Dollars & Sense - Top 3 Brands to Watch in the NBA Finals

I would ask who all of you think will win the 2013 edition of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs, but the clear favorite seems to be the Heat.  I already asked about where the NBA Finals will stand in terms of television ratings, but I did that at another time in another place.  Taking things in a bit of a different direction here are my top three brands to watch during the NBA Finals.

We have already seen guys like Golden State's Stephen Curry and Memphis' Mike Conley and Indiana's Roy Hibbert (before his distasteful comments) vault their way into the next level of stardom.  Curry, doing things that are not even possible in video games, looked dangerously close to putting all of Golden State - well, San Francisco - on his back to the Western Conference Finals.  Conley's Western Conference Finals performance may have fallen short of the show he put on in the previous round against Curry's Warriors, but he finally looked like a player deserving of a 5-year, $45 million contract.  Hibbert sky-hooked the Pacers within one game of the NBA Finals and is looking to be reviving the dying bread of old school centers.

With the playoffs now down to two teams, which three players have the most to gain in the NBA Finals?

Chris Andersen (Miami Heat, Forward)
NBA followers have known about "Birdman" for years, and at 34 years old, it's tough to tell whether they know him for his on-court doings or his ever-growing collection of colorful tattoos.  Either way, for a brand's sake, truthfully it doesn't matter where the positive attention is coming from.

But is enough of the attention paid to Andersen positive?  His public image is, well, what is the opposite of clean-cut?  There are jokes about the evolution of his tattoos and jokes about cocaine.  No matter how you look at it though, he has been an important role player for the Heat bringing hustle and intensity off of the bench.


Of course, he is not going to garner much attention, if any, from the major national brands.  But what about niche brands?  I can see Andersen possibly reaching teenage audiences like the X Games and extreme sports, it's just a matter of a company putting themselves out there and taking a big chance.  At the very least, people should know that it's Andersen not Anderson by the end of the series.

Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs, Forward/Guard)
Leonard may not be a name that has made it into the households of the NBA's casual fans, but he's certainly knocking.  Only 21 years old, Leonard is a burgeoning star in the league and making quite the case to take over the reins from the Spurs' trio of thirty-somethings in Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili.

Only two years into his young career, the one thing we know for sure about the forward from San Diego State University is that he's a physical freak.  Standing at 6-foot-7, Leonard has a wingspan of almost 7-foot-2.  Check out this recent episode of ESPN's Sports Science on him.

Leonard has not had his major breakout performance or series yet, but it is on the horizon and approaching quickly.  He plays the game with intensity and heart along with his athleticism.  As the Duncans, and Parkers, and Ginobilis in San Antonio slowly ride into the sunset, look for Leonard to become a team leader and spokesman for the other players.  His marketability has a chance to boom.

LeBron James (Miami Heat, Forward)
I know, I know.  How could the 2013 NBA Finals really impact LeBron James?  James is going for rare territory here.  For his entire career, he has stared comparisons to Michael Jordan straight in the face and done a pretty good job keeping up.  The media may have expected LeBron to have broken the all-time scoring record and have eight rings already, but in reality, he has done a fine job handling the expectations.

He is 28 years old now, still with a nice chunk of his career ahead of him.  If the Heat win this year, then LeBron has two career rings.  Each ring from here is one big step closer to Jordan, and one big step ahead for his brand.


LeBron is a mega-brand of our era.  His Q-Score was 17 as of January this year which is near the top of the NBA.  Also, he has the wins and statistics to back everything up.  He has endorsements with some of the largest national brands in the US like Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and Samsung.  Another championship ring will just further cement his place in the sports business realm and take one step closer to Jordan.

Honorable mention: Chris Bosh (Miami Heat forward that may find himself on the trading block) and Tiago Splitter (San Antonio Spurs forward from Brazil that has a chance to continue growing the game in his home country)

At least one player will come out of these NBA Finals with the chance to see their marketability and popularity boom.  Who will it be?  We find out when the NBA Finals tip off tonight on ABC.


Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Big 3 Impact on the Heat

The Miami Heat are pursuing another NBA Championship. In the summer of 2010, the Heat resigned Dwyane Wade and brought in Chris Bosh and Lebron James. This trio was expected to bring the team success for the foreseeable future. The first season after the team was assembled, the Heat went on to the championship but ended up losing to the Dallas Mavericks. In 2012, the Heat found themselves back in the Finals. This time they beat the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the championship. This year looks promising for the Miami Heat, but there is a lot of basketball still to play.

