Stiles Points: NBA Redzone in New TV Package Could Revolutionize Regular Season

The NBA is set to debut an NFL Redzone-style show with their new media rights deal, and it could revolutionize the regular season.

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks before game one of the 2024 NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Long, burning, meaningless, uneventful is rarely positive descriptors for any life event. However, those have been the labels the NBA has earned for their regular season. From load management, to lack of effort, difficulties finding games and the overall narrative all contribute to this sentiment being shared among fans. 

However, the league is trying desperately to change that and make the games feel more important - from adding games played requirements to awards, stricter rest rules and adding more spots to fight for while making tanking harder via the shift in lottery odds, the NBA wants to erase those adjectives with associated with their 82 game season. 

Throughout the week, news tricked out about the league’s new TV deal which might have revealed just the way to do it. On top of the addition of National TV games seven days a week following the Super Bowl, there is plans for ESPN to host an “NFL Redzone” style show. A model that has helped make the NFL the largest American Sports league and one MLB has already tried to follow with their “Big Inning” show on their league’s app. 

This could be revolutionary for the NBA season, or it could be a forgotten option for fans, and there won’t be much in between. 

If done right, the NBA’s version of the red zone is taking you to all the clutch endings, swiftly getting you to the highlight plays that are circulating on social media and following the drama-filled possessions and storylines. 

While there isn’t a cut-and-dry time to cut into basketball action as seamlessly as when teams drive into the red zone in football, with the right host who does the needed prep to understand what to watch for in each game, it can be a dream set up for hoop heads. 

Imagine when Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren share the floor they whip you to San Antonio and as the rising stars sub out its off to New York where the Knicks just subbed back in Jalen Brunson and are looking to close out the 76ers. 

Never missing a developing story in the NBA and being willing to do what Scott Hanson pulls off on a football Sunday in a seven-hour window being able to show a few plays prior to lead up to the jaw-dropping payoff in lieu of commercials could be the new way to consume basketball as it is for the NFL. 

If fans are promised to never miss the biggest plays, the biggest storylines and chippy rivalries in an accessible way - either via ESPN or the widely possessed ESPN+ app - it could bring more eyes and captivate the attention of NBA fans who have cast the regular season to the side and only stay connected via whatever is posted to Twitter that night. 

Stiles Points

• On Saturday, Team Canada got a massive win over Team Greece behind a stellar night from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
• Josh Giddey continued a fantastic Olympic run with his Group play debut that ended with historic stats and a key win over Spain.
• Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort got into a bit of a skirmish on Saturday as the superstar explained what led to the dust-up.
• The OKC Thunder were well represented on the list of top NBA players since 2000 according to ESPN this week.
• Gilgeous-Alexander displayed fantastic playmaking chops in his Olympic Opener.

Song of the Day: My Heart Skips a Beat by Buck Owens.

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