Oct 13, 2018

The NBA's climb to becoming the world's most popular league

LeBron James. Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The NBA is expanding its presence around the world with 12 international offices, seven basketball academies on four continents and league games broadcast to more than 200 countries and territories, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press writes.

Why it matters: The league's rapid growth could someday catapult it to the top spot as the number 1 sport in the world, but it still has a ways to go.

Be smart: Soccer is still number 1 globally and it isn't close.

Yes, but: The NBA is growing. The league says 300 million people are playing the game recreationally in China, and nearly 1 billion people across the world have some access to the NBA Finals, Raynolds writes.

What's happening: The NBA is taking a page out of FIFA's book with basketball academies fostering the growth of young basketball players across the globe. The results are showing as the league opened last season with a record number of international players playing for NBA teams.

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U.S. coronavirus updates: America's "very painful two weeks"

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The novel coronavirus has now killed more than 4,000 people in the U.S. — with over 1,500 deaths reported in New York City, per Johns Hopkins.

The state of play: In a major pivot in tone, President Trump said Tuesday it's "going to be a very painful two weeks," with projections indicating the virus could kill 100,000–240,000 Americans — even with strict social distancing guidelines in place.

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Why StubHub halted refunds

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

With sports on pause and large gatherings banned across the globe, the live events industry has effectively ground to a halt.

The state of play: In the U.S. alone, more than 23,000 events have been canceled, postponed or rescheduled in the past three weeks.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 877,422 — Total deaths: 43,537 — Total recoveries: 185,241 — Map.
U.S.: Leads the world in confirmed cases. Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 189,633 — Total deaths: 4,081 — Total recoveries: 7,136 — Map.
Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index: It's "a tale of two Americas" as the rich are more likely to work from home and the poor are more likely to report to work.
Federal government latest: President Trump said the next two weeks would be "very painful," with projections indicating the virus could kill 100,000–240,000 Americans.
State updates: Washington and California appear to have slowed their surges of new cases.
2020 updates: Joe Biden said it's "hard to envision" the Democratic National Convention going ahead as planned in July.
What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk.
Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

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