The acquisitions that were made in order to create the big three have paid off on the court. Below I will assess the impact the big three have made off the court in the area of attendance and team value.

Attendance
Attendance figures are often skewed because of the differing size of basketball arenas. In the data I looked at the 2012 season was also impacted by less games due to the lockout. I looked at average fans per home games specifically for the Miami Heat in order to assess the attendance impact of the big three.

In the 2010 season (the season before the big three) the Miami Heat averaged 17,730 fans per home game. In 2011, the first season after the acquisition, the Heat averaged 19,778 fans per home game. The increase in fans was quite significant in the first year and the impact of the big three has not faded since. In the shortened 2012 season, fans per home game attendance grew slightly to 19,935. This season has kept attendance high with an average of 19,982 fans per home game.

Team Value
The team value of the Miami Heat was taken by Forbes each year. Teams value in the NBA have naturally been increasing each year but not at the rate that the Heat have seen.

In the 2010 season the Miami Heat were valued at an estimated $425 million. The season after the acquisition saw a rise in estimated value to $457 million. After a lockout season, NBA team values skyrocketed. In an estimated valuation done in January of 2013, the Miami Heat were worth $625 million.

Final Thought
The numbers tell the story for the Miami Heat. The success of the team has been evident on the court and even more so off the court. It is often difficult to see true impact by simply assessing numbers. I have seen the Heat impact for myself through my family. My grandfather, a Florida resident, has never been an NBA fan. I was watching game three of the Heat vs. Bulls series and he was avidly rooting for the Heat (while I was rooting for the underdog). He then told me that he watches all the Heat games he can because it is fun to watch "true talent." Interesting.

@dmrosen7

2012 NBA Champions- The Heat

On June 21st the Miami Heat won the 2012 NBA Championship, just in case you haven't tuned into ESPN in the last few days...

What Did It Cost Them?

It is no secret that the Miami Heat won the championship thanks to premier talent. Miami's "big three" got paid for it too. Chris Bosh and LeBron James made $16,022,500 in salary for the year and Dwyane Wade made $15,691,000. Although these salaries will not make anyone feel compelled to start a charity for the big three, they did give up significant money to make this team happen. Had LeBron James signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers or any other team without an established superstar two years ago, he would have set himself up to be the highest paid player in the league. James potentially could have made up to $10 million more this past season had he chose to. LeBron realized that his chances of winning an NBA championship would drastically increase by joining the Heat. No one can argue that giving up millions of dollars for an NBA championship proves that LeBron truly cares about winning. The source of LeBron's desire for winning is up for debate, it could come from competitive spirit, his lasting legacy, or the need to "shut the haters up." Although we may never find out where the desire comes from, we do know now that LeBron has the monkey off his back, yet he still has a lot to live up to thanks to the big three's coming out party. 

Bright Future?

Now that the big three have won a championship, many will question what the potential for this team is in future years. The big three are still rather youthful with a 28 year old Chris Bosh, a 27 year old LeBron James and a 30 year old Dwyane Wade. There are no signs of the big three breaking up anytime soon. Another contributing factors to the championship this year was the role players stepping up. In game four of the NBA finals, Mario Chalmers stepped up with a big 25 point performance. In the closing game five, Mike Miller scored 23 points that helped the Heat win their first championship in the "big three era." With rumors of the Heat looking to acquire a veteran point guard and Miller's injuries making his playing future uncertain, the team could have a different look when it comes to role players. Even with a few potential changes, the big three will keep the Heat in prime position to win it all again next year. Early odds for the 2013 NBA championship puts the Miami Heat as favorites at 11/4 odds. 

Final Thought

When LeBron James made his decision to "take his talents to South Beach" he was ridiculed greatly. He did not help his image when he failed to step up in the 2011 NBA Finals. After a dominating performance in the 2012 NBA Finals, James may have helped to better his image among fans league-wide. At the end of the day though, it really does not matter what anyone thinks about LeBron James or the Miami Heat. The Heat are 2012 NBA Champions, and fans all around the NBA can only hope for their team to have a parade. (Check out the right hand side of the video at the 18 second mark)

 @dmrosen7

Statistics from espn.com, cbssports.com