If there is one thing that the National Basketball Association knows it is showmanship. At its core an NBA game is essentially just a game with 10 players on the court trying to put the ball in the hoop. However, there is so much more that goes into the NBA experience than just watching a game. The customer experience at an NBA game is all about excitement. Every NBA game is a show, and the association always aims to please. With 41 home games in a season a franchise must attract fans in many ways, mainly by winning, but also by entertaining their fans and enhancing experiences. NBA fans do not go to games just to watch their team because in today’s world they can turn on a TV in any room in their house and accomplish this. Fans go to games because these franchises are not marketing a game, but an experience that they feel is worth paying for.
NBA games are only really exciting in the fourth quarter when anything can happen to affect the outcome. Up until this point it is all about the experience. Music is played constantly, people are dressed up, cheerleaders and dance teams are featured, and food and drinks are served throughout million dollar arenas. I have seen halftime shows grow more and more elaborate, ranging from dunk teams on trampolines in Phoenix to a plate spinning unicyclist in Dallas, the same team that has its own drum line that plays during every game.
More importantly is the feeling of affecting a game with the rest of the crowd. A customer who buys a ticket for the NBA will be entertained throughout the game, but one of the most exciting experiences of being at a game is the feeling of camaraderie with fellow fans. Home court advantage is a noticeable trend for all of the best NBA teams, and can become absolutely crucial in the playoffs. Fans can get so loud during key moments of a game that the other team won’t be able to hear each other. This makes anybody who attends an NBA game feel like they have an effect on how a game will turn out, they become a part of the team just by being in the building.
I have experienced this feeling myself, and this is one of the main reasons that I am so interested in exploring this topic. There really is a special experience that comes with attending an NBA game, there is a certain buzz that is hard to describe, but is definitely felt. This experience has been carefully cultivated by the league and each team in order to make people want to attend their games and have fun so that they will come back and buy tickets again. These teams know what they are doing, and over the years have had to continue to change the formula to keep things fresh and exciting for their fans.
Nothing proves this point more than a look at one of the sport’s staple events, the All-Star Game. This game pits all of the best players from all teams onto two teams split east and west, with starting line-ups actually voted on by fans on www.NBA.com. The game has been turned into an entire weekend that includes a celebrity game, skills challenge, rookie/sophomore game, and most importantly the NBA Dunk Contest. Nothing says flair like the dunk contest, as was showcased just days ago when the Los Angeles Clipper’s own Blake Griffin won the contest by dunking over a car with a full gospel choir singing “I Believe I can Fly.” The entire weekend is all about showmanship to make the fans happy. In a 2005 article written for the USA Today about the NBA All-Star Weekend David DuPree wrote “Players can get away with just about anything imaginable, and as long as they are entertaining they can do no wrong.”
Some people feel that the NBA has gone too far and that the soul of the game is now gone and all that matters now is money and egos. LeBron James is a case example of this, holding a one hour TV special on ESPN just to announce his new team during free agency. While egos may have grown the fans still love their stars and always will. LeBron made many enemies with this event but people still pay hundreds of dollars to watch him play and be excited at the thought that they may leave seeing something special, or at the very least leave entertained.
