The NBA conference finals tip off Tuesday night, May 20, when the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, in the Eastern Conference, it’s the Indiana Pacers against the New York Knicks.
Why are new teams pushing to the top of the NBA?
For the seventh straight season, the NBA will have a new champion. That’s the longest streak in league history without a repeat title winner, and it seems parity is here to stay –– at least for the foreseeable future.
There are many factors that explain why the league has moved away from dynasties like the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors. For one, there is a younger, deeper talent pool than ever before, which means bench players are big contributors to team success.
The Thunder and Timberwolves each have young superstars leading the way. Minnesota star Anthony Edwards is just 23 years old. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City has the youngest roster in the league, with an average age of 24. Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault says they’re in the perfect situation.
“A lot is made of how young our team is,” Daigneault said. “And I think being in a market where the wind is at young players’ backs and where they feel support from their fans –– they don’t feel judgment, they don’t feel skepticism or negativity –– I think that’s helped our young players grow up quickly.”
Is small market success good for business?
The NBA is just months away from a new 11-year, $76-billion media rights deal. Parity means the majority of the league has a shot at the title each year, but the exclusion of big markets like Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas has left many wondering if it will be good for television ratings. Small-market teams like Oklahoma City don’t have quite the draw nationwide.
The Pacers are also a young team, and play in the 25th-largest media market in the country. They will start their seven-game series with the Knicks on Wednesday, May 21, rekindling a decades-old rivalry. The history will certainly help generate interest and has become a big topic of conversation.
Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton is well aware of the Reggie Miller vs. Knicks battles from the mid-’90s.
“Excited to add more chapters to this storied rivalry and just continue to be a part of it,” Haliburton said. “I look forward to playing in that building, and I look forward to the crowd environment.”
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau was an assistant coach back in the ’90s and spent part of his time in New York battling Miller’s Pacers. He draws one big parallel between the two eras.
“People want to see great competition,” Thibodeau said. “Oftentimes, style play can change. It could be fast-paced, sometimes it’s slow-paced. The ’90s was a crawl. Now the games are a lot faster, a lot more skilled. It’s different, but the competition part was always the same.”
What if the New York Knicks come out on top?
The competition will certainly be there this month, but if the Knicks –– who play in the No. 1 media market –– eventually come out on top, the conspiracy theories about who the league would prefer to see in the finals will once again come to the forefront. When asked about that, Daigneault shot down any talk of the referees being influenced.
“Teams, players, coaches are going to use the media to try to influence the whistle as a competitive advantage,” Daigneault said. “The margins are thin in the playoffs. Everyone’s looking for an advantage. Some teams will go to that. My mentality on that is, it’s the Western Conference finals. The guys working these games aren’t here for an accident.”
Refs aside, the league’s parity isn’t just fueled by a deeper talent pool, but the fact that teams are building through the draft. Trades are also becoming more prevalent –– see Luka Dončić –– as opposed to signing mega-superstars to free agent contracts. Those moves tend to even out the balance of power across the league.
However, whether it leads to good business as a whole is yet to be determined. For now, the league will ride its new storylines and this wave of new star power to the finish line in mid-June. The Thunder are the betting favorites to bring their first title home to Oklahoma City.
