NBA Off Topic Thread

[Majingir]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

The biggest draw for sports fans historically are great rivalries - Magic vs. Bird, Conor vs. Khabib, Rock vs. Austin (OK it's not a sport but you get the idea), these kinds of high stakes rivalries are what drives business for sports leagues. Probably a big reason why the last Finals that did historic ratings was Warriors vs. Cavs. It's kind of a shame because I do enjoy parity and seeing different teams contending for titles, but it's hard to argue that familiar feuds and faces are what keep casual fans engaged.

It's crazy how I almost can't name any of the finals since 2020, but as soon as I look at the list I remember who won and who they faced.

Ever since 2020 the ratings took a huge dive. Obviously the 2020 finals was different, but even Warriors-Celtics in 2020 didn't do great numbers. I'm sure a big part of that is also people changing the way they watch things (people really took more to streaming during the pandemic) but also like you said, there's no rivalries/stories to look forward to.

We also have only had a single finals the last decade that went to a game 7, so that makes things less interesting when after 3 or 4 games you have a good idea who's winning (only 3 of the 10 times in the last decade where the finals didn't go to a game 7 was the series even tied 2-2 after 4).


The wrestling analogy is a good one too. In wrestling, even if the people facing off might put on a great match, if fans don't care about it or aren't as invested in it, it won't matter. But when you have the stories and rivalry and all that mixed in, it makes things so much better.

[Vni]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

It may be a stupid question either way but do you guys think Draymond Green makes it into the hall of fame?

[J_Posse]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

It may be a stupid question either way but do you guys think Draymond Green makes it into the hall of fame?

Yes, easily.

Some may disagree, but he's probably - I begrudgingly say this - the best player overall amongst the 'uber role players' already in the Hall (Dennis Rodman, Michael Cooper, Ben Wallace & Dikembe Mutombo to name a few).

Once they let Rodman get in they really lowered the barrier for entry too much, IMO.

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[phenom1990]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Yes, easily.

Some may disagree, but he's probably - I begrudgingly say this - the best player overall amongst the 'uber role players' already in the Hall (Dennis Rodman, Michael Cooper, Ben Wallace & Dikembe Mutombo).

Once they let Rodman get in they really lowered the barrier for entry too much.

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The perception on Rodman doesn’t seem to match what people think of him in basketball circles. He made the NBA 75 team which was voted on by a mix of media, players, coaches, etc. So basketball circles don’t really view that as lowering the bar for the HOF.

I think that is the fair comp for Draymond in terms of reputation.

[J_Posse]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

The perception on Rodman doesn’t seem to match what people think of him in basketball circles. He made the NBA 75 team which was voted on by a mix of media, players, coaches, etc. So basketball circles don’t really view that as lowering the bar for the HOF.



I think that is the fair comp for Draymond in terms of reputation.

I thought that it was BS that he made the 75th anniversary team above more deserving and decorated players.

(Do people really think he's better than a prime Dwight Howard?)

My perception of Rodman is that he isn't a HOF player in the least bit, but obviously I'm in the minority in that thinking and more 'uber role players' have now made the HOF. Making my arguing against his inclusion a moot point.

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[phenom1990]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

I thought that it was BS that he made the 75th anniversary team above more deserving and decorated players.

(Do people really think he's better than a prime Dwight Howard?)

My perception of Rodman is that he isn't a HOF player in the least bit, but obviously I'm in the minority in that thinking and more 'uber role players' have now made the HOF. Making my arguing against his inclusion a moot point.

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Yeah I’m just saying within the context of the Draymond Green HOF question that I expect Draymond to cause similar opinions to Rodman with the same result.

