It's not yet clear how much interest the Saudis have in the business of basketball, but we saw in one day their potential to unsettle the NBA more than any rival has since the days of the ABA
Thoughtful discussion, but I think you need to be more honest. The Saudi’s simply do abuse the human rights of women in their culture and they are responsible for the murder of James Khashoggi. Their money is blood money, but the nba is comfortable cozying up to the genocidal Chinese. No reason to let Saudi crimes stand in the way of more gold.
Appreciate your thoughts on the influence of oil money, Marc. It's all so disheartening. I'm a Tottenham fan and there's pretty consistent agreement that many of us on the board would stop following the team if they're bought with dirty money.
Related, I'm tired of seeing the slippery slope argument that I've seen made elsewhere and often that all wealth is related to questionable behavior. There's a big gap between saying "capitalism is based on exploitation, so all of the super-wealthy are tainted" and the clear, disgusting record of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
Good article, Marc. Really thoughtful take on the Saudi situation.
My thoughts:
- I think we’re in a weird interim phase with the CBA. Teams are adapting. If the new TV deal ends up being as lucrative as expected, the cap will go up dramatically. NBA players will be just fine.
- I think Silver’s comments about sports “bringing people together” are incredibly sanguine. Does he really think NBA involvement will change all the sociopolitical concerns with the Saudis? What kind of message does that send to the WNBA? That is a very slippery slope. There are ways to globalize without taking money from the Saudis.
- I wonder how many NBA players would actually relocate to play there, assuming a league is created. You think the heat wave has been bad this summer? Parts of that region are nearing the point of being unsuitable for human life as global warming continues, not even considering all the sociopolitical stuff Marc mentioned. This would not be like the LIV tour where the events are in our own backyard. Would a competitor like LBJ really move his family to Riyadh for a startup league?
No question it’s hard to imagine top players going over there, but look at the level of soccer players going. If the money is rich enough I do think it’s conceivable. As for the Silver comments … they’re what you’d expect him to say. But all these sports entities are businesses that are naturally gonna gravitate to where they can make the most money. It’s happening now in almost every sport.
I have never watched “Winning Time” and I don’t intend to, but I have read about its inaccuracies and agree that there’s no excuse for being so off the mark when dealing with real people and events; the best docudramas, though necessarily fictionalized, still manage to capture the essence of the subject matter. From what I’ve read, “Elvis”, for example, did just that. If you think that the only way to make a series interesting is to make it 75% fiction, you can change the names and let it be known that your story is inspired by whatever. That was the case with “Citizen Kane,” and as a much more current example, “Succession” - which nonetheless might conceivably be closer to the mark about the Murdochs than “Winning Time” is about the Lakers!
I know that this idea seems quite radical but with the international growth of basketball - and the opportunities for broadcasting content (and 💰💰💰)with the streamers the following could be very possible.
All due to the 💰💰💰💰💰 available in Saudi Arabia.
They setup to start a 12 team league in Saudi Arabia and Europe - 8 European teams and 4 teams elsewhere. Play 60 some games with the top 8 in the playoffs.
Travel time from Riyadh to London is 7 hours and with a smaller footprint to start the scheduling could be sorted out (European travel is quite easier of course).
The thought on ⚽ right now is that they are trying to impact the domestic league in order to build momentum for a World Cup bid (and other ambitions as well). If they want to have the next major impact on the sporting world - it really has to be basketball.
They have so much money that one indeed wonders if the Saudis want to try to start a league closer to the USA. It would be fascinating to know their true reactions to the way NBA players reacted to the Mbappe story.
Thoughtful discussion, but I think you need to be more honest. The Saudi’s simply do abuse the human rights of women in their culture and they are responsible for the murder of James Khashoggi. Their money is blood money, but the nba is comfortable cozying up to the genocidal Chinese. No reason to let Saudi crimes stand in the way of more gold.
Appreciate your thoughts on the influence of oil money, Marc. It's all so disheartening. I'm a Tottenham fan and there's pretty consistent agreement that many of us on the board would stop following the team if they're bought with dirty money.
Related, I'm tired of seeing the slippery slope argument that I've seen made elsewhere and often that all wealth is related to questionable behavior. There's a big gap between saying "capitalism is based on exploitation, so all of the super-wealthy are tainted" and the clear, disgusting record of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
Good article, Marc. Really thoughtful take on the Saudi situation.
My thoughts:
- I think we’re in a weird interim phase with the CBA. Teams are adapting. If the new TV deal ends up being as lucrative as expected, the cap will go up dramatically. NBA players will be just fine.
- I think Silver’s comments about sports “bringing people together” are incredibly sanguine. Does he really think NBA involvement will change all the sociopolitical concerns with the Saudis? What kind of message does that send to the WNBA? That is a very slippery slope. There are ways to globalize without taking money from the Saudis.
- I wonder how many NBA players would actually relocate to play there, assuming a league is created. You think the heat wave has been bad this summer? Parts of that region are nearing the point of being unsuitable for human life as global warming continues, not even considering all the sociopolitical stuff Marc mentioned. This would not be like the LIV tour where the events are in our own backyard. Would a competitor like LBJ really move his family to Riyadh for a startup league?
No question it’s hard to imagine top players going over there, but look at the level of soccer players going. If the money is rich enough I do think it’s conceivable. As for the Silver comments … they’re what you’d expect him to say. But all these sports entities are businesses that are naturally gonna gravitate to where they can make the most money. It’s happening now in almost every sport.
I have never watched “Winning Time” and I don’t intend to, but I have read about its inaccuracies and agree that there’s no excuse for being so off the mark when dealing with real people and events; the best docudramas, though necessarily fictionalized, still manage to capture the essence of the subject matter. From what I’ve read, “Elvis”, for example, did just that. If you think that the only way to make a series interesting is to make it 75% fiction, you can change the names and let it be known that your story is inspired by whatever. That was the case with “Citizen Kane,” and as a much more current example, “Succession” - which nonetheless might conceivably be closer to the mark about the Murdochs than “Winning Time” is about the Lakers!
My stock line on this is … it’s the 1989s Lakers! The stories don’t need embellishment. Just tell the real stories.
The 1980s Lakers!
I know that this idea seems quite radical but with the international growth of basketball - and the opportunities for broadcasting content (and 💰💰💰)with the streamers the following could be very possible.
All due to the 💰💰💰💰💰 available in Saudi Arabia.
They setup to start a 12 team league in Saudi Arabia and Europe - 8 European teams and 4 teams elsewhere. Play 60 some games with the top 8 in the playoffs.
Travel time from Riyadh to London is 7 hours and with a smaller footprint to start the scheduling could be sorted out (European travel is quite easier of course).
The thought on ⚽ right now is that they are trying to impact the domestic league in order to build momentum for a World Cup bid (and other ambitions as well). If they want to have the next major impact on the sporting world - it really has to be basketball.
They have so much money that one indeed wonders if the Saudis want to try to start a league closer to the USA. It would be fascinating to know their true reactions to the way NBA players reacted to the Mbappe story.