Professional Basketball—Can You Join the Association? Lesson for Grades 9-12
Students apply economic concepts to a professional basketball association. The lesson underscores the importance of incentives, control of supply, and potential market inefficiencies resulting from a cartel. Students assume one of two roles: either (i) a member of a team owner group trying to get its team into the Professional Basketball Association or (ii) a member of the Professional Basketball Association Expansion Committee deciding whether new teams are admitted.
Objectives of this Lesson:
Students will be able to
- recognize competition and incentives in professional sports,
- describe a cartel,
- describe a monopoly,
- explain how professional sports associations exhibit behaviors of a cartel and a monopoly, and
- interpret the interdependent relationship between a professional sports association and the individual teams in that association.
Compelling Question:
How does economic competition affect professional sports associations and teams?
This lesson plan is designed for teaching grades 9, 10, 11, and 12.
Related:
- Professional Baseball—Can You Join the League? Lesson for Grades 9-12
- Professional Football—Can You Join the League? Lesson for Grades 9-12
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