Today’s NBA is barely recognizable.

[Ohio]

Except they are losing ratings because of the social justice message. People are taking a stand against the NBA taking a stand. I am not trying to get political, but nowhere I have read or seen is it because of the game itself.

You are using a fact to prove a different opinion when the 2 are unrelated.

Also the new tv deals might triple, so lower viewership might not hurt the NBA.

Poll Shows 34% Watched Less Sports Over Social Justice Messages

The poll, which was conducted by Yahoo News/YouGov, found 34.5 percent of respondents saying they have watched less sports due to social justice messaging, while 11 percent said they have watched more.

www.newsweek.com

I mean, everyone has an opinion as to why it's declining. There are no facts as to "why", just that it's declining. But the the bottom line is...if people liked watching the NBA...they would be watching it. IMO, all of what we are discussing contributes to the decline. For me personally, I don't give a shit about them taking political stances. I stopped watching because the rules (both on and off the court) have made the on-court product unwatchable.

This NBA season has been a steaming pile of garbage no matter how you dice it.

And no way in hell are networks going to pay triple the current price for a sport nobody is watching.

 

[foucault87]

A lot of it is also that why as a young fan would I watch the game, when I can check the box score and highlights the next day. For the diehards on this site, we want to see gameplay but for the casual fans?

If league pass didn't have such an awful deal I bet more people would watch it too. The average product today of an nba game is as good as it has been in my lifetime. Even the bad teams have something interesting going on. There has literally never been a better time to get into the NBA

 

[Ohio]

The peak of the modern NBA was 2016.

Not kidding. Fan engagement was high thanks to the record-setting Warriors and LeBron's return capped off by an historic Finals.

It quickly went to pot after that as people despised the Warriors for adding Durant, and then watching LeBron leave for LA. LA poaching AD. Another star leaving a title winning team for another LA team.

Big-market super teams, diva stars breaking contracts, lack of elite parity.

There is very little to recommend the current NBA to fans. It went from high to low in less than four years.

Yeah, I agree and this is the biggest reason I have completely tuned out.

What happened with James Harden and all the buyouts this season was a disgrace to sport.

 

[Sebastian]

Yeah, I agree and this is the biggest reason I have completely tuned out.

What happened with James Harden and all the buyouts this season was a disgrace to sport.

And not mention a team like OKC being an utter disgrace.

Sitting their best players with the flimsiest pretexts and playing line-ups they know will lose.

I don't care what guys they are fielding, no NBA team should be dropping 20/21 games, and not even being competitive within 20 points in most of them.

Losing to the Kings 3 times in a week takes the fucking Panzer VIII cake.

 

[PIP]

The peak of the modern NBA was 2016.

Not kidding. Fan engagement was high thanks to the record-setting Warriors and LeBron's return capped off by an historic Finals.

It quickly went to pot after that as people despised the Warriors for adding Durant, and then watching LeBron leave for LA. LA poaching AD. Another star leaving a title winning team for another LA team.

Big-market super teams, diva stars breaking contracts, lack of elite parity.

There is very little to recommend the current NBA to fans. It went from high to low in less than four years.

Exactly. If you’re a casual fan and you come back to the sport today you don’t recognize this as the same from even Cavs vs Warriors and that was just a few short years ago.

But it’s everything that goes with it. Im hoping once the arenas can get back to capacity you can start to see the sidelines look like they did.

Wish teams would go back to wearing their regular jerseys. Hell, I don’t need to see Stan Van Gundy in a Nike Sweatsuit either…. Get those coaches back in suits…

 

[Sebastian]

Exactly. If you’re a casual fan and you come back to the sport today you don’t recognize this as the same from even Cavs vs Warriors and that was just a few short years ago.

But it’s everything that goes with it. Im hoping once the arenas can get back to capacity you can start to see the sidelines look like they did.

Wish teams would go back to wearing their regular jerseys. Hell, I don’t need to see Stan Van Gundy in a Nike Sweatsuit either…. Get those coaches back in suits…

There is a debate about how much of all this is things swinging too far toward the player's side of things.

While it is true they play the game, what is also true is that there is a product to be maintained.

And right now the product sucks because they've made everything about the whims of ten men among 500.

And yes, suits, pretend its an actual job, people!

Looking good is a reward in itself. Even if they look like Stan.

 

[kidduck]

Too many rule changes that make defense almost impossible. How can a player dribble his way to
the rim while bullying his defender step by step and not have it be an offensive foul? Getting good
defensive position is meaningless.

The nightly parades to the FT line are ridiculous. These are grown men, let them decide the
game , not the refs.

I really hate that automatic foul call when the ball handler brings his arms up and is touched
by the defender.

And how about all the players who regularly hook their defender on their way to a shot? It seems to
never be called on the stars. Forget who is wearing the uniform, call the foul!

Finally, the noise level at an NBA arena is deafening. Not such an issue on broadcasts, though
the Cavs intros are muted by me every game.

The game on the court is boring most nights. Watching all the 3 point shots is about as exciting
as viewing putt-putt golf.

 

[Derek]

The nightly parades to the FT line are ridiculous. These are grown men, let them decide the
game , not the refs.

I see this comment a lot, and I think most people would be interested to know that the number of FTA in games has never been lower than what it has been over the last few years.

 

[PIP]

I see this comment a lot, and I think most people would be interested to know that the number of FTA in games has never been lower than what it has been over the last few years.

That’s cause you’re not allow to defend. It literally is just a notch below an all star game in terms of defense…This video of Stackhouse vs high school kids is today’s modern NBA defensively.

 

[Derek]

That’s cause you’re not allow to defend. It literally is just a notch below an all star game in terms of defense…This video of Stackhouse vs high school kids is today’s modern NBA defensively.

That doesn't change the fact that games aren't nightly parades to the FT line since there are fewer FT being shot than ever before.

 

[kidduck]

All the 3's account for some of the less number of FTs.

I also loathe the liberal interpretation of the 'landing zone' calls.
NYC Rockettes would be aces at getting calls- and would be much
easier on the eyes.

 

[PIP]

That doesn't change the fact that games aren't nightly parades to the FT line since there are fewer FT being shot than ever before.

True. It’s just nightly parades of rec league horrible basketball…

 

[KevinLoveFan]

Exactly. If you’re a casual fan and you come back to the sport today you don’t recognize this as the same from even Cavs vs Warriors and that was just a few short years ago.

That was the NBA at its best, IMO. I LOVED the 2015-16 season; it's my favorite, along with the 1996-97 one. It seemed to have just the right balance of defense and shooting. I'm not a big fan of today's game or the late 1990s/early 2000s overly physical brawl-ball. There's a happy and ideal medium somewhere, and I think we saw it mostly a few seasons ago.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

There is a debate about how much of all this is things swinging too far toward the player's side of things.

While it is true they play the game, what is also true is that there is a product to be maintained.

And right now the product sucks because they've made everything about the whims of ten men among 500.

The problem is that the lag time between a drop in fan interest/attendance and player contracts is very long - as much as a decade or so. So a lot of players really don't give much of a shit about how fans feel, and if the players want a player-centric league for their own amusement, they figure they can get it and retire before the bottom drops out.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

That doesn't change the fact that games aren't nightly parades to the FT line since there are fewer FT being shot than ever before.

There are fewer FTs being taken because the game has evolved into a 3 point contest and players are NOT playing defense (whether it’s because players today are piss poor defenders or because they are backing off because they can no longer play aggressive defense)
I was watching the Warriors and Jazz the other night and it was ridiculous that Curry went down the lane at least 12 times among Jazz players and never once got fouled or put on his ass.