NBA: If Stars Go to Europe, Will America Follow?

When the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals, many fans wondered how long it would be until we saw an NBA game again.  Would the players and owners hammer out a deal over the summer and salvage the 2011-2012 NBA season, or would it be lost? That question remains unanswered. 

Another looming question will be, if there is no season where will NBA players wind up in the latter part of 2011? New Jersey Nets All-Star Guard Derron Williams broke the ice when on July 8, it was reported that he had agreed in principle to join Turkish team Besiktas if the NBA players were locked out next season.  

Many believed that it was an isolated incident by Williams, but soon after, other NBA superstars such as Kobe Bryant, Amar'e Stoudemire, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and 2011 Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki have all expressed that they are at least open to the idea of playing in Europe if there is no NBA product. 

But if any of these players were to play in Europe next season, would your average basketball fan care enough to follow them? NBA players playing in Europe is not unheard of by any means. Former Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Childress left the NBA to play for Greek team Olympiacos after the 2007-2008 season. He played in Greece for two years before returning to the NBA last season. 

 Current Milwaukee Bucks Point Guard Brandon Jennings, also made headlines when he decided to play in Europe after graduating high school instead of going to college for a year before entering the NBA draft.   However the most high-profile player who has left the NBA for Europe would be Allen "The Answer" Iverson who joined Besiktas (the same club Derron Williams has agreed to join) in October 2010. 

Even with Iverson, one of the most popular figures in the last decade of the NBA, fans seemed to care very little about the success, or lack thereof,of anyone in a league which was being played on a different continent with teams and players that the average American NBA fan would have never heard of. 

But what if there was no NBA? 

Sure, many fans would get their fix from college basketball, but would it really be possible for fans to ignore superstars such as Bryant, Anthony and Nowitzki  if they were playing overseas?  Imagine Williams and Bryant teaming up to dominate the Turkish league only to run into a Durant led squad in the championship. Many of these NBA stars have a larger appeal and following that outmatches the appeal of many NBA teams.

Ask yourself this question who would the NBA miss more if they were to not play next year, Kobe Bryant or the Toronto Raptors? More then any of its counterparts among the four major sports, the NBA is a star driven league, and if the stars are playing somewhere else, at least some Basketball fans will follow them.

In no means would it be a substitute for NBA basketball, but if we are left with no other choice, watching the greatest players in the game play anywhere is the most we can ask for.