What Was The 2011 Nba Lockout?
Contents
The 2011 NBA lockout was a work stoppage in the National Basketball Association (NBA) that lasted from July 1, 2011 to December 8, 2011. It began on the eve of the expiration of the 2005 CBA between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).
Introduction
The 2011 NBA lockout was the fourth lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The owner-imposed lockout began on July 1, 2011 and ended on December 8, 2011. It interrupted the season from its planned start of November 1, 2011. After a 166-day impasse, NBA owners and players reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) on November 26, which was ratified by both sides on December 8.
The main issues dividing both sides were the structure of the salary cap and related player salaries, as well as benefits for retired players. League representatives stated that their goal was to ensure long-term financial stability for all 30 NBA teams. Players were divided into three groups during negotiations: a small group of superstars led by LeBron James, a larger group of role players represented by Derek Fisher, and a third group consisting of young players who were not yet eligible for free agency.
The 2011 NBA lockout began on July 1, 2011 after talks between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) broke down. At issue was how to split approximately $4 billion in annual revenue between team owners and players. Under the previous CBA, which was agreed upon in 2005 and ran through the 2010–11 season, owners received 57% of Basketball Related Income (BRI), while players received 43%.
In June 2010, just before expiration of the previous CBA, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that he expected the league to lose $400 million if no changes were made to the CBA. The league proposed a new CBA that would have decreased player salaries by an estimated $800 million per year through a hard salary cap. In response, NBPA president Derek Fisher said that “the Union’s position remains unchanged: We are willing to negotiate adjustments to certain system issues but at this time we are focused on reaching an agreement on economic principles that are fair to both sides.”
On July 1, 2011, with no new CBA in place,the owner-imposed lockout began. The key issues dividing both sides were: (1) how to split approximately $4 billion in annual revenue between team owners and players; (2) what system should be used to pay player salaries; and (3) what benefits should be given to retired players? Under the previous CBA which ran through the 2010–11 season, owners received 57% of BRI while players received 43%. In addition, each team had a “soft” salary cap of about $70 million that they could exceed by using various exceptions such as signing free agents or making trades.
What caused the 2011 NBA lockout?
The National Basketball Association (NBA) lockout was the fourth lockout in the history of the NBA. The lockout began on July 1, 2011 and ended on December 8, 2011, lasting 161 days. The main issues dividing both sides were the division of revenue among the players and teams, and the structure of the salary cap system.
Reportedly, the NBA offered a 50-50 split of basketball-related income (BRI) to the players, while the union was initially seeking a 52-48 split in favor of the players. The league also proposed a hard salary cap system, which would have been a significant change from the previous soft cap system. Under a hard cap system, teams are not allowed to exceed a certain amount of money when signing or re-signing players.
After several months of negotiating, both sides were unable to come to an agreement and as a result, the 2011-12 NBA season was postponed indefinitely. Eventually, on November 26, 2011, it was announced that both sides had reach a tentative agreement and that training camps would open on December 9th with games set to begin on Christmas Day.
How did the 2011 NBA lockout affect the players?
The NBA lockout of 2011 was a work stoppage enforced by the National Basketball Association (NBA). The lockout began on July 1, 2011 and ended on December 8, 2011. It occurred during the league’s collective bargaining process with its players, who sought to raise their share of league revenues. The owners of the NBA’s thirty franchises rejected the players’ initial proposal for a fifty-fifty split of revenues, instead proposing a lower share for the players.
The lockout ultimately resulted in the cancellation of 16 games from the regular season schedule, as well as all remaining preseason games. During the lockout, both sides held several meetings to try and reach an agreement, but they were unable to do so. Ultimately, the new collective bargaining agreement was reached on November 26, and it was ratified by both sides on December 8, 2011.
Under the terms of the new agreement, the players received a smaller share of basketball-related income (BRI), but were guaranteed that their salaries would not decrease below a certain level even if BRI decreased. In addition, a luxury tax system was implemented which would penalize teams that exceeded a certain salary cap threshold.
How did the 2011 NBA lockout affect the fans?
The 2011 NBA lockout was the fourth time that the National Basketball Association (NBA) had a lockout. The previous three lockouts occurred in 1995, 1996, and 1998. The 2011 lockout began on July 1, 2011 and ended on December 8, 2011, lasting for 161 days.
The primary cause of the lockout was a disagreement between the NBA owners and the NBA players over the split of Basketball Related Income (BRI). Under the NBA’s previous collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which was agreed to in 2005 and ran through the 2010-2011 season, the players received 57% of BRI. The owners were proposing to decrease the players’ share to 47%, while keeping their own share at 43%.
The Lockout affected both the players and the fans of the NBA. Players lost salary for every game that was not played during the season, while fans missed out on seeing their favorite players and teams play. Many fans were also upset at how long it took for the two sides to come to an agreement and end the lockout.
Conclusion
The 2011 NBA lockout was the fourth lockout in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The work stoppage began at 12:01 am EDT on July 1, 2011 and ended on December 8, 2011, lasting 149 days. The lockout affected the 2012–13 regular season, which was reduced to 66 games per team from the usual 82-game season.