I like the Lakers - I just hate Kobe for bringing Shaq's business out in the open when he (Kobe) got caught doing what he wasn't supposed to be doing.And since the Lakers are now Shaqless and Kobe is the jewel of the crown - I hate the Lakers (for now).
But in looking at the television ratings over the past three decades - (Absent Michael Jordan) the Lakers are the team the NBA would most like to have in the NBA finals.
Highest Rated NBA Finals
18.7 Bulls/Jazz '98
17.9 Bulls/Trail Blazers '93
16.8 Bulls/Jazz '97
16.7 Bulls/Sonics '96
15.9 Lakers/Celtics '87
15.8 Bulls/Lakers '91
15.4 Lakers/Pistons '88
15.1 Pistons/Lakers '89
14.2 Bulls/Trail Blazers '92
14.1 Celtics/Rockets '86
Lowest Rated NBA Finals
6.2 Spurs/Cavs '07
6.5 Spurs/Nets '03
6.7 Celtics/Rockets '81
7.2 Spurs/Bullets '79
8.2 Spurs/Pistons '05
Love them or hate them - the Lakers are the only current NBA team capable of pulling in double-digit ratings.
The NBA should just be happy that the Spurs didn't advance.
Showtime Showtime as the Lakers are America's team! You got to hand it to cats out here we know how to market people. We have USC seeming like a NFL team, we got Manny Ramirez looking like Barry Bonds, and the Lakers can be mediocre without Shaq but the marketers keep telling you the Lakers are on the verge. The NBA needs to hire the PR people from the Lakers to keep interest in the history of a team. I always say the Buss family did what the other owners fail to do and that is keep your Hall of Famers on the front row of the Stadium so people remember greatness instead of looking up at the rafters.
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