(Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
For years, small-market NBA teams and their fanbases have complained about the lopsided attention other teams get.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Golden State Warriors have usually been in control of the news cycle, regardless of how great other teams might be doing.
That’s why Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone ripped the media for constantly talking about the Lakers and how they needed to make adjustments as opposed to praising Nikola Jokic over a historic postseason run.
With that in mind, former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins talked about how small-market teams actually need to earn the right to be talked about, citing that the Nuggets have finally done it by winning an NBA championship.
“You have to earn the right to have those nationally televised games. … The Denver Nuggets have done that by … winning the NBA championship.”
@KendrickPerkins pic.twitter.com/wZUSgt0q6r
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 16, 2023
Perkins sarcastically apologized for talking about LeBron James — who he once again called the greatest player of all time — and the Lakers, calling them one of the most storied franchises of all time, and praised the Nuggets for completing their mission.
Of course, this makes perfect sense.
The NBA is a billion-dollar business, and as such, they’ll talk about the most marketable players and teams.
But it shouldn’t be like this.
A team shouldn’t have to be the No. 1 seed in its conference, sweep the Lakers, and go 16-4 in the playoffs to get some nationwide attention, especially a team with a two-time MVP in its ranks.
The Nuggets will most definitely have some more nationally televised games next season, but that only means another small-market team will be even more snubbed.
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