The NBA is a star driven league. It started in the 1980s when David Stern marketed the NBA around Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. It carried over into the 1990s with Michael Jordan...all the way until now with LeBron James.

However...did marketing the NBA around one player for 30 years lead to their demise? We compare the NBA to the WWE...and show how both companies had the same marketing strategy in the 1980s and 1990s.

Both companies have seen declining television ratings since. We explain how building around players...instead of teams...is leading to the NBA's decline.