The NBA playoffs are in full swing, although I wouldn’t know it if not for the sparse Instagram story reposts and incessant notifications from ESPN trying so desperately to make me care about a sport whose best days are behind it. The decline of the NBA has been documented well enough to fill up a book, but these most recent years have brought about an outrageous decline in quality.
I practically needed glue to stick on the edge of my seat during the “defensive” battle that was the 2024 all-star game (perhaps the worst one yet, although they certainly tried to one-up themselves this year). It was the first celebrity game where I had heard of almost no one, and the event was marked by the typical absence of defense. The risk of injury in any game, not just all star games, far outweighs the value of defending, and so, it becomes an unpopular relic of the game of old. While obviously this defensive absence is not inherently indicative of the game itself, it serves as a microcosm of the decline of a sport once a hallmark of athletics in the U.S.
What happened? First, the sport just isn’t exciting to watch anymore. College basketball consistently outperforms the NBA. First, it is more physical. Players play like their career is on the line. In the NBA, athletes attempt to dodge injuries rather than achieve success. This dilutes the quality of the sport. I implore anyone who wants to see what I mean to compare the defensive efforts in the NBA and March Madness finals.
Viewership numbers show that people are losing interest in the NBA. An average of 6.3 million viewers tuned into game 5 of the NBA finals last year compared to 7.5 million viewers tuned in to watch rounds 2-3 of the NFL draft. This is indicative of two problems: first, people don’t want to watch and second, people couldn’t if they tried.
There are several streaming services that offer NBA games, including NBA League Pass, ESPN+, Fubo, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirectTV Stream, and Max. This may seem like a plethora of choices, but in reality, it is water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. These services show different games, cost different amounts, and have varied blackout restrictions that make even the most dedicated viewers likely to abandon watching the sport in frustration.
Look, I’m not going to be one of those people who say the game hasn’t been good since the addition of the three point line. The game is fun to watch and can be good, but when players’ bodies are worth more than their effort, a game no longer becomes enjoyable. March Madness shows us what it is like to play like rent is due, and the NBA needs to learn that lesson. Second, if you want your fans to watch your games, you shouldn’t dilute so egregiously the stream of content by spreading it across dozens of services.
The current NBA is a reminder of what happens to a sport that opts for profit over passion. The trend is looking all too irreversible, and I fear the quality of the league will decline even more. All that being said, Celtics in 6.
