Expansion

The sports world is becoming smaller and smaller. While this movement has been particularly evident in Major League Baseball as many Japanese baseball players have been coming to the American ranks, the NBA is looking to make a move of its own. In a report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, I read that David Stern announced the opening of a new NBA office in Johannesburg, South Africa. I think that this move will allow the NBA and basketball in general to tap into the potential of a continent that holds about 1,000,000,000 people. Only 25 players from Africa have ever played on NBA rosters, yet I wonder what would happen if more African players came to the NBA. I think about what happened when Yao Ming came to America after playing in China. He became an even bigger star in his homeland than when he was still there. I bet the same would happen in Africa; players who would be superstars in their own land would become even more than this by entering the NBA simply because it is the ultimate stage for professional basketball. Nothing against the various other professional basketball leagues around the world, but many great players have been recruited from these leagues to join the NBA. From a business perspective, imagine the potential of drawing approximately one seventh of the world behind their continental athletes. Again, think about how many All-Star votes Yao Ming receives every year because of the vast support he receives by being one of the few Chinese players.

Basketball may have been developed in America, but it has become a world sport. It is one of the few sports that seems to have caught on in all corners of the world. Bringing an NBA office to an area will only improve the exposure to the sport and will hopefully encourage athletes in that area to become more involved in the sport and develop into even better players which will therefore increase the quality of worldwide NBA talent.