Well, it happened — the thing all the NBA whiners were dreading. The Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder made it to the NBA Finals.
The Thunder dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West, winning the series 4-1, and Indiana finished off the New York Knicks, winning the series 4-2, on Saturday night. And now, predictably, the internet is melting down with takes like:
Really, people? As my kindergarten bullies used to say… how ’bout you cry me a river, build me a bridge and get over it.
Let’s break this down, shall we?
For Starters, Why Do You Care About Ratings?
Seriously, this one always cracks me up.
Oh, but the ratings will be soooo low!
OK? And? Are you personally getting a cut of the NBA’s TV deals? Are the Nielsen ratings impacting your mortgage rate? Did you buy stock in Daddy Disney?
Unless your last name is Silver or you’re cashing a check from a broadcasting partner, stop pretending you’re some TV executive. You’re not losing sleep at night over ratings. And if you are, I strongly encourage you to find a hobby.
Also, if the ratings are bad for these humble NBA Finals in the Year of our Lord 2025, then the networks have no one but themselves to blame. These games will air on ABC (also owned by Disney, like ESPN). Have you watched ESPN at all during these playoffs — specifically the Eastern Conference Finals?
Get Up and First Take are basically Knicks podcasts, where Stephen A. Smith, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Monica McNutt indulge themselves in a daily group therapy session — attempting to explain why God hates the Knicks and why Tyrese Haliburton is not a superstar.
They make it sound as if a Finals matchup that doesn’t include the country’s biggest-market teams simply isn’t worth watching… on their own sister network. That’s like a restaurant airing a commercial telling you their food sucks.
Do You Really Want LeBron Again?
Some of you are so addicted to the same old storylines, I’m convinced you’d rather re-watch a Golden State Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers rerun from 2016 than watch something new and interesting unfold in real time.
Like how I watch re-runs of The Office as a comfort show to help me fall asleep at night.
The league has been shoving the same “big market, big name” formula down your throat for decades. Now we’ve got two young, exciting, overachieving squads who earned their spot, and you’re mad because… why? There aren’t enough Hollywood cameos in the crowd? You want to see LeBron in the Finals for the 11th time? Steph Curry’s trophy room is getting dusty?
Maybe you’d like us to just give the Chiefs an automatic Super Bowl bid and hang another pennant in Yankee Stadium while we’re at it? Award Alabama and boo-hooing Kalen DeBoer a golden ticket to all College Football Playoffs? Would that make you happy?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrates with teammates after winning the Western Conference Finals MVP.
(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Also, just to be clear: The Thunder and Pacers didn’t sneak into the Finals through a trap door. OKC finished with the best record in the West. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the league MVP. Indiana has one of the top offenses in the NBA. Their bench goes deeper than any team in the league, and they’ve played their asses off this postseason.
Oh, and one of these teams is about to win its first-ever NBA Championship. How is that not a good storyline?
These teams aren’t “boring.” You just don’t know who plays for them because ESPN (and a bunch of crybabies on social media) told you not to care. This series is offense vs. defense. Youth vs. youth. No washed-up stars chasing rings, no dynasties. Just hoops.
It’s Not The Size Of The Market — It’s The Motion Of The Ocean
Look, I get it. Indiana and OKC are two of the league’s smallest-market teams. It’s logical to assume that smaller fan bases and smaller TV markets mean fewer people will watch. But that isn’t always the case.
Game 1 of the Pacers-Knicks series pulled in 6.6 million viewers and peaked at 8.5 million. That’s the most-watched Eastern Conference Finals opener in seven years — since the Cavaliers-Celtics matchup in 2018. And, yes, you could argue that it was the Knicks that drew those viewers. But you could also argue the Pacers’ miraculous last-minute comeback made it the most exciting NBA game we’ve seen in a very long time.
And large-market teams aren’t guaranteed to move the needle, either. Game 3 of the 2020 Finals averaged just 5.94 million viewers, making it the least-watched NBA Finals game on record. And that matchup featured the Lakers and Heat — big, bad juggernauts of NBA TV markets.
So if your idea of a “good Finals” hinges on how many Instagram followers the players have or whether Jack Nicholson shows up, then yeah, this probably isn’t for you.
But don’t sit there and whine that the “wrong” teams made it. That’s loser talk. The two best teams in the playoffs won. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers celebrates winning the Eastern Conference Championship.
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Maybe the ratings will suck. Maybe the No. 1-seeded Thunder will sweep the lowly Pacers. Maybe the series will go seven games and be absolute cinema. Who knows? But nothing will change the fact that the NBA just cashed an 11-year, $76-billion media rights deal. So while you’re bitching on Twitter, Adam Silver & Co. are counting their money.
“Nobody cares” about Thunder vs. Pacers and you refuse to watch? That’s cool, baby. Enjoy catching up on Love is Blind.
The rest of us will be watching basketball.
