With the rise of college basketball over the past years, nobody seems to care about the NBA anymore. With ratings going down 2% every year since 2021, it seems as if NBA popularity has fallen off of a cliff. With the viewership and ratings going down partly due to the “player over team” idea, load management playing style, and aging star NBA players, the NBA doesn’t feel the same as it used to.
The “player over team” term means that people follow the player and not the team. For example, if a person were to ask “what is your favorite NBA team,” and the response is ” I like the Warriors because of Stephen Curry” then that is a “player over team” response. The younger generation of basketball fans tend to follow a player instead of an entire franchise unlike the people from the older generation. The older generation would find a team they like and stick with that team no matter what players come and go.
Also, the stars of today do a lot of load management: when a player is hurt and is available to play but doesn’t in order to build back slowly to have a healthier, longer career. This means the big names in the NBA are sitting on the bench and not playing, which may be lowering the fan’s interest in watching their team.
Furthermore, stars such as James Harden, Paul George, Lebron James, and even Kawhi Leonard are all getting older and don’t bring the same dominance as they once used to. In the past, these guys were “must-watch TV,” but now since their older bodies are weighing them down, they’re playing less games and not producing the same stats they once were. The new generation of players like Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembenyama, and Nikola Jokic are out performing the older stars. Until these newer players get promoted by the NBA with more reasonably priced ways to watch NBA games, viewership of NBA games is not likely to increase.
In conclusion, the NBA’s popularity has fallen off recently for many reasons, but hopefully, the NBA will find ways to keep it going. Perhaps if the stars of old stay just a little while longer, the league can regain its popularity through some of its new, upcoming players if the NBA makes some changes.
