The 2023 NBA season has been an eventful one. Many teams have overperformed and underperformed. How the standings have shaken up entering the playoffs is something no one could have predicted. Let’s take a good look at every team’s record to end the season and see how small market teams did compared to big market teams. Teams are categorized based on national media coverage and free agency influence.
Small Market Teams Record:
Teams:
Bucks, Cavaliers, Hawks, Raptors, Pacers, Wizards, Magic, Hornets, Pistons, Nuggets, Grizzlies, Suns, Kings, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Thunder, Mavericks, Jazz, Trail Blazers, Rockets, Spurs
Total: 812-910
Win %: 47.2%
Notable Overperformers:
Cavaliers
Kings
Thunder
Jazz
Notable Underperformers:
Timberwolves
Mavericks
Pelicans
Trail Blazers
Big Market Teams Record:
Teams:
Celtics, 76ers, Knicks, Nets, Heat, Bulls, Clippers, Warriors, Lakers
Total: 418-318
Win %: 56.8%
Notable Overperformer(s):
Knicks
Notable Underperformers:
Warriors
Clippers
Lakers
Bulls
It’s clear that big market teams outshone small market teams this season as expected. Most of these teams have already built a core that they believe can win a championship. Continually, the pressure and expectation for them to win is much higher than the small market rebuilding teams. None of these big market teams have had their eyes set on rebuilding through the draft. Historically, these teams have rarely tried to build through the draft. Being the big market teams that they are, free agents tend to gravitate toward these teams. The national media also has their own agenda of getting small market players out of their prospective team in order to form a superteam in one of these big market cities.
While small market teams did worse in the standings, the fan support has never been stronger. Many of these teams have changed the culture and built a foundation for success for the foreseeable future. Some of these teams would be the Kings, Cavaliers, Thunder, and Pelicans. Despite the Pelicans being an “underperformer,” I can tell the culture has shifted from attending nearly every home game and seeing how packed the Smoothie King Center is compared to last season. The Kings and Cavs have also made a complete 180 from where they were last season.
Small market teams may never outperform big market teams throughout the course of an entire season. However, it’s undeniable that many of them are trending in the right direction. Small market teams and fanvases are eager for a championship. These teams have been much more willing to shove assets in a trade that they think can bring them to a championship level–as we saw with the Cavaliers and Timberwolves last summer. While swinging for the fences doesn’t always pan out, we see a lot more teams trying to do everything they can to win, which is what every fan wants. Hopefully more NBA players will see the culture that some of these small market teams are building and will want to take their talents to their city in order to take them to the next level.
Hello: I stumbled across this site, and was astonished to find the Toronto Raptors listed as a small market team. Do you know how big Toronto is? Google "largest cities in North America" and you will find it around #7, ahead of such megacities as Philly, Dallas and Houston. Do yourself a favour - drop the Raptors from your coverage. P.S. Some American commentators have taken to calling the Raptors' fan base the largest in the NBA, because the team has fans across Canada's population of 40 million. It's a major reason why the tag line for the team is "We the North", rather than pushing Toronto.