Business of Sports April 23, 2009, 2:16PM EST

NBA Playoffs Are Paying Off

Despite the economy, the NBA is boosting its revenue, and the long-term prospects are as hot as LeBron James

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1. Under Partly Cloudy Economic Skies, NBA Playoffs Begin in Earnest

As the Cavaliers have dominated the Pistons—at least so far—discussion about the economy and the economic outlook for next season and beyond dominated the NBA Board of Governors meetings last week and are sure to provide a backdrop throughout the NBA Playoffs as well. NBA Commissioner David Stern projected an air of optimism as he noted that league revenues, although slowed this year, should be up 1% to 2% for the season, with projected league growth at 5% to 7% overall. "Our prospects, leaving aside the unknown of the economic and financial condition…are terrific, and we're going to work together with our players to come up with a model that makes it more profitable," Stern told the national media assembled at the meetings, adding later that the image of the league is "on a complete uptick…our players' reputations are so much better than they were five or six years ago." Stern and league officials indicated that all the economic data they're collecting will be a key element of the package they'll deliver to the NBAPA this summer as reference points for negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement.

Seemingly compatible chatter at the Portsmouth Invitational NBA pre-draft tournament also indicated that to contain costs for the upcoming season, some teams might limit their roster to 13 players, and that the NBA is considering adopting the D-League's "pick-your-opponent" playoff format. The plan would increase the importance of the regular season as well as create an exciting selection process.

For the moment, however, teams are resigned to a traditional seeding structure, and aside from a pretty cool "chess" ad campaign on TNT featuring various NBA stars and a bunch of hobbled Celtics, the 2009 playoffs are startlingly similar to the 2008 edition.

Consider the Los Angeles Lakers, gunning for the title that eluded them last year yet dominant in almost every way. According to NBA data, the franchise's season ticket renewal rate is close to 98%, despite their charging the highest prices in the league, with an average ticket price of $93.25. And this season, according to Nielsen, an average of 267,000 L.A. households watched each Lakers game, 67% more than the Dodgers on their local affiliate and nearly three times the average viewership for college football—including powerhouse USC.

More broadly on TV, the NBA is expanding its League Pass Broadband internationally for the first time during this postseason, offering live streaming of the NBA playoffs to 100-plus countries at $29.95-$39.95.

NBA.com is also unveiling a new site design to coincide with the start of the playoffs. One the page's main features will be a video section dedicated to Charles Barkley, "The Barkley Zone," and Chris Webber's "C Webb's Fab Five."

Finally, teams hoping to have their players selected for NBA awards are sending gifts to voters. The Bulls sent out "Derrick Rose Colored Glasses" to draw attention to the point guard's ROY-caliber season, while the Heat gave MV3 T-shirts in honor of Dwyane Wade.

2. NBA Marketing MVP Showdown: The King vs. the Black Mamba

According to no less an authority than the Harvard Business School, as reported by CBS' 60 Minutes, Cleveland Cavaliers forward "King" LeBron James is now the third-biggest name in the sports world, trailing only Tiger Woods and David Beckham, with 2008 earnings on and off the court of $40 million.

Cleveland coach Mike Brown now has Coach of the Year honors wrapped up, but James and Laker standout Kobe Bryant continue to battle for the title of on-court MVP. Off the court, it's clear James is ahead in the race for marketing dollars, but Bryant is closing fast.

Both came to the NBA straight out of high school. Just months after being selected "most likely to succeed" in his high school class, James signed a seven-year, $90 million endorsement deal with Nike (NKE)—the biggest deal ever signed by a basketball player. Contracts with Coca-Cola (KO), Vitamin Water, Upper Deck, and Bubblicious bubble gum have helped build a marketing portfolio that James intends to use to help him become the world's first billion-dollar athlete; his endorsement income alone in 2007 totaled $25 million.