4-on-4, full-court basketball can become a billion-dollar industry. We need 4-on-4, full-court basketball because the court is too small and the players are too big. Today, Basketball players are as tall as 7 feet 7 inches. The court is too crowded for fast-break basketball or great half-court basketball.
The graphic below shows how crowded half-court basketball has become when each player is represented by a circle representing the wingspan of the players. The blue circles represent the 2014-2015 Kansas team that almost went undefeated. Their average height was 6 feet 9 inches tall. The red dots represent any professional basketball team where the players average 6 feet 9 inches tall. It’s not hard to be that tall of a team. The point guard Klay Thompson for the Golden State Warriors is listed at 6 feet 7 inches, while he reportedly has a wingspan of 6 feet 11 inches.
The red dots can represent the Minnesota Timberwolves with their starting five average height of 6 feet 9 inches. In 2015-2016 they started: Ricky Rubio, Andrew Wiggins, Tayshaun Prince, Kevin Garnet, and Karl Anthony Towns. They ranged from 6 feet 4 inches to 7 feet tall. It’s obvious that there is not enough room on the court anymore!
The game has become too slow because the players are so big and talented. We need more offense; we need more fast breaks, dunks, alley-oops, no-look passes, and incredible shots. When is the last time you saw a defender on the fast-break pin the ball to the backboard? When is the last time you saw each team score 150 points for a combined total of 300 points in a game?
Problems
- We need more fast-break basketball
- We need more basketball highlights to meet demand. Every day there are more sports news shows, blogs, and social media accounts, but there are not enough basketball highlights to meet the demand.
- There is an excess supply of great basketball players. There are basketball players who are tireless runners, great dunkers, unbelievable passers, and fabulous shooters, who do not have a place to highlight their skills. They cannot make a living playing basketball.
- There is an excess supply of basketball fans that want to share highlights on social media.
- Companies need better ways to advertise in the social media age.
- People freak out when you suggest playing 4-on-4 instead of 5-on-5, because they cannot think outside the box. That indoctrination is a problem that must be overcome.
The Solution
The solution is 4-on-4, full-court basketball. Ever since the institution of the three-point line for NBA basketball I have been watching the mathematics carefully. The math does not add up anymore, which is why I have been pitching, developing plots, treatments, synopses, and so on for 4-on-4, full-court basketball as a television show, a new league, for social media, and all media.We all love run and gun basketball. We all love great half-court basketball. What we love, is no longer mathematically possible. As you can see by the crowded graphic, we have to reduce the number of players down to eight. Today’s players are all big and tall, and can handle the ball like a guard, so we no longer need 5-on-5, we need 4-on-4 to make the game right again, more exciting again.
We need WIDE OPEN, FULL-COURT, RUN AND GUN basketball again!
Plot
The plot is people who love or play basketball. “Ball is life” as they say.Plot Specifics
- One plot is playing 4-on-4, full-court basketball instead of 5-on-5.
- Another plot idea would be to put the producers, directors, businessmen and others in the videos.
- Organization of Events
- Finding a producer
- Finding the first basketball player
- Finding a director
- Forming the first team
- Playing the first game
- Finding the best ways to videotape the highlights.
- Creating a company
- Creating a league
- Finding funding. Crowdfunding with fans.
- Securing advertising
Introduction of The First Character
The show starts with someone who loves basketball, or perhaps loves creating videos, TV shows, movies, or who loves business. Someone becomes the first character. Someone becomes the first player. Perhaps an ex NBA basketball player, ex college player, ex high school player, streetball player, a graduate of film school, or a business person. There should be a heartfelt talk about how the player wants to play basketball but for some reason or another does not have a way to play.Perhaps the first character could be an ex basketball star who graduated from the London school of film?
Perhaps the first character could be an ex-NBA player in Los Angeles who has Hollywood connections.
Obstacles
- Today we have more basketball players that are human highlight reels than ever before, but most basketball players cannot make a living playing basketball.
- Daily life can be an obstacle.
- Daily life can be an unforgettable journey.
- Drama
- With 4-on-4, full-court basketball there can be dramatic single elimination tournaments. There can be citywide tournaments. There can be nationwide tournaments. There can be worldwide tournaments. Companies can be sponsors. In fact, it is not uncommon around the world for companies to sponsor and maintain their own basketball team. The situation in the United States is actually uncommon.
- Advertisements
- Ads can be placed at the end of video highlights for revenue. For example, a basketball highlight could take 20 seconds. An advertisement for 10 seconds could be at the end of the highlight.
