The NBA is the world’s biggest professional basketball league consisting of 30 teams located in the United States. How did this become the most dominant professional sports association globally, and how did this league manage to achieve such a special place in Americans’ hearts? With over 30 million viewers per game, the NBA is at the center of America’s basketball fans’ attention. Guided by the mission for it „to be the most globally competitive and popular sports league in the world” and oriented to becoming “the most admired sports organization globally,” NBA stays the best professional sports organization over the past fifty years. In this article, we’ll know NBA Mission Statement And Vision Analysis 2021.
The Rise Of The Basketball Global Brand
When it comes to a sport like a basketball, the NBA is not necessarily the most well-known sports league globally. There are other major professional basketball leagues, such as the European league or the ACB league. The NBA is also far from the most popular team sports league in America. The NHL, for example, a traditional hockey league with teams in almost every US city, has been around for over 90 years. But the NBA stands out among global professional basketball leagues because of its popularity in the United States. The NBA’s appeal has never been based solely on the quality of play. But on something much more unique…
The NBA Business Model
NBA gained overseas recognition during World War II when sports fans became more global and less homogeneous. Many international fans attended sporting events at a higher rate than in previous decades, especially in Western Europe. American sports companies had to adapt their business models to appeal to their international customers considering the interest. In the NBA’s case, this meant entering into a domestic broadcast partnership with a European company. In 1948, the NBA was sold to what was then International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and entered into a broadcast partnership with FIBA and several European radio stations. Such a business model adaptation opened the league for a massive audience and the rest of the story rooted itself deeply in the history of sports entertainment.
The NBA Mission Statement
The NBA reaches more fans who play basketball and care about the game than any other sports property. Their mission is: “to be the most globally competitive and popular sports league in the world.” This means they strive to be the most widely distributed media property in the world. To accomplish this mission, the NBA aims to satisfy some of the important sports business goals:
- To provide our fans, employees, and partners with the best entertainment value, competition, and global impact in the world.
- To become the most valued competitive organization in the world.
- To create a global NBA community through basketball and positively impact the lives of as many people as possible
The NBA integrates 3 Pilar missions by being guided by the above-mentioned business goals and that is:
- Building centers
- Building stars
- Building a community
The NBA’s Vision Statement
The NBA aims to lead the basketball world and therefore envisions a very ambitious goal. Their main goal is to hold the biggest sports entertainment events globally, and they are working very hard to achieve such a goal. NBA’s digital presence is only a part of that. The current position of the NBA is a product of a long-lasting search for the most popular sports (basketball) and a decent amount of hope. Even though NBA does not have any official vision statement, we could correlate their ambitious dream with a visual perspective. The vision NBA directs its goals toward is: “To one day become a most successful entertainment organization through the development of a people talent for basketball all around the world.“
The NBA Values
The values NBA embodies throughout its mission and unique goals but as well as games with team as agents.
The core values are:
- Integrity
- Teamwork
- Respect
- Innovation
NBA presents integrity through ethical behavior, fairness, and honesty. Respect shows in diversity and uniqueness. Their hard work and clear communication result in high-quality teamwork. And by creativity and trying out new ideas brings innovation.
The NBA Media Magic Potion
While they started with radio broadcasting, so did the NBA’s tools for reaching out to the masses change due to the digital age. Today they plan to build an empire through social media following, Millennials, and the Millennial generation. Therefore, the NBA universe’s future seems bright, considering the league counts 65 million fans on Twitter. The NBA’s social media accounts reach nearly 75 million people each month. Huge reach is a consequence of numerous teams in the league and the fact that 50 percent of Americans follow at least one team in the NBA, which would mean that more than 40 percent of the country is NBA fan. The NBA has the largest media company globally as a partner in its broadcast partnership, Turner Sports. The NBA is the only major sports league in the United States to offer a live streaming service through the league’s website, NBA.com. The NBA’s network, TNT, recently launched the ACC Network, which broadcasts ACC college basketball games on Friday nights.
The NBA’s New Sponsorship Deals
Basketball league, just as any other major one, such as the NFL, relies on a prosperous sponsorship deal. The league generates $6.6 billion in annual revenue and takes an additional $1.3 billion annually from broadcast rights. In other words, the NBA is arguably one of the highest-earning sports leagues in the world. And what are the mainstays of the NBA’s business? The league’s very first sponsorship deal, a $1.3 million deal with Schwab in 1965, laid a solid foundation for the NBA’s economy. Since that time, the NBA has been the most lucrative sports league in the U.S., generating $500 million annually from its sports licensing division. The NBA’s most recent notable sponsorship deal, a three-year, $1 billion sponsorship deal with ESPN, solidified the league’s position as a household name.
