LeBron James (centre) of the Cleveland Cavaliers has a shot blocked by Kevin Durant (right) of the Golden State Warriors at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California in this January 16, 2017. — AFP photo
OAKLAND, United States: An unprecedented third straight NBA Finals clash between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors may highlight the league’s lack of parity but will be a ratings bonanza nonetheless, say sports industry analysts.
The Cavs and Warriors steamrolled their respective opponents en route to the Finals, setting up a matchup some are likening to the 1975 ‘Thrilla in Manila’ – the third and final boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
“This is what everybody has been waiting for, this is what we have been talking about and writing about and now it’s coming to fruition,” Bob Dorfman, creative director of Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco, told Reuters.
“The inevitability of this matchup makes it more exciting.”
From the moment the final buzzer sounded after last year’s Finals, the reigning champion Cavaliers and Warriors seemed destined to return this year for the ultimate grudge match between the last two NBA champions.
The Warriors and their cast of All-Stars led by Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant are undefeated after sweeping their three best-of-seven playoff series, a feat never accomplished before.
They are desperate to avenge last year’s Finals loss where their bid to repeat as champions fell apart in stunning fashion when they squandered a 3-1 series lead and lost the decisive seventh game on their home court.
The Cavaliers, powered by the game’s best player in LeBron James, are 12-1, with their only playoff hiccup coming in a Game Three loss of the Eastern Conference final.
While there has been little intrigue all season long, a ho-hum regular season and predictable start to the playoffs will soon be a distant memory if the Cavs and Warriors produce a memorable series like last year.
“Conventional wisdom basically suggests that having dynamic rivalries of great teams is really good for a sport, even if it does leave more cities on the outside looking in,” Robert Boland, director of the sports administration program at Ohio University, told Reuters.
“But while we love great competition between great teams we don’t want the rest of the season to be a foregone conclusion, particularly at the prices the NBA charges for tickets.”
With three-time NBA champion James in the best playoff form of his career and the Warriors on a revenge path, even the most casual fans may find it hard to turn away when the series begins on Thursday in Oakland.
“The two best teams is what you want. Plus you’ve got a rubber match in that they will play three Finals in a row and each has won one,” said Dorfman.
“So this is a bigger deal than just another championship.” — Reuters
NBA Finals by the numbers
2 – Cleveland’s Tyronn Lue is trying to become only the second coach to win titles in his first two NBA seasons as a head coach, following John Kundla of the Minneapolis Lakers in 1949 and 1950.
3 – The number of consecutive years that Golden State and Cleveland have played each other in the NBA Finals, a first in the league’s 71-year history.
4 – The number of back-to-back-to-back finals rematches in major North American sports leagues, once each in the NFL, NHL and Major League Baseball now joined by the NBA.
7 – Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers will become the seventh NBA player to compete in his seventh consecutive NBA Finals. The only other players with at least seven NBA Finals appearances in a row played for the Boston Celtics in the 1950s and 1960s, with Bill Russell making the record 10 in a row.
11 – The Warriors and Cavaliers feature a combined 11 players who have been named NBA All-Stars, the most in an NBA Finals matchup since the Los Angeles Lakers faced Philadelphia in 1983.
12 – The Warriors are the first team in NBA history to win their first 12 playoff games.
30 – Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry’s No.30 jersey leads the list of most popular league jerseys for the second consecutive year.
61 – The number of years since the last North American major sports league had teams meet three times in a row in the final, that coming with Detroit and Montreal in the NHL Stanley Cup Final from 1954-56.
90,000,000 – The number of combined followers of Cleveland’s LeBron James, the most followed NBA player on social media, on Facebook (23.1 million), Twitter (36.4 million) and Instagram (30.5 million). — AFP