Quote (Giannis @ Sep 21 2020 12:31am)
If their officiating has been poor since 2002, why were the ratings higher until this year? One would think a lot of people are more available to watch NBA playoffs in 2020 as well. Streaming may be a significant factor; probably among younger people more so.
They had a lot of superstars and MVPs galore like Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash to name a few. Even Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady gave me some memorable pleasure from 2004 to 2009. All of those players were must-watch TV! Anytime I saw an NBA commercial featuring a nationally televised game I knew I'd watch when those exciting players were involved.
Not to say there's a lack of superstars in today's NBA. A lot of young phenoms I must watch like Luka Doncic, Zion Williamson, Trae Young and Ja Morant. But none of these guys are playing in the conference finals or NBA Finals. If they were I'd certainly be watching every game. I think the casual NBA fan will watch the games once this political bullshit comes to an end. Once Donald Trump is out of office. The fact he has greatly burned a bridge with the NBA players is annoying and doesn't help their ratings. Once Joe Biden is in office things will likely improve ratings wise. When Obama was in office the NBA was more popular that's for sure.