of these factors to me ruin the watch ability of the league. I used to enjoy watching NBA games, now they are boring unless it's the Jazz. I haven't watched an entire NBA game not involving the Jazz in at least 3 years, and that includes the playoffs. It's just not entertaining to watch anymore.

The rivalry aspect is something that is missed but I don't know how to fix it or make it better. The game was undeniably more dramatic in the 90s.

I disagree with the rest of your post. You're saying that guys don't care about defense in today's NBA. This is objectively false. There are exceptions like James Harden, but he's consistently panned for his terrible defense and what he brings to the offensive side makes it palatable for the teams that he plays on.

What rule changes are you talking about? I don't see it as making it impossible to play "real defense" (I.E. fouling). The tighter calls make it so teams are actually forced to play real "real" defense. Schemes have become detailed and polished, rotations are intricate and a split-second hesitation can be disastrous. How is this not better? The only reason the NBA today seems like a shooting contest is because teams finally realized that 3>2 and getting shot-makers became a serious priority. Players are in the process of perfecting this skill and the result is beautiful. EFG across the board is higher than it has ever been and it is not due to poor defense despite your uneducated eyes telling you otherwise. The area of the court that defenses have to account for is massively higher than it used to be.

Superstar calls are also overblown. I think the whole rookie/unknown players not getting whistles is maybe a bigger issue.

 

[Safetydan]

It will happen in next 20-30 years. It is already beating Italian and France leagues in attendance numbers. And NBA and NHL if we are speaking about american leagues. Best money in sports is in USA and it is just a matter of time before most of soccer stars will chose to play in USA instead of Spain or England.

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016...ason-attendance-records-third-straight-season

I could see us becoming a top-tier farm league(Brazil) or second-tier destination league(France). I'm not sure what would be better

 

[JimLes]

I could see us becoming a top-tier farm league(Brazil) or second-tier destination league(France). I'm not sure what would be better

If you're at all a fan of the men's national team, obviously the first one.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I could see us becoming a top-tier farm league(Brazil) or second-tier destination league(France). I'm not sure what would be better

Curious, what is the payroll of the teams in the top soccer leagues?

 

[Siro]

Do you expect the NFL to wane in popularity over the next 50 years? I think it does.

No doubt. It already is among children.

 

[Safetydan]

If you're at all a fan of the men's national team, obviously the first one.

I am. From that perspective being a developers leagues would be best. We do have USL though which obviously allows for development as well.

The upside of being a destination league is that the entertainment value would undeniably be higher for those who are fans of the league.

 

[Safetydan]

Curious, what is the payroll of the teams in the top soccer leagues?

I'd have to google it but it varies wildly within leagues since there is no such thing as a salary cap. The mean would not represent well due to the extreme outliers. Top teams are through the roof while relegation doormats are a fraction.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I'd have to google it but it varies wildly within leagues since there is no such thing as a salary cap. The mean would not represent well due to the extreme outliers. Top teams are through the roof while relegation doormats are a fraction.

Well, who has the highest payroll? At the end of the day getting talent is a lot about how much you can pay.

 

[Safetydan]

Well, who has the highest payroll? At the end of the day getting talent is a lot about how much you can pay.

PSG is at 227 million RM in second at like 215. Manchester City, Barcelona, and BM sit around 200 million. The dodgers total payroll is higher than these but these soccer clubs own the highest average per player salaries. They range from 8-9 million a player.

 

[♪alt13]

Well, who has the highest payroll? At the end of the day getting talent is a lot about how much you can pay.

Right and MLS probably makes less as an entire league than the top clubs in Europe do. It's THE aport over there. The EU has more people and a higher GDP than us. I don't think that we will automatically always be among the best just cuz we're mericans.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Right and MLS probably makes less as an entire league than the top clubs in Europe do. It's THE aport over there. The EU has more people and a higher GDP than us. I don't think that we will automatically always be among the best just cuz we're mericans.

Yeah, cuz I said that would happen automatically (I never even said it would happen period, I just asked you if you saw NFL getting less popular in the next 50 years).