After a lot of discussions, Adam Silver has announced that the NBA plans to resume the season on 31st July. Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers will be the two favorites going into the season. 22 teams will be heading to Orlando, instead of the rumored 16 for direct playoffs.
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“The financial elements of the plan are significant for the league too, with the 22-team format worth several hundred million dollars more in revenue than the 16-team straight-to-playoffs plan would,” ESPN had reported.
Los Angeles Lakers to make big money… but also lose some
There will be eight regular-season games and then the playoffs will commence. And each game will earn around 1.5 million dollars for the Lakers. However, that is not surprising for the number two ranked team on the Forbes Most Valuable NBA Teams.
According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, “Sources say the eight regular-season games being played will all count toward each team’s regional sports network television deals as well. For teams that have the most lucrative arrangements, such as the Lakers, this is a very big deal. To wit: Sources say the Lakers pull in approximately $1.5 million per game from their RSN deal with Spectrum SportsNet, meaning they’ll recoup $12 million from those games in all while losing an estimated $8 million because the schedule won’t be completed.”
One of the reasons could be that Lakers are one of the few teams to have a per-game contract with Spectrum SportsNet. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor had reported, “Once most teams hit 70 games, the league retains 100 percent of the revenue from those RSNs—except for a handful of teams such as the Lakers, who have a per-game contract with Spectrum SportsNet.”
The Lakers had one of the least games played when the league was suspended in March. While most teams have played around 65-67 games, the Lakers have played only 63. But despite that, with just three wins out of eight, the Lakers can seal their status as Western Conference champions.
Despite having LeBron James, the Lakers surprisingly missed out on playoffs last year. With the addition of Anthony Davis this season, they look like they can go all the way.
