One of the dirtiest secrets in the NBA is that it pays to tank. It’s especially true in small markets. The new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was written with generous revenue sharing that allows small market teams (like New Orleans and Indiana) to access equal TV revenues shares from the large market teams (like New York and Brooklyn).
NBA teams are more profitable now than prior to 2015 because of revenues generated by great TV deals. TV money has exploded with the expansion of sports networks like ESPN and with FS1’s thirst for content. The most recent deal was signed in 2014 for $2.