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G League to offer $125K to elite prospects as alternative to one-and-done route
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<blockquote data-quote="TheFameProtector" data-source="post: 1420197" data-attributes="member: 517079"><p>I think this kind of makes my point, which is that we're talking about separate worlds here. NBA fandom is different, demographically, than college basketball fandom. The average college basketball fan doesn't know those players, and probably still won't unless their team has a shot at landing them, but the average (young) NBA fan probably does know who the top upcoming basketball players are. I mean, Jalen Green does have 174,000 followers on Instagram, and my guess is its not a bunch of middle-aged folk hopeful that he chooses their school in 1-1.5 year(s). It's more likely the younger crowd that spends their time watching his highlight reels with titles like "Jalen Green is THE CRAZIEST 10TH GRADER YOU'VE EVER SEEN!!" Those kids may not mean butts in G-League seats (yet, at least), but they do buy shoes, and that's what matters.</p><p></p><p>If we're talking about what matters to the players, it's about getting to the NBA (to make money getting paid to play) and building a brand (to make more money from endorsements). And for every Trae Young that gets a major boost from playing in college, there's a Ben Simmons or Michael Porter Jr. that does essentially nothing to add to their brand while in college. The player that goes to the G-League, <em>if</em> they've built a brand in high school, can start profiting off that brand immediately. Do you think it matters to them if there's 3,000 people watching the game in Sioux Falls vs. 10,000 watching it in Chapel Hill, when they can make a 6-figure plus salary at the former but (technically...) nothing at the latter?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="TheFameProtector, post: 1420197, member: 517079"] I think this kind of makes my point, which is that we're talking about separate worlds here. NBA fandom is different, demographically, than college basketball fandom. The average college basketball fan doesn't know those players, and probably still won't unless their team has a shot at landing them, but the average (young) NBA fan probably does know who the top upcoming basketball players are. I mean, Jalen Green does have 174,000 followers on Instagram, and my guess is its not a bunch of middle-aged folk hopeful that he chooses their school in 1-1.5 year(s). It's more likely the younger crowd that spends their time watching his highlight reels with titles like "Jalen Green is THE CRAZIEST 10TH GRADER YOU'VE EVER SEEN!!" Those kids may not mean butts in G-League seats (yet, at least), but they do buy shoes, and that's what matters. If we're talking about what matters to the players, it's about getting to the NBA (to make money getting paid to play) and building a brand (to make more money from endorsements). And for every Trae Young that gets a major boost from playing in college, there's a Ben Simmons or Michael Porter Jr. that does essentially nothing to add to their brand while in college. The player that goes to the G-League, [I]if[/I] they've built a brand in high school, can start profiting off that brand immediately. Do you think it matters to them if there's 3,000 people watching the game in Sioux Falls vs. 10,000 watching it in Chapel Hill, when they can make a 6-figure plus salary at the former but (technically...) nothing at the latter? [/QUOTE]
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G League to offer $125K to elite prospects as alternative to one-and-done route
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