While I have much respect for the sports of baseball and basketball, if you honestly told me, that I could only choose one, I'd take basketball over baseball.
Brace yourself for a long post, guys.
There are many reasons why I feel the NBA has the magic and appeal to transcend worldwide- and it's not just today- it's the long haul:
1. Superstars. The greatest of NBA players were those you could recgonize by name no matter where you were. In the 1980s, people knew what you meant when you said names like Magic, Bird, Dominique, Clyde 'The Glide,' Kareem, or Dr. J.
Then, there's the 1990s- Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, David Robinson, John Stockton, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley.
As for baseball- honestly, I never thought some of the big-names in baseball in the modern era are truly transcendent. There's a reason why diamond legends of long ago are truly transcendent- Willie Mays, for instance. OTOH, if Dave Winfield and Patrick Ewing walked down the street, I think Ewing would be mobbed by more people when he was spotted.
Baseball players, to me, are not as relatable and transcendent as great basketball stars. Great names can light up the TV ratings- Magic, Bird, and Julius Erving did it in the 1980s, and in the 1990s, Jordan was IT. If those Bulls played a nationally televised game and won by 60, it would draw at least a 10.0 rating.
It's hard to envision millions of people tuning in to watch a baseball player bat just four times when there are long waits. Unlike baseball, basketball players have many, many chances to make up. In baseball ,if you go 0-4, that's usually it. In basketball, if you miss your first four shots, you can still make up for it.
There are people around the world who know LeBron, Kobe, CP3, D-Wade, Superman- if you asked a guy in South America who Alex Rodriguez was, he'd be hard-pressed. OTOH, if you asked if he knew anything about LeBron James, he'd give you something.
2. Statistics. IMO, to lead the NBA in scoring sounds a lot more exciting than to lead the MLB in batting. What's easier to explain to young people- put the ball in the basket more times than anyone, or how to increase your average without getting a hit?
Look at the list of NBA scoring champions- only the true stars are there- Jordan, Shaq, Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade, etc. The last non household names to lead the NBA in scoring were Alex English and Adrian Dantley, and both are in the Basketball Hall of Fame. OTOH, you can't say the same about some recent batting titlists- how many of them are Cooperstown bound?
3. Business. David Stern >>>>> Bud Selig. Granted, the NBA did have that lockout of a few months in 1998-99, but that was nothing compared to the 1994 strike. The NBA resumed its season and crowned a champion, and we all know what happened to baseball that year.
The NBA has crowned a champion EVERY year- the MLB did not do so in 1994.
4. Nicknames. So many NBA players have cool aliases, and honestly, what sounds cooler- A-Rod or King James? Advantage- LBJ.
5. Weather. We had a heated discussion on the late start times and weather issues with last fall's World Series- you'll never hear that about basketball games.
6. All-Star events. Some of the biggest names in baseball skip the home-run derby- OTOH, Dwight Howard is not afraid to do a Dunk Contest, LeBron will do so next year, and MJ and Kobe were able to do so as well.
(Oh, and NBA All-Star Games don't end in ties
)
7. Finally, the pace of the game. Sometimes, a baseball at bat can drag on forever. In the NBA, there's a shot clock. IMO, it's easier to watch a timed event. Baseball games can drag on forever- in basketball, games usually end on time unless there's overtime (I'm sure none of us complained when Bulls/Celtics went into all those overtimes)
