Recently, the OKC Thunder found themselves entangled in the NBA’s newest rivalry, one that wasn’t supposed to happen.
The San Antonio Spurs inserted themselves into the conversation by sweeping Oklahoma City in a three-game set that spanned over the course of two weeks.
Now the NBA faces an intriguing decision: rely on the big-market teams to generate popularity, or lean into the unexpected clash between two of its smallest markets.
These two small-market juggernauts are not making things easy on the league, as OKC’s Christmas Day matchup against the Spurs was the most-watched game in the 2:30 time slot since 2017.
This week alone, the Spurs found themselves sitting right behind the number-one-ranked Thunder in the NBA’s Power Rankings.
One might think the NBA would take note that these two young superteams could be the face of their league for years to come, but one roadblock seems to be preventing this from happening.
Bigger markets still reign supreme, with the prime example of this being the fact that the Knicks vs Cavs game at noon became the most-watched Christmas Day game ever.
Small-market Thunder making a run at big-market attention
As a result, the NBA has seemingly chosen to follow the money. The three players on the cover of their most updated Power Rankings article are Karl-Anthony Towns, Jimmy Butler, and Jamal Murray. Two of the three are from two of the NBA’s largest markets, and Murray resides in a mid-size market.
The following article on their main feed, which discusses the most important moment in each of the past 72 years, features an advertisement of Luka Doncic in a Mavericks uniform. Luka shocked the NBA world last year when he was traded from Dallas (a large market) to the Los Angeles Lakers (an even larger market).
David will have to beat Goliath through sheer domination
Even though large markets may still be the apple of the NBA’s eye, the Thunder are refusing to go away. They are continuing their popularity push from last year, when Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which featured OKC squaring off against another small-market team in the Indiana Pacers, was the most-watched Finals game in six years.
The Thunder-Spurs rivalry easily features more star attention than what was on display in last year’s Championship round.
With NBA unicorn Victor Wembanyama, second-year stud Stephon Castle, and veteran powerhouse De’Aaron Fox, the Spurs likely bring more firepower that could draw in more viewership.
Given the fact that the league is already showing its cards in its most recent marketing ploys, though, the only hope for small markets is a Western Conference Championship series between these two aforementioned clubs.
If the series happens — which, as the season progresses, is proving highly plausible — Thunder fans should be intrigued to see if their new rivalry continues its demand for more media attention.