Tool to Communicate Values – Digital Media
The NBA has hundreds of millions of fans. It has used this network of fans to drive the rapid expansion of its social media presence. The league attracts followers across most of the platforms: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Snapchat. A digital world is full of opportunity and has become a major driver of marketing dollars while increasing brands’ power. NBA Draft is one of the most-watched live stream events of the year. The NBA live stream counts the league’s roughly 500 million fans and growing fan base.
Social media has become the lynchpin for communicating with fans and signing sponsors. In the NBA case, social media is a powerful tool for marketing the league and forging global partnerships. First, players use social media to get fans excited about their games and the new season. Then they use it to engage with fans on topics they care about, like injuries and trades. It’s also a perfect way for players to keep people involved and get their names out to their fans. Once the game is over, the players make their players and coaches. The league has a clear vision, and it delivers. More than $8 million is spent per game on NBA TV production and the league’s viewership has increased two- to threefold in recent years on NBA TV.
Live Streaming
The NBA has long promoted itself as a unique live experience. It’s no coincidence that the NBA is the only major sports league to have sold its live streaming rights to a digital platform – NBA TV. This combines the full NBA game experience with the most immersive viewing experience in live sports. Every NBA game is available on NBA TV, giving fans more of the action and more media appearances to connect directly with fans.
Magic Formula – The NBA’s Video Game
The video game NBA 2K, developed by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive Software, is not only the most popular basketball video game on the market, but it is also the most popular sports game ever. According to a study by Newzoo, it has now surpassed the sales of FIFA 2018 and Madden NFL 19, the latest versions of those games, for the fifth year in a row. It’s also No. 1 on Amazon’s list of best-selling video games.
The game offers a basketball simulation and allows fans to access each team’s arena and locker room, which makes fans more immersed and provides them a complete experience. The video game allows fans to use their NBA All-Star tokens to earn video game currency and purchase jerseys, shoes, and other items for their favorite NBA stars. The game is, without any doubt, a hit as a marketing tool. But it also achieves to promote NBA’s mission and vision and reach their goals of popularity and content available to fans.
How the NBA stays ahead of the curve?
The NBA is taking advantage of the new media ecosystem to entertain and engage fans while providing a glimpse into its player’s and coaches’ lives. Take a team like the Golden State Warriors, who started playing the popular video game “Fortnite” during the NBA season. While the video game is very popular and associated with video gamers who like to win money or are looking for a competitive game, the actual audience for “Fortnite” is not from that demographic. It’s primarily designed for kids and recreational adults. A more casual audience can’t relate to gamers. Therefore, they are drawn to video content that engages and entertains them and connects them with their favorite gamers, teams, and players.
As an industry leader in mobile and digital, the NBA offers programming on social media and online. It operates more than 25 mobile and digital properties, and streams live games on multiple platforms and devices. NBA League Pass, the league’s flagship digital subscription, has become one of the most-watched sports programming options. NBA fans connect in new and different ways, and the NBA offers several digital products and experiences to engage fans. It offers content and gives fans the option to live to stream their favorite NBA team. The NBA has also developed a new app that allows people to play video games in virtual reality.
How can the NBA better achieve its Mission and Vision?
As mentioned earlier, the NBA was built on the notion that it is the sport of basketball. The league drives most of its money from TV revenue and ticket sales. So it makes sense that selling tickets and keeping TV rights fees is the NBA’s primary goal. The NBA is considering implementing a salary cap shortly, which might significantly impact players’ salaries. However, not everyone is thrilled with the idea of a salary cap. The NBA’s players’ union, the NBPA, wants to set the parameters of a salary cap itself. The NBPA is also hoping for guaranteed contracts, which would mean NBA players could make the same amount of money whether they play a lot or a little.
Conclusion
Whenever there is something new that the NBA does well, the rest of the league follows. On top of that, there’s this tremendous amount of content. All drove by unique mission and values – to stay on top. It is, therefore, not a question of how the NBA actually maintains its throne. With an increase in sponsorships, product placements, and relevant messaging, the NBA has increased the visibility and reach of its brand and players, which helps it to share its core values with the public and, most importantly, fans.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What makes NBA a global brand? Its overseas popularity gained in the WWII era resulted in massive international popularity. Today NBA achieves to remain a global basketball leader due to its wide digital media presence and video games production.
- How does the NBA maintain its leadership position in a changing media landscape? The way NBA connects with followers across new media is unique and ranges from social media to live streams, serious sponsorship deals, and a video game which leaves it the only major sports league in the U.S. to offer a video game.
- What is makes NBA game events unique in terms of entertainment? The audience can enjoy players’ unique styles and some special events such as slam-dunk contests during a game. In fact, the NBA game in the 1970s is the first one ever to present a slam-dunk contest, with the legendary Julius Erving winning and taking home the prestigious trophy.
Also read H&M Mission, Vision Statement & Values Analysis
