Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors against Garrett Temple of the Washington Wizards (Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons).
This article was originally published on Word In Black.
There was a time when NBA regular season games were the highlight of every basketball fan’s week. Long before NBA League Pass and the ability to catch every game on demand, fans eagerly awaited marquee matchups. The thrill of seeing the Lakers, Celtics, or 76ers go to war on CBS with Brent Musburger’s iconic voice calling the action — or later on NBC, where Bob Costas brought the games to life — was unmatched.
But those days are gone. Today, the NBA struggles to captivate its audience, with ratings dropping significantly. According to Yahoo Sports, viewership on ESPN is down 28% as of November, while TNT’s numbers remain stagnant at 1.8 million viewers per game. Even with a lucrative $76 billion TV deal set to begin in the 2025-2026 season, the league faces a growing disconnect between its product and its fans. Here’s why:
1. Who’s All Gonna Be There?
I can think back to when only broken bones, childbirth, and deaths in the family would keep NBA players from suiting up to entertain fans who may have spent most of their monthly earnings on tickets to see their favorite superstars. But in today’s era of load management — the practice of intentionally reducing an athlete’s training and competition — NBA teams strategically rest star players to reduce injury risk and optimize performance.
It is common for league superstar players to take a night off. The issue, from a viewership perspective, is that the NBA is the most superstar-driven of the three major American sports leagues. When stars like LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo sit out, it’s disappointing for fans who tune in specifically to see them play..
I’ll put it this way: I’m in my late 40s, and when I get invited to a party, I find out who else will attend before I commit to going. Fans may take a page from my book before tuning into regular-season games.
To make matters worse, research shows load management may not make much difference. A 10-year study found no link between load-managed players and a decreased risk of injury.
2. Gimme Three!
If you’re a basketball parent and you’ve been to any Amateur Athletic Union tournament, you’ve surely heard “Gimme three” echoing from every team’s bench when a teammate shoots a three-point shot. It doesn’t matter if it goes in or doesn’t even hit the rim, as soon as it flies, so does the chant by any engaged teammate on the bench.
NBA players and those mimicking them have fallen in love with the 3-point shot.
“The NBA is a glorified 3-point shooting contest,” said Eric Murdock, an NBA veteran who played nine years in the league. “Everybody basically plays the same way. Back in the day, it seemed like every team had their style of play: Lakers’ showtime, Phoenix’s run and gun, the Knicks’ defense, and inside and out with Patrick Ewing.”
We can thank Steph Curry — the greatest shooter of all time — and the Golden State Warriors for leading the charge to emphatically change the game from being played inside out to outside in. The issue is that not all players can shoot with the accuracy of Curry and the Mavericks’ Klay Thompson.
If you don’t believe Murdock, then you can ask the legendary Shaquille O’Neal, my former Los Angeles Lakers teammate and current TNT analyst.. When asked on his “Big Podcast” about the NBA’s declining viewers, O’Neal said, “Steph Curry and those guys messed it up. I don’t mind Golden State back in the day shooting threes, but every team isn’t a 3-point shooter. So, why does everybody have the same strategy? I think it makes the game boring.”
I bet it does look boring to Shaq. The big man playing on the inside with his back to the basket has virtually been eliminated.
3. Made in America?
The last American-born player to win the NBA MVP award was James Harden in 2018. Since then, the honor has been dominated by international stars: Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece claimed it twice. Nikola Jokic of Serbia won three times, and Cameroon’s Joel Embiid earned his first in 2023.
While the influx of international talent has expanded the NBA’s global reach, it has also shifted the league’s identity. For decades, American fans prided themselves on dominating basketball, a sport invented in the U.S. There’s nothing inherently wrong with celebrating international excellence, but for many fans, the absence of homegrown superstars adds to the feeling of disconnect.
Let’s also not forget who we are as egotistical Americans. For Black Americans, it’s a joy to see African American players excel. For White Americans, I would assume there’s pride in seeing White American players succeed, too. (Look no further than white Americans’ obsession with Larry Bird.)
As immensely talented as Giannis, Jokic, Embiid, the Spurs Victor Wembanyama, and the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are, they remain, in a way, outsiders in a game that Americans have long coveted as ours. The global influence is undeniable, but I can’t help but believe that the yearning for homegrown greatness still lingers in the hearts of fans.
4. Scan, Skim, Scroll Generation
Is an 82-game season conducive to how this generation consumes content anymore? Young kids are now addicted to videos called “shorts,” yet the NBA season is way too long. An 82-game season may have worked for an older generation. But in the times we live in, where folks can barely watch a full game without texting on their phone, scrolling through social media, and/or ordering through DoorDash, nobody is sitting through 82 games for players who skip a third of them.
Compare that to the NFL, which is still the most popular sport in America, averaging 17.5 million viewers per game. This generation of short attention span viewers can certainly watch their favorite team play only once a week, knowing that the star player will most certainly be taking the field.
5. Quality Control
NBA basketball used to be a true work of art where players and teams displayed their unique skills and strategies on the hardwood night in and night out. But as the league has sought to modernize and maximize profits, much of that artistry has been lost. From the homogenization of play styles to the over-reliance on analytics, the league has sacrificed its individuality in the name of efficiency. What used to feel like boutique craftsmanship now feels like mass production. And while that may work for accountants, it doesn’t work for fans craving excitement and variety.
In the end, the NBA has become too smart for its own good. If the league wants to thrive in this era of short attention spans and endless entertainment options, it needs to prioritize its most important stakeholders: the fans.
If they don’t focus on the fan experience, they risk continuing to alienate the most important component of the league’s success.
John Celestand is the program director of the Knight x LMA BloomLab, a $3.2 million initiative that supports the advancement and sustainability of local Black-owned news publications. He is a former freelance sports broadcaster and writer who covered the NBA and college basketball for multiple networks such as ESPN Regional Television, SNY, and Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia. John was a member of the 2000 Los Angeles Lakers NBA Championship Team, playing alongside the late great Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. He currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife and son.
About Post Author
