Basketball lessons

Scott Soshnick of the Bloomberg news service has a very interesting analysis of the globalisation of basketball, that everyone interested in the global baseball should read. Basketball is way ahead of baseball -- and second only to soccer -- in terms of globalisation.

Like baseball, the financial muscle behind the sport will always be the top domestic league in the USA. Unlike MLB, however, the NBA has been extremely agressive and extremely successful in expanding into new markets.

So, what have they done?

• Foster Local Heros: Yao Ming has drawn in China, and the emergence of European stars like France's Tony Parker, Germany's Dirk Nowitzki and Russia's Andrei Kirilenko has helped boost the NBA's profile in Europe even farther. Plus, it has drastically increased the talent pool for the NBA.
• Cooperate With Domestic Leagues: The NBA seems to be seriously considering expanding into Europe by the end of the decade. It is looking to form partnerships with the European leagues and is seeking to attract investment to state-of-the-art facilities in Europe. The European leagues welcome this, because the marketing clout of the NBA will promote interest in grassroots basketball
• Professionalise International Competitions: The NBA, already popular in Europe through television, became huge after NBA players were admitted to the Olympic games in 1992.

Lesson one for MLB, then: stop being so short-sighted and get the top players into the Olympic games. It might hurt domestic revenues every four years, but the future for baseball has to be global, if it is to compete with soccer and basketball. An MLB-internal "World Cup" is a good start, but no substitute for full participation in the Olympics.