The National Basketball Association is one of the most popular basketball leagues in North America. The history of the evolution of the NBA is very interesting, because every year it develops and presents various surprises. So, for example, one of the surprises held in the NBA is called a lockout.
This word, translated from English, means - to lock the door for someone, but if you explain a little, then the lockout is a temporary suspension of work of the organization with the termination of payment of wages, in a word a strike, not only from the side of employees, but from the side of the employer . The extreme form of lockout is collective dismissal by the employer in connection with the announcement of a strike and a labor dispute. Such removal from work makes itself felt, both in workers' organizations and in sports. And the NBA is no exception.
A lockout in the NBA first happened in 1998. On June 30, the agreement between the owners of the NBA clubs and the players expired, and they could not agree on the new. This meant that on the first day of July, a lockout in the NBA began, which threatened to conduct the next season, if not completely, then partially unambiguously. Until 1998, not a single match was broken in the association due to a strike. In all cases, club leaders and the players' union found optimal solutions to overcome this situation, while other professional leagues already had in practice such a turn of events that led to the cancellation of entire seasons. In the 95th and 96th years, basketball players came close to a similar development of circumstances, but 1998 was a turning point in the NBA, in which the season was significantly reduced.
The 1998 NBA lockout was on the side of the owners. At the end of the 97/98 season there were no reasons for strikes, but the contract found a clause whereby the club owners demanded the next round of negotiations, after which they voted to amend the agreement. This decision, of course, did not arouse enthusiasm among basketball players. All negotiations ended unsuccessfully, except for reproaches and insults, nothing useful was put forward. But in December of that year, the matter finally began to move off the ground. Everything happened after the words of the association commissioner David Stern, who announced his readiness to completely cancel the season, if both sides do not find a compromise before January 7. Basketball union leader Billy Hunter insisted on continuing to take a brutal position, but players have already begun to demand the resumption of the season. And on January 20, 1998, they signed this long-suffering agreement.
After all that is happening, the American press condemned these actions from the negative side, because the fans missed the opportunity to watch 32 matches that each team had to play. At that moment, the NBA lowered its reputation, the ratings and attendance of matches dropped, and, of course, relations with sponsors worsened.
Unfortunately, in 2011, the NBA lockout again took place, where the subject of negotiations was the salary ceiling for players. But on November 26 of the same year, labor contracts were signed with the players, and the beginning of the season did not drag on for long. Instead of the planned start on November 1, it began on December 25. As a result, the strike lasted 149 days.
Despite the previous crisis, the 2011 NBA playoffs, which started on April 16, turned out to be spectacular, as always, for good luck. Passed by the standard scheme. The winner of the 10/11 season was the Dallas Mavericks team, which defeated the Miami Heat in a series of final matches with a score of 4-2.
Returning to the lockout, I would like to say that all this is a policy associated with big money, but nobody canceled getting into the NBA Hall of Fame. Any player who deserves a ticket to this illustrious place will sooner or later receive it, despite various political battles taking place in the association.