# NBA's lack of parity.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [October 8, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630 "2018-10-08T00:37:37Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/1 "2018-10-08T00:37:37Z")
What do you think has contributed to the NBA’s lack of parity? The Warriors and the Cavs have played each other in the finals for 4 years in a row.
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### Author:  [@borschevsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/borschevsky)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/2 "2018-10-08T00:49:55Z")
I think a couple reasons are:
- The very best players have an extremely large impact on the strength of their teams.
- The existence of the max contract means these players are underpaid, so their teams can afford other talent.
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### Author:  [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/3 "2018-10-08T01:29:08Z")
The best of 7 format in all rounds also limits the likelihood for underdogs to advance in the playoffs.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/4 "2018-10-08T02:01:23Z")
> [@Covfefe](#):
>
> The best of 7 format in all rounds also limits the likelihood for underdogs to advance in the playoffs.
Definitely. Over a period of time a team will regress to the mean. When the mean is not very good then you won’t do well.
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### Author:  [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/5 "2018-10-08T03:52:22Z")
Well, it sure won’t be Warriors vs. Cavs for the _fifth_ year in a row. There are several Eastern Conference teams that could break through, including possibly my Pacers, but the road to the NBA Finals in the Western Conference still goes through Golden State.
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### Author:  [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/6 "2018-10-08T05:38:44Z")
Of all the 4 major sports, basketball has the smallest roster meaning “superstar” players have the most disproportionate influence on a team than any other sport.
The NBA has NEVER had parity, except arguably in the late 70s when teams like Milwaukee, Seattle, Washington and Portland won titles. It’s always been a dynasty/superteam dominated league. In the 60s it was Boston, with LA challenging in the early 70s; in the 80s it was all about LA v Boston.
Then the Detroit Bad Boys had their day of glory before the Bulls dominated the 90s. LA under Kobe and the Spurs dominated most of the 2000s, finally its LeBron leading what is it 7 or 8 Eastern Conference teams to the Finals at the end getting waxed by another dynasty, the Warriors.
This is why Philadelphia 76ers GM Sam Hinkey introduced the “Process” where he deliberately stripped down his team to get his team in a position to draft generational players in order to win an NBA title. The results are the Sixers currently have Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons but it’s become clear they need to sign a third star to truly contend versus the Warriors. It was very controversial and eventually Hinkey was ran out of the NBA by NBA brass over it, but you have to admire the cheek of an NBA executive to throw the leagues biggest weakness right back into its face!
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### Author:  [@CastletonSnob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastletonSnob)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/7 "2018-10-08T12:51:55Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#):
>
> Of all the 4 major sports, basketball has the smallest roster meaning “superstar” players have the most disproportionate influence on a team than any other sport.
>
> The NBA has NEVER had parity, except arguably in the late 70s when teams like Milwaukee, Seattle, Washington and Portland won titles. It’s always been a dynasty/superteam dominated league. In the 60s it was Boston, with LA challenging in the early 70s; in the 80s it was all about LA v Boston.
>
> Then the Detroit Bad Boys had their day of glory before the Bulls dominated the 90s. LA under Kobe and the Spurs dominated most of the 2000s, finally its LeBron leading what is it 7 or 8 Eastern Conference teams to the Finals at the end getting waxed by another dynasty, the Warriors.
>
> This is why Philadelphia 76ers GM Sam Hinkey introduced the “Process” where he deliberately stripped down his team to get his team in a position to draft generational players in order to win an NBA title. The results are the Sixers currently have Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons but it’s become clear they need to sign a third star to truly contend versus the Warriors. It was very controversial and eventually Hinkey was ran out of the NBA by NBA brass over it, but you have to admire the cheek of an NBA executive to throw the leagues biggest weakness right back into its face!
Why do you think it has the smallest roster? Because most people aren’t tall enough for the NBA?
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/8 "2018-10-08T13:15:02Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#):
>
> Why do you think it has the smallest roster? Because most people aren’t tall enough for the NBA?
Because you are able to put your 5 best players on the court for the majority of the 48 minutes. There’s not a huge advantage to expanding the roster. As it is now, you often only have 7-8 players in the game for each team. A single player or small group of 3 players can dominate a game because there are only 5 out there at a time, and they can play the majority of the game time.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/9 "2018-10-08T13:37:43Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#):
>
> Why do you think it has the smallest roster? Because most people aren’t tall enough for the NBA?
[Muggsy Bogues](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muggsy_Bogues)
He was pretty successful for 14 years as a pro player and he’s 5’3”. You don’t have to be tall.
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### Author:  [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/10 "2018-10-08T13:43:29Z")
> [@CastletonSnob](#):
>
> Why do you think it has the smallest roster? Because most people aren’t tall enough for the NBA?
He’s referring to the fact the number of players that compose a team is the smallest in sports. You have 25 players available on a baseball team, 9 or 10 playing. There are 53 players on an NFL roster, with 22 playing on offense and defense. In the NHL, there are 23 available players, and you put 6 of them on the ice. In the NBA, you have 14 players on your roster, 5 of which play on the court at the same time.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/11 "2018-10-08T13:52:16Z")
There’s also the fact that all of the on-court roles are basically interchangeable. In football, for instance, a great passing quarterback is a very different player than a great receiver, and neither one is going to be worth as much without the other. In baseball, even if you have the best slugger humanly or superhumanly possible on your lineup, at most all it can mean is an extra home run every nine at-bats. But a single basketball player can, in principle, take on an entire team (in fact, given, say, Lebron, vs. a typical high school team, I’d bet on Lebron).
