The NBA fanboys were quite revved up last week when they learned that viewership for the opening weekend of the playoffs was up 17 percent compared to last season.
While we tried not to rain on their parade, we warned them the double-digit increase was driven primarily by the interest in how Luka Doncic and the Lakers would perform in the postseason.
They were warned.
Since the opening weekend, the NBA hasn’t had as positive a story to tell. In total, the first round averaged 3.27 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV for a modest increase of 4 percent year over year.
Not great when considering last season was one of the NBA’s lowest-rated first rounds in years. Moreover, Luka and the Lakers are no longer part of the equation. While the NBA still has the Warriors, Steph Curry injured his hamstring Tuesday night and could miss the remainder of the season.
Put simply, the narrative that the NBA is “surging” is not as accurate as the media wishes it was.
In fact, the regular season was down 2 percent nationally and 6 percent locally. In the meantime, other sports are setting near record highs, including last month’s NFL draft and last weekend’s Kentucky Derby.
Sure, the NBA is better off than it was five years ago when it painted “Black Lives Matter” on the court and when the Milwaukee Bucks refused to participate in a playoff game in support of Jacob Blake, whom police shot at in 2020 while he was armed and in violation of a restraining order.
And the postseason has been exciting. The past few nights have been filled with 20-point comebacks, game-winning shots, and nail-biting competition. The upsets were also refreshing for a league often dinged for its predictability.
However, the NBA is still a shell of its former self in terms of mass appeal.
(Photo by EDUARDO LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
Notably, the league has failed to establish a true successor to LeBron James as the face of the NBA. James turns 41 next season. The clock is ticking.
The NBA media keeps waiting for Anthony Edwards to take on the mantle. Maybe he will. But he also plays in Minnesota, has baby momma issues, and isn’t better than about four to five European players.
Further, regular-season games are still far too inconsequential for casual fans to care about. Heck, several stars sat for the final few weeks of the season because they cared so little.
The product is also marred by excessive three-point shooting, undermining the once aesthetically pleasing flow of professional basketball. Make Dunks Cool Again.
Finally, even though the NBA has distanced itself somewhat from the political discourse, a disconnect remains between the league and ordinary Americans–the people who control the marketplace.
Here’s Colin Cowherd discussing this problem in December:
“The NBA ratings are down 48 percent in the last 12 years and they have fallen off a cliff this year. Adam Silver’s solution is let’s make the courts brighter. “It is a really bad look for a family of four to go to a game and the [stars] don’t play,” Cowherd said.
“Go ask the Democrats. Be warned, once you detach from regular people in America, you will pay a price.”
Like the Democrats, the NBA has paid a price.
Look, we just don’t want people like Ryen Russillo to get hurt. Yes, the opening weekend ratings were great. However, one strong weekend doesn’t mitigate a decade of steady declines.
Nonetheless, as promised, OutKick will be here to break it all down.
