photo credit: Adam Welch
The big three, NFL, MLB, NBA. If you ask almost any American, they can associate the three leagues with football, baseball, and basketball. For over a century these three have been at the pinnacle of American culture and the sports world as a whole. However, the NBA, known for producing some of the most famous athletes of all time like Michael Jordan, and Lebron James has had its lowest viewership in years. It’s unclear the reasoning for a decline in viewership.
In November, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver cited the decline in ratings was due to the large market Dodgers-Yankees World Series and the impending presidential election at the time were drawing fans away, according to Sports Illustrated.
But, now two months later, with a World Series already faded in the rear view mirror, ratings are still down, and it’s hard to find a scapegoat for a sport being televised every single night on national television. Therefore, if it’s not other national televised products stealing views from the NBA, what could it be?
Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and one of the foremost analysts in the NBA world Charles Barkley said it’s the product being displayed on the court that is shying viewers away, according to Inside the NBA on TNT. To put it plainly, the excessive number of three-point shots being taken and constant fouls slow down the intensity once present night in and night out within the league.
For instance, on Dec. 13, 2024 during a Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets game there was a combined 75 missed three point shots…75!! No one watching at home wants to sit through a two-hour matchup where every attempted three is just a jacked up missed shot. If they wanted to see players miss shots for two hours, they could easily go to their local rec and watch an intramural league game.
These are supposed to be the best players, period! If professional players are missing that many shots, then fans won’t tune in.
However, some people within the NBA blame fans and analysts like Charles Barkley for critiquing the product. JJ Reddick, coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, fired a shot back and said, “If I’m a casual fan and you tell me every time I turn on the TV that the product sucks, well, I’m not going to watch the product,” according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
While I can see where Reddick’s reason for thinking is coming from, yes some viewers might be inclined to not want to watch the NBA because of what broadcasts are telling them, I simply don’t believe this equates to the overall percentage of people not watching the games.
Simply put, no one wants to see 6 foot 8 inches star Jayson Tatum go up for an uncontested dunk, completely whiff, get stuck at the rim and then desperately fling his arms up for a foul call. Viewers would never see Kobe or MJ try to get a foul call off the “air”, but maybe that is why ratings weren’t down in their eras of play. The inherent problem at hand is that today’s star players rely more on statistics than hustle. Fans want to see grit and a workhorse on the court. An objective fan doesn’t want to see a team’s captain and leader beg for a foul or flop around when they’re clearly fine. It paints a “soft” narrative of a sport that has been marketed off grind and intensity since its conception.
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