The Christmas lineup expanded to five rather than a game
"What the NBA wants to do, they are not pulling the audience like they are .NFL is American obsession .NBA is not. It is some of our obsession, but not the scale of the NFL. To me, this is also a very Very big difference. "
The official Christmas of the NBA was the most important day of the regular season of 2008 and, at ESPN's urging, the Christmas lineup expanded to five rather than a game. Nine seasons later, the NBA enters Monday, the envious end of the sports world, commissioner Adam Silver said players have embraced the prominence of the festival scene.
Silver said: "Although many of them are willing to be with their families during Christmas, they realize they are in the entertainment business." I think they've seen it as a hallmark of attraction at the door.
Durant said this is just business as usual.
He said: "Now, I feel like a part of the player." I know I have to prepare for the game, and then I'm going home to open the gift with my family.
LeBron James and the Cavaliers will once again play Kevin Durant and the Warriors on Christmas, which is the main content of the report. (Tony Dejak / Associated Press)
Paul George, Indiana Pacers career in the first seven years, hope he will be in the Christmas competition, this season will get this opportunity. His new team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, played at the Houston Rockets (ABC 8pm EST).
"I always wanted to play Christmas," said George, who grew up in southern California, saying the Los Angeles Lakers are his family holiday. "It brought families together. It's Christmas together. Basketball and Christmas.
"I grew up, so becoming a part of it is bigger and it's making a dream."
For the NBA, life has never been better and Christmas is an opportunity to take full advantage of this momentum. The offseason for fanatical player sports has boosted the league's interest, causing skyrocketing ratings and endless storyline.
The league's three national television stations (TNT, ESPN and NBA TV) have seen a 20% increase in ratings over the previous season, with an average of 1.2 million viewers in four years. ESPN has an average of 1.8 million viewers in 30 games this season, the second highest on Christmas Day in the NBA's 16-year partnership with the NBA. The only season 2010-2011 season, James and Bosh to join the Miami Heat Wade.
At the same time, the NBA's influence has gone far beyond the arena. A generation of market stars such as Durant, James and Stephen Curry pushed the NBA's cultural identity to the mainstream and into the world of music and fashion. More than any other professional league are more attractive to social media to attract new fans, and allow their players to speak on social and political issues.
Sports Illustrated media correspondent Richard Deitsch said: "There is no doubt that the NFL and other leagues must now see the NBA, and must envy." In the era of rope cut and rope, to get double-digit ratings, which It is an amazing story.
"It was a great year for the NBA. Is there any other way?"
For the NFL, 2017 has passed a year. The campaign has been struggling to shake the scene of controversy, and Trump's anger over players kneeling on the national anthem is a negative headline for the league's ongoing turmoil. In a particularly brutal season, some of the league's biggest star players were injured, including Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Philadelphia Hawks quarterback Carson Wentz and Houston Texans defender JJ Watts and a quarterback Guard Deshaun Watson.
Roger Goodell, who signed a lucrative contract extension this month, remains unpopular, with the over-hype of weekend long night games and how he punishes him.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has been reluctant to talk about the NFL's greed and is predicting a 2014 "syndicate of ten years." This week, when asked if he was interested in buying a Carolina Panthers, his master, Jerry Richardson, announced his sale of the team on allegations of sexual harassment. The Cubans made it clear that they had not changed their mind.
He wrote in the Dallas Morning News: "If I think the league is in a recession, why buy the NFL team?
On Monday, the two leagues will test their courage for the second consecutive year. Although the NBA often has its own holidays, there will be another two NFL games this Christmas, a direct battle with the NBA in five years.