Last week during the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, NBA commissioner Adam Silver sat down with Bill Simmons to have a conversation about the state of today’s NBA.
Silver was incredibly candid about where the NBA is now, and some of the problems that its currently facing as the league tries to grow in a way that satisfies the fans, the players and brings revenue to the league’s owners.
It’s a lot to juggle for Silver, but he’s done a fairly decent job over the five years that he’s resided as the NBA’s commissioner. One of the biggest issues, however, is that there’s a huge disparity between the nightly ticket revenue between large market teams and small market teams.
According to ESPN, the Warriors bring in more money every night than every other team in the league.
The Golden State Warriors make $3.4 million in gate revenue per game, best in the league. That’s not a surprise, as it’s a big market, and they’re the best team. But the New York Knicks, the league’s worst team, pull in an average of $2.9 million per game at the gate, sources said. Compared to the bottom of the list — the Memphis Grizzlies get less than $1 million per night — it shows the disparity.
The report also said that ticket sales in general were down year over year. It hasn’t hurt the Warriors much, though. This is what comes with having one of the best teams in the NBA that is playing for something bigger than the team itself.
Next year, that number could be much higher with the Warriors moving into the brand new Chase Center. Ticket sales should cost more, but the team should continue to sell out every night.