Plot Threads
Producer
One plot thread could surround the producer. Perhaps the producer is even an ex-basketball player. Perhaps the producer wants to make 4-on-4, full-court basketball work as TV show, movie, league, and/or industry because they love basketball. Perhaps the producer is a retired NBA basketball player or college basketball player. Perhaps, someone who runs and guns but does not have a platform to show their skills. They could bootstrap the creation of a company. They could start by creating video content talking about what they are going to do, demonstrating what they are going to do, and interviewing people who want to get involved.Director
The director has to have a great artistic vision. The director needs to develop a camera package, and connections with camera persons, so that they can adequately video the games. Special portable equipment will probably be needed. Fans can also be tapped to video the games using their cell phones.The Financial Person
There will be great drama around the finances. Whichever person takes on the additional task of being the finance person could be a great character to video. Great drama can surround two of the goals. Can a company be created and can it become profitable and sustainable? Can the company create hundreds of jobs for basketball players? Whoever takes on the role of the financial person will have high drama. Can they bootstrap a company from startup to sustainability?Obstacles
Great deal of drama can be generated around trying to start a business and sustain a business. The TV show can interview basketball players, basketball lovers, angel investors, crowd funding experts and so on and so forth. The business side of the project can be a plot that can be dramatic like the TV show “Shark Tank.”Plot elements
4-on-4, full court basketball is perfect for all the classic plot elements:- Introduction of the characters with their conflicts and problems
- Rising action as events build up to conflict
- Climax or main point of the plot
- Falling action or winding up of the story
- Resolution with a happy ending
Need
We need a new TV show built around playing 4-on-4, full-court basketball. We need basketball tournaments based upon 4-on-4, full-court. We need a new basketball league that is 4-on-4, full-court. We need these things because we need more basketball highlights. We need more fast breaks, dunks, alley-oops, and no look passes. We need players to be running and gunning again.Obstacles
The story involves gathering players to play full-court, four-on-four basketball. There is conflict as so many obstacles have to be overcome. First, people must be convinced that four-on-four basketball is a better game. Games must be played and there will be winners and losers. There will be third party villains. There will be those who do not want 4-on-4, full-court basketball to succeed.Story
The story focuses on the important characters and their role in developing 4-on-4, full-court basketball. Basketball is the most popular sport around the world. There are more and more sports news outlets every day. But there are not enough basketball highlights to meet the demand.Character development
There could be great character development. There are great basketball players who are great characters. Remember Dennis Rodman? Allen Iverson? Michael Jordan? Magic Johnson? Many of the characters will play important roles in the story. The story of bringing 4-on-4, full-court basketball to the world.Pitch
An entire industry of entertainment is waiting to be created. The industry will be created around 4-on-4, full-court basketball. There will be TV shows, games, tournaments, and a movie.Treatments
Many different treatments for how to go about 4-on-4, full-court basketball have been posted at this blog.Math Is Beautiful
Stephan Curry made 45% of his three-point shots for the 2015-2016 NBA regular season.(Source: http://www.sbnation.com/2016/4/15/11437346/steph-curry-golden-state-warriors-3-point-record)
That means for every 10 shots he took behind the three-point line, he made 45% of them, which is 10 times 0.45 = 4.5 shots. Which means, for every 10 shots behind the line he took he scored 4.5 times 3 points = 13.5 points for every 10 shots.
When shooting two-point shots, the player would have to make 70% of them to beat the number of points Steph Curry is making. 10 shots times 0.70 = 7 shots made = 14 points. What do NBA players shoot from the two-point area?
The highest any player shot from two-point range for the 2016 season was DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles clippers and he only shot 69.9%.
(Source: https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/player-stat/two-point-field-goal-percentage)
The 50th player in percentage ranking, was Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he only shot 49.9% from the two-point range.
The 99th player by percentage ranking, was Marc Gasol of the Memphis grizzlies and he only shot 46.3% from the two-point range.
Remember Wilt Chamberlain. The famous center once made 72% of his field goal attempts for a season. He holds the single-season record. So, basically the only NBA player in history who could keep up with Steph Curry’s three-pointers by shooting two-pointers was Wilt Chamberlain.
(Source: http://www.nba.com/encyclopedia/wilts_records.html)
What about Steph Curry? What did he shoot from the two-point range? He only shot 56.3% from the two-point range, which is far short of the 70% he needs to shoot to keep up with his three-point shot in terms of point production. But have you seen Steph Curry dribble? Have you seen him drive to the basket? Can you imagine how much more easily he could get two-point shots if he was playing 4-on-4, full-court instead of 5-on-5 full-court? Steph Curry when he retires should start playing 4-on-4, full-court. He could probably play another 10 years after the NBA if he was running his own team or league.
CONTACT
Email: Dr.Hennenfent@gmail.com for licensing or other arrangements.
Let’s connect basketball players, fans, agents, entrepreneurs, producers, directors, businessmen, and investors.
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 Bradley R. Hennenfent, M.D. All rights reserved. All rights for all media reserved.
Source for Heights of NBA Players:
http://nba-teams.pointafter.com/stories/8626/nba-starting-lineups-ranked-height#30-Minnesota-Timberwolves
