The new season of the NBA is finally here and it bodes to be an exciting season of basketball. The NBA champions the Denver Nuggets kick off the season against the Los Angeles Lakers in what will be a celebratory night at the Ball Arena. Finals MVP Nikola Jokic will be looking to carry on his postseason form into the new campaign, as he dominated the playoffs last term.
The Serbian opted to not be selected for Serbia's FIBA World Cup squad off the back of an impressive run to championship glory, so he will be fresh for tonight's game against LeBron James and co.
Being one of the most well-liked sports leagues worldwide, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is extremely popular in North America. The popularity of the league, nevertheless, is not limited to the US and Canada. We shall examine the NBA's popularity outside of North America in this piece.
Worldwide Rosters:
From an international standpoint, this year is quite significant for the sport since, in addition to the United States, the entire globe is watching the NBA due to the large number of players that are playing abroad. Opening night rosters from 41 different countries included 120 international players last season. With players like Kristaps Porzingis, Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ben Simmons, Luka Doncic, and Kyrie Irving, to mention a few, the NBA is expanding on a global scale.
Going Global:
The NBA has also made a determined attempt to travel the world, holding games in other nations and towns. The NBA has held regular-season games in London, Paris, and Mexico City in recent years. Additionally, the league has hosted preseason matches in Australia, China, and Japan. The NBA has also produced events like the NBA Global Games, especially for fans around the world. These are international competitions between NBA teams that take place in various nations. To promote basketball at the grassroots level, the NBA also conducts basketball clinics and camps for young players abroad.
TV Figures:
Another indicator of the NBA's popularity outside of North America is television viewing. The league has international broadcast partnerships with television networks in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Fans may watch NBA games live or on tape thanks to these arrangements. The NBA states that its games are watched by 1.5 billion people throughout 215 nations and territories.
The UK & ROI:
As a basketball fan from England, we have had the NBA on our screens properly for a decade now which is really great and now the NBA and TNT Sports have established a multiyear broadcast partnership that will provide fans in the UK and Ireland with access to over 250 live games and a variety of NBA programming only on TNT Sports' platforms. TNT Sports will broadcast the league's main events, including a few games from the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament, the NBA Playoffs, the Finals, the NBA All-Star Game, and the NBA Draft, in addition to at least nine games every week during the regular season. It follows the expiration of the league's initial four-year broadcast agreement, which had been in place since the 2018–19 season, with Sky Sports.
International fanbase:
Outside of North America, the NBA has a devoted fan following, and the organisation has made an effort to interact with them. The league has developed multilingual international editions of both its mobile app and website. To give fans a way to communicate with the league in their native tongue, the NBA has now opened social media accounts in various nations.
Alternative options:
Another challenge is the competition from other sports leagues. Basketball is not the most popular sport in many countries, and other leagues, such as soccer and cricket, have a much larger following. The NBA also competes with other basketball leagues, such as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the Australian NBL.
Being successful outside of the states:
The NBA has had varying degrees of success in building its reputation abroad. Despite the league's large investments in foreign markets, there are still issues that need to be resolved. Despite this, the NBA is committed to continuing to expand into new regions throughout the world as its popularity grows on a worldwide scale. The NBA will keep growing its fan base, forge alliances with TV networks, establish a social media presence, and host foreign competitions, all of which will help it gain even more traction as a global sport.