NBA reporter calls out social media for being toxic when fans voice opinions such as, “The Bucks and the Suns aren’t the two best teams”.
The 2021 NBA Finals commenced last night as Game 1 went to the Phoenix Suns on their home floor after Chris Paul dropped 32 points to handily secure a 118-105 victory over Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. A Bucks-Suns Finals is something that is undoubtedly unprecedented as the NBA is filled with teams that have more talent on paper.
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The NBA would’ve benefitted immensely if the Finals stage was set up to have a Lakers and Nets matchup or something on those lines. Storylines like LeBron James vs Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant would be front and center. This would surely bring more views to the Finals than a Suns and Bucks series.
However, according to an NBA reporter, there is another reason as to why fans are being turned off by the NBA as of late.
Tom Azarly believes social media and its toxicity has led to the hype reducing around the Suns and the Bucks series.
Clippers reporter, Tom Azarly, recently took to Twitter to ask NBA fans why they’ve been claiming to not want to watch this Finals series between the Suns and the Bucks. According to him, the fact that anybody online gets verbally assaulted for deviating from the mean in terms of the opinion that is shared by the masses, is detrimental to fans continuing to love the NBA.
I think a lot of people aren’t watching and don’t want to admit they’re not watching because social media’s turned into a very toxic place where you’ll get crucified for saying something as simple as, “I don’t think these are the 2 best teams in the NBA.”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) July 7, 2021
Azarly does have a point here. NBA fans seek camaraderie with others like themselves and going on social media to voice a harmless opinion of yours, just to get shot down immediately by 15 randoms isn’t good for sports culture. Passion is one thing and toxicity is another.
However, going back to the early days of the internet, trolls and people with harsher approaches to interactions with others online always existed. This isn’t something new that’s only recently started to propagate. So, going online and feeling as though perhaps, the Bucks and the Suns aren’t the 2 best teams in the league isn’t a god-awful opinion to have.
