While there are many who believe that the Golden State Warriors have an unfair advantage over the rest of the league, former NBA commissioner David Stern does not seem to see anything wrong this. In fact, the 76-year-old believes that the Warriors' dominance is actually beneficial for the association.
Speaking to Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated, Stern openly shared his thoughts on the matter.
“It's great. They've got a great team,” said Stern. “Interesting players, a dynamic coach, owners that demonstrate that they care, they're about to open up a billion-dollar-plus building…. I think it's only good. And I don't believe in the debate about superteams, because when I started there were two superteams: the Celtics and Lakers…. Look at the attendance and the ratings and the product sales. We're the most metricized business there is, and all signs are positive.”
David Stern is speaking on a macro level here, giving a perspective from the point-of-view of the league. He explained how the Warriors have helped boost the ratings and the sales of the NBA in general, which has obviously grown over the past couple of seasons. From this angle, the Warriors' dominance certainly spells a win for the league.
However, perhaps what Stern fails to take into account is the effect this has on the other 29 teams on the NBA. Sure, there may be a select few teams whose market share may have grown, due in large part to their potential ability to compete with the Warriors. Teams like the Houston Rockets and the Boston Celtics fall in this category.
Then again, how about the other NBA franchises that are left with the scraps of a league that has become extremely top-heavy? Tanking is definitely not a great way to boost sales and attendance.
Whatever the case may be, the Warriors are here to stay. It is now up to the rest of the league to make the necessary adjustments in order to ride the wave that is the Dubs, or if not, get left behind in the wake of their success.
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