Earlier this month, a report broke out about the NBA’s viewership being down 48% in the last 12 years, prompting fans, analysts, and former players to share their views on why the league is no longer a marquee attraction. Some blamed the rising cost of subscriptions making it difficult to keep track of games. A few claimed the league wasn’t as fun to watch due to the advent of the three-ball era. A handful pointed to the players load-managing. Magic Johnson, who was crucial to NBA’s turnaround in the 80s, also had an insightful take on why the viewership has been adversely affected. Furthermore, his take also found a strong supporter in Stephen A. Smith.
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The Lakers icon believes players in the league are too nice to each other, which doesn’t make for compelling TV. His take hinged on the intense rivalry that dominated the 80s and 90s. He said during an appearance on Speak on FS1,
“They don’t hate each other. I hated Larry and every Celtic. I really don’t like you but you’re my little brother. Now I love you because you’re out of that green & white. That’s what it was. The Celtics and Lakers hated each other. It made for great TV and people tuning in…now everybody’s shaking each other’s hand. Everybody likes each other, won’t go at each other really hard.”
.@MagicJohnson breaks down why we no longer have rivalries in the NBA today
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) December 19, 2024
Stephen A. Smith co-signed on Magic’s take. He also blamed the NBA for taking away the physicality from the game. He said the new rules and regulations not only took away the physicality but in turn took away the intense emotions and rivalries it created. On the Stephen A. Smith Show, he claimed:
“The NBA is guilty of this too… They saw in the 90s the game wasn’t as attractive as it used to be. Started making rules and regulation to take out that physicality. And as a result, hate dissipates too… Less of that leads to more cordiality. More cordiality leads to you getting along better. You getting along better means you ain’t enemies the way you used to be and as a result everybody ends up singing Kumbaya.”
The foul-baiting and the referees being trigger-friendly with the whistle have also been touted as reasons why fans no longer enjoy the league as much as they used to. Smith believes unless the league addresses this issue, fans will continue to bail en masse.