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### Author:  [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)
#### Post date: [October 8, 2018, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/12 "2018-10-08T14:52:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#):
>
> … (in fact, given, say, Lebron, vs. a typical high school team, I’d bet on Lebron).
First of all, I love this hypothetical. LeBron vs. a high school starting 5. I honestly don’t know who would win, assuming you don’t let the high school team do any cherry picking. Cuz otherwise they win easy.
But yeah, the NBA has never had parity for the reasons stated. Small rosters, potential for one superstar to control a game. And those superstars are so much better than the average player.
There is a perception that it’s worse now, and maybe it is, because of superstar players essentially colluding to form superteams.
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [October 9, 2018, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/13 "2018-10-09T17:10:19Z")
One reason for the NBA’s lack of parity is that the league isn’t really…interested in parity. When David Stern was commissioner, he once said that his dream NBA Finals matchup was “Lakers vs. Lakers.”
[http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/03/15/schayes-why-david-stern-is-happier-than-dikembe-mutombo-blocking-shots/](http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/03/15/schayes-why-david-stern-is-happier-than-dikembe-mutombo-blocking-shots/)
> **[7 Most Controversial Moments of David Stern's Reign as NBA Commissioner](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1439955-7-most-controversial-moments-of-david-sterns-reign-as-nba-commissioner#slide7)**
>
> David Stern has been the NBA commissioner since February1, 1984. Over this nearly 30-year reign, much has changed for the league. The defending champs when Stern took control were the Philadelphia 76ers with their reigning MVP Moses Malone...
> **[Lakers vs. Celtics: Which Is the Greatest NBA Franchise?](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/127731-lakers-vs-celtics-whos-the-greatest-nba-franchise)**
>
> The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers have the most championships in NBA history. The Celtics have won 17 titles and the Lakers have won 14 championships, while no other team in the league has won more than six...
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### Author:  [@NoSleepTillDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoSleepTillDeath)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2018, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/14 "2018-10-10T01:31:56Z")
The NBA never had and never will have parity. One great player impacts so much, teams that don’t have that kind of player simply can’t compete on a consistent basis.
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### Author:  [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)
#### Post date: [October 10, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/15 "2018-10-10T14:35:46Z")
One more reason is that the current combination of max contracts with huge salaries means that a star free agent won’t make dramatically more or less money by signing with any particular team, and they’re already making set-for-life money either way. So, there’s not much real incentive to sign with a crappy team, and star players are more and more trying to find a place to win a championship rather than just looking for the highest salary. Thirty years ago, Kevin Durant doesn’t join Golden State; he takes huge money (for the time) from the Knicks or somewhere rather than decent money (for the time) from GS.
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### Author:  [@a\_dudes\_thought\_s](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a_dudes_thought_s)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2018, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/16 "2018-10-11T16:39:37Z")
i agree for the most part,but why are we using the term collude as if these guys are doing something wrong. I see nothing wrong with guys being willing to give up money to have a better chance of winning.
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### Author:  [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/17 "2018-10-11T18:01:24Z")
Well, I’m the one who used the word “colluding” and I would acknowledge they aren’t doing anything illegal. But it seems players are having exclusive discussions and reaching agreements amongst themselves without the participation from the teams who are actually signing them. DeMarcus Cousins taking a deal well below his market value to join Golden State, while perfectly within is legal rights, is anti-competitive. Separately, the fact that there is such a thing as a “max contract” in the NBA makes it easier for this kind of thing to happen.
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### Author:  [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2018, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/18 "2018-10-11T19:28:34Z")
you think the nba is bad about parity? read this ………[MSN](https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/soccer/chelsea-chairman-says-dont-make-club-join-great-unwashed/ar-BBOeveD)
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### Author:  [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/19 "2018-10-11T20:43:52Z")
> [@](#):
>
> “So I am not, as a general proposition, in favor of dumbing down the large clubs in order to make all clubs the great unwashed. They have done that in the U.S. over the last 20 years and it has been to the detriment particularly of baseball … I just don’t think it works for the long term.”
Uhh, what? To the detriment of baseball? MLB’s revenue has been steadily growing year over year forever. Or at least since 2001.
But yeah, what if the 2011 Heat said “We don’t need parity in the NBA!” And just a few years later they’re like, “umm, well actually…”
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nbas-lack-of-parity/822630/20 "2018-10-11T21:21:03Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#):
>
> Uhh, what? To the detriment of baseball? MLB’s revenue has been steadily growing year over year forever. Or at least since 2001.
> But yeah, what if the 2011 Heat said “We don’t need parity in the NBA!” And just a few years later they’re like, “umm, well actually…”
The NFL has spent decades trying many ways to force parity, which is why it’s so hard to have a dynasty now. It’s probably the best example of a sport trying to make each team “the great unwashed”.
Guess what’s the biggest sport in the US?