The NBA All-Star Game and its promotional power is one of the league’s major business engines. As we look forward to the rest of the season, it’s worth looking back at the individuals who created the global power of NBA basketball.
1. Michael Jordan: He was the ultimate competitor in NBA history and the most recognized athlete on the planet after Muhammad Ali. Based on his play and promotional proactivity, he elevated the NBA to new heights. Jordan combined the best of Elgin Baylor, Connie Hawkins and Dr. J and translated it from the schoolyard to the boardroom.
2. Magic & Bird: Earvin “Magic” Johnson was the Swami of Showtime for the Los Angeles Lakers. Larry Bird, the Hick from French Lick, brought his killer game to Boston. From their NCAA title game in 1979 to their last head to head on court duel in 1987, Bird and Magic exemplified the bicoastal rivalry that catapulted the NBA to a higher level of fan and media support on a national basis.
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The Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry led the NBA to great fan and media attention in the 1980s.
Photo by: NBAE / GETTY IMAGES
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3. Phil Knight: Owner of the No. 1 athletic shoe company in the world, Knight helped glamorize athletic footwear by using Jordan as the face of the company. This move forever changed the world of celebrity sports endorsers. There is no doubt that the money spent by the major shoe companies during the “sneaker wars” helped elevate the world’s attention to NBA basketball.
4. 1992 Dream Team: The U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team was the first American Olympic team to feature active NBA players. This superstar group blitzed the opposition by an average of 44 points a game on their way to gold and global rock-star status. The roster was every coaches’ dream: Christian Laettner, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Chris Mullin, Charles Barkley, Bird, Jordan and Johnson.
5. Julius Erving: Dr. J was the maestro of midair. His gravity-defying style of play helped legitimize the American Basketball Association, which ultimately merged with the NBA. He was the author of the slam dunk and a style of play that made him a fan and media favorite. Dr. J was a major off-court product endorser and one of the first players to have a shoe named after him. One of the NBA’s top 50 players, fans will always remember his up-and-under balletic baseline move in the 1980 NBA Finals.
6. David Stern: He became the NBA’s fourth commissioner in 1984. He has guided the league with the touch of a diplomat and the steely focus of a prosecutor. A master of the media, Stern’s promotional prowess has made the league a global marketing machine. There are few commissioners in sports who have been more identified with the growth of their sport.
7. Eddie Gottlieb: “The Mogul” was a master promoter. A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, Gottlieb helped form the NBA, coached and owned the Philadelphia Warriors franchise, and signed Wilt Chamberlain to his first NBA contract. He was the wizard of doing the complicated NBA schedule for more than 25 years. He was basketball’s equivalent of baseball’s master promoter Bill Veeck.
8. Danny Biasone: The founding owner of the Syracuse Nationals, which later became the Philadelphia 76ers, Biasone was the driving force behind the NBA’s 24-second shot clock. When the league adopted his concept in 1954, professional basketball fans were given a faster, more-exciting game that has stood the test of time.
9. Mark Cuban: Owner of the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, the Broadcast.com founder became a billionaire when he sold to Yahoo!. His media-hyped controversies with Stern fit perfectly into today’s contentious sports landscape. Cuban is one of the most fan-friendly owners in sports. His proactive use of social media to instantly communicate with his constituencies has become a powerful promotional vehicle.
10. The ABA: Before the merger with the NBA in 1976, the ABA and its red, white and blue ball was viewed as the NBA’s crazy uncle. It had the 3-point shots, ferocious slam dunkers, wild uniforms and some of the most colorful players in all of sports. (Terry Pluto chronicles the league in “Loose Balls,” a must read.) The free-wheeling ABA style of play was quickly adopted by the NBA after the merger.n
Andy Dolich (andy.dolich@gmail.com) has more than four decades of experience in professional sports, including executive positions in the NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL.
