Why Are the NBA Finals So Late?

It’s no secret that the NBA Finals are one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year. But why are they always so late? We break down the reasons why.

The History of the NBA Finals

The NBA Finals are the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. As of 2020, the NBA Finals have been played 72 times (including eight times when the division winner with the best record in the conference otherwise would have advanced to the Finals), with the Eastern Conference winning 38 times and the Western Conference winning 34 times.

The first Finals was played in 1947, between the Philadelphia Warriors and the Chicago Stags (both now defunct). Since 2019, whenityork Knicks last won an NBA championship, it has been 50 years without a title for Knicks fans. The longest drought in NBA history is that ofthe Sacramento Kings, who have not reachedthe Finals since their founding in 1923 asthe Rochester Royals. When they were lastin the Finals in 1951 as Rochester, theydefeatedthe New York Knicks to win their onlychampionship.

Why the NBA Finals Are So Late

The NBA Finals are the championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The Finals have been played annually since 1947. They were originally scheduled to take place in June, but they were moved to July in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Television

The NBA Finals are the biggest television event of the year for the NBA. The games are played in June, but the actual schedule is set by television. The first thing that television does is to look at the Finals ratings from previous years. They try to set the schedule so that the Finals will have the best chance of getting good ratings.

The second thing that television looks at is what other events are happening in June. There are a lot of events that happen in June, including baseball and golf. Television tries to avoid scheduling the Finals against these other events.

The third thing that television looks at is when the playoffs will end. The playoffs can go on for a long time, and television wants to make sure that they will be able to show the Finals when they are supposed to.

The fourth thing that television looks at is what days of the week the games will be played on. Saturday and Sunday are usually the best days for television ratings.

After television has looked at all of these things, they finally set the schedule for the NBA Finals.

Revenue

The NBA Finals are the culmination of the basketball season, but they always seem to be scheduled much later than other sports’ championship games. There are a few reasons for this.

First, the NBA playoffs are longer than any other major sport. The NBA regular season is also longer than any other major sport, so the playoff schedule is extended accordingly. Each round of the playoffs is a best-of-7 series, which means that there are potential for a lot of games.

Second, the NBA Finals are played in June, which is considered to be one of the best months for television ratings. This is because most people are not distracted by college or professional football (which both have their championship games in January), and because it is right before the start of summer vacation for many families.

Finally, the later scheduling of the NBA Finals allows more time for marketing and promotion. This means that there are more opportunities for product placement and advertisement, which leads to more revenue for the NBA and its broadcast partners.

So, while it may be frustrating for fans to have to wait so long for the NBA Finals, there are some good reasons behind it from a business standpoint.

How the Late NBA Finals Affects Players

The NBA Finals are set to take place from October 13th to October 31st, which is nearly a month later than they usually are. This is due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed the regular season and playoffs back. This extended break could have a big impact on the players, both physically and mentally.

Physical Fatigue

The NBA Finals are the last best-of-seven series of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) playoffs. The Eastern and Western conference champions play each other, with the winner adjourning the NBA championship. The NBA Finals have been played annually since 1947, and were originally played between the winners of the Eastern and Western Divisional Playoffs. The format changed in 1950, when the Eastern Division was dissolved and replaced by the Eastern Conference, and when a third round of playoffs, now known as the NBA Semifinals, was established. Since 1985, when the NBA Finals were expanded to best-of-seven games, every final except for 1998 has gone to a game seven.

With so much at stake and so little time to recover between games, it’s no surprise that physical fatigue is a big factor in how the late NBA Finals affect players. “Your adrenaline is going,” Warriors forward Andre Iguodala said after playing more than 46 minutes in Game 3 of the 2018 Finals. “You just kind of black out.”

Iguodala is far from alone in his experience. In fact, every player who has logged more than 40 minutes in any of this year’s Finals games has also played over 40 minutes in at least one other game this postseason. That includes LeBron James, who played all 82 games of the regular season for the first time in his career.

The toll of a long season can be seen in other ways as well. This year’s playoffs have featured fewer 100-point games than any postseason since 2008 (there have been just four such games through Monday), and teams are scoring almost four points per 100 possessions less than they did during the regular season. Field goal percentage is down as well.

There are several reasons for this decline offensively. One is that defenses tend to be better in playoff basketball; another is that teams are facing better opponents than they did during the regular season. But another factor may be simple physical exhaustion.

Mental Fatigue

The NBA Finals are the last best chance for players to make an impression on voters before awards are handed out. But by the time the Finals end, most players will have been going nonstop for nine months. That can take a toll on their physical health, and some say it can also lead to mental fatigue.

“It’s a long season, and guys are just mentally and physically drained by the time the Finals come around,” said former NBA player Dwyane Wade. “You’re just trying to muster up whatever you have left.”

Mental fatigue can lead to poor decision-making and a loss of focus. It can also affect a player’s shooting percentage. In the 2015 Finals, for example, LeBron James shot just 39 percent from the field. He attributed his poor performance to mental fatigue.

“I was trying to will my team to victory,” he said. “I was putting so much pressure on myself that I didn’t allow myself to just go out and play.”

If mental fatigue is a factor in the late stages of the season, it could mean that teams with fresher players have an advantage in the playoffs. It’s something to keep an eye on as the season comes to a close.

How the Late NBA Finals Affects Fans

The NBA Finals are set to take place from June 4th to June 17th, which is much later than usual. The reason for this is because the playoffs were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this may not seem like a big deal, it actually has a pretty big impact on NBA fans.

work/school

The primary reason why the NBA Finals are so late is because of television. The NBA Finals are aired on ABC, and the network pays a hefty amount of money for the broadcast rights. Because of this, ABC gets to dictate when the games are played.

The main reason why ABC wants the games to be played later in the evening is because that is when more people are available to watch television. That means that more people will see the commercials that air during the game, which is how ABC makes its money back from paying for the broadcast rights.

There is another factor that plays into why the NBA Finals are so late: most of the players in the league are African American, and a large portion of the league’s fans are African American as well. Studies have shown that African Americans watch less television during daytime hours than people of other races.

So, when you put all of these factors together, it’s no surprise that the NBA Finals are played later in the evening than other championship games like the Stanley Cup Finals or the Super Bowl.

financial

The NBA Finals are the most important games of the basketball season, and they usually take place in June. But this year, the Finals are taking place in October, and some fans are not happy about it.

The main reason for the delay is financial. The NBA makes most of its money from TV rights, and those rights are more valuable when the Finals are played in the summer, when there are no other major sports competitions on TV. So the NBA has an incentive to start the season later and end it later, to make sure that the Finals take place in the summer.

But there are also some non-financial reasons for the delay. For one thing, it takes longer to finish the regular season and the playoffs when you start later. And players tend to get injured more often when they play more games. So there are some good reasons for the NBA to start its season earlier and end it earlier.

Whatever the reasons for the delay, it’s clear that it’s financial motivations that are driving it. And that means that fans who want to watch the Finals will just have to wait a little longer this year.