The NBA offseason has "taken over the slowest month on the sports calendar," and it has "happened in a way that, only a few years ago, would've seemed impossible to just about everyone within the sport," according to Tim Bontemps of the WASHINGTON POST. With an "ever-increasing appetite for coverage of the league's offseason transactions" -- from the NBA Draft in late June to free agency in July -- and its annual summer leagues that showcase future stars, the NBA has "taken hold during a period long dominated" by MLB. From the moment the NBA Finals end, the focus "immediately shifts" to the NBA Draft followed by "breathless coverage of free agency that coincides with summer league." It is a combination that has become "irresistible both to fans and the league's television partners, who see it as another avenue to seek returns on the massive investments they made this past season when a new TV deal kicked in." NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: "I am a little surprised by the growth in interest, specifically in free agency and the Las Vegas Summer League, but it's really just an extension of the remarkable growth in interest in the NBA we've seen over the last decade." Bontemps notes in an "attempt to capitalize on that, ESPN has doubled down on its NBA programming." The net "increased its coverage of the Las Vegas Summer League this year," while also expanding its plans for daily studio show "The Jump." The show was "initially supposed to take a break during the summer," but the interest in the NBA "led ESPN to keep the show on the air year-round." Given the momentum the sport has "seemingly gathered, it seems unlikely that will change anytime soon" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/21). In S.F., Bruce Jenkins wrote under the header, "The NBA In Summer: Still Cooking." The NBA is "destroying the NFL in the duel for offseason publicity" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/19).
MAIN ATTRACTION: In Las Vegas, Mark Anderson writes the Vegas Summer League replicating the success it had this year "won't be easy" in '18. Expect "future tweaks to continue to draw attention, such as this year when the choice was made not to bring back" the G League Select Team and go with 24 NBA teams. That decision helped bring the Clippers back "after a two-year absence." Meanwhile, Lakers G Lonzo Ball's "drawing power and the run of the fan favorite Lakers ... helped drive interest." Fans in purple and gold shirts and jerseys "regularly packed the lower bowl" at the Thomas & Mack Center, and on the national sports shows, it "seemingly was all Lonzo all the time." Summer League co-Founder & Exec Dir Warren LeGarie "downplayed the impact of Ball and the Lakers bringing out more crowds." He said, "We love Lonzo being here; he's terrific. But every year, we've had the same percentage of growth" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/19). In L.A., Helene Elliott notes thousands of fans "waited outside in triple-digit heat to get a glimpse of future stars while a who's who of marquee players sat courtside." Las Vegas is "becoming a mecca for professional sports leagues and organizations to set up shop" (L.A. TIMES, 7/21).
YOU BETTER YOU BET: Silver earlier this week reaffirmed the NBA's position on legalized gambling, and ESPN's Pablo Torre said no commissioner of a major pro sports league is "more ahead of the curve" on the issue than Silver. ESPN's Tony Kornheiser noted people have been "betting for a hundred years on everything in sports.” However, he added, “What I think is going to happen is behavior by fans is going to become deplorable in a horrifying way. Adam Silver is predicting the kind of betting where you can bet on who's going to score the next baskets. If it's not your boy scoring the next basket, you get up and you scream and you curse.” Torre noted the regular season can become "quite boring," but once the leagues install "prop bets about the next basket or how long the National Anthem is, you suddenly realize, ‘Oh, I can have my cake and eat it too’” (“PTI,” ESPN, 7/20).