[l3ulvl]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Everyone gets into the basketball HoF


but yeah, his unique strength and skill combination for his size, to be able to handle multiple defensive responsibilities and also be an offensive creator, he's a lock

[l3ulvl]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Coaches speaking out about Mike Brown firing

https://sports.yahoo.com/kings-firing-of-mike-brown-ripped-by-nuggets-coach-michael-malone-no-class-no-balls-015336719.html

No class, no balls

I feel very fortunate to work in an organization that really values continuity, and that allows our team and our staff, our group, to get through the rough patches

I wouldn’t be here without him. It’s sad news. I don’t like it. It’s part of the business. A year and a half ago, he’s Coach of the Year and now this situation happens

I had the privilege of working with Mike when I was in Indiana as the head coach the first time. I view him as one of the standard bearers for integrity for our profession. I'm just absolutely shocked that that decision was made. He'll certainly land on his feet. You look at the job that he did and the turnaround that they had, it's really hard to believe.

Seems like a rash decision, they haven't been great but geesh, timeout management in the pistons game left them unable to advance the ball after the 4 point play, but come on

[ggsimmonds]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Don't post in here often but do want to add my two cents to two things -- Mike Brown and ratings down.

Mike Brown: Feel like this is why the Kings organization is where it is. Guy comes in and changes the culture and you fire him less than halfway into the season because the team hasn't met the expectations that he himself created in the past 2 years? Its a bs firing.

Ratings: I can speak for myself and why my viewership has dramatically decreased; its 100% the style of play. Not only does two teams just running down court to exchange 3 pt attempts make boring TV, but there's no point watching because "matchups" aren't really a thing anymore. When every team plays the same way, every game has the same feel. It makes games feel like episode reruns.

The style of play needs to change and related, overhaul the officiating. It may have been true in the early 2000s that increased scoring leads to higher ratings, but we went so far to the extreme that its now too much scoring. NBA needs to find that happy middle ground of offense vs defense because right now this ain't it.

[georgiafan]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

A quick note on the talk about how high scoring is they are 37 players averaging 20 points or more. They are 49 people shooting over 40% from 3

[TMagic]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

I have two questions because I don't know where to find this info...

1) How do this years ratings compare to previous years?

I ask because I'm wondering if it's possible that the ratings "dip" is just a natural pull back after significant increases in viewership over the years

2) How are the leagues attendance numbers doing?

I would THINK that would be a more troubling indication of the league going the wrong way than TV ratings due to all the different variables that can affect them specifically as you guys have alluded to

I been thinking about this since I'm trying to get better at irl basketball.


What nba player you want to be like when playing irl basketball? For me I want to be like Prime Tracy McGrady aka Tmac

You're already on the right path kid. Trust me.

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[TMagic]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Just did some bare minimum research to see how the socials are looking (just subscribers)...

YouTube

NBA- 23 Mil
NFL- 14 Mil
MLB- 6 Mil
NHL- 2 Mil

Instagram

NBA- 89M
NFL- 31M
MLB- 12M
NHL- 6M

TikTok

NBA- 23M
NFL- 16M
MLB- 8M
NHL- 3M

Twitter/X

NBA- 48M
NFL- 37M
MLB- 12M
NHL- 7M

Facebook

NBA- 50M
NFL- 20M
MLB- 10M
NHL- 5M

NBA is absolutely dominating the socials. I don't know how much that speaks to there being less interest. But just another data point to consider

Maybe a big factor is NBA fans just consuming their content in different ways?

[Majingir]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Just did some bare minimum research to see how the socials are looking (just subscribers)...



YouTube



NBA- 23 Mil

NFL- 14 Mil

MLB- 6 Mil

NHL- 2 Mil



Instagram



NBA- 89M

NFL- 31M

MLB- 12M

NHL- 6M



TikTok



NBA- 23M

NFL- 16M

MLB- 8M

NHL- 3M



Twitter/X



NBA- 48M

NFL- 37M

MLB- 12M

NHL- 7M



Facebook



NBA- 50M

NFL- 20M

MLB- 10M

NHL- 5M



NBA is absolutely dominating the socials. I don't know how much that speaks to there being less interest. But just another data point to consider



Maybe a big factor is NBA fans just consuming their content in different ways?

To be fair, NBA also has such a huge following outside of North America which is obviously a big reason some of those numbers are so inflated.

I wonder what their US only numbers are in those areas compared to other sports.

[TMagic]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

To be fair, NBA also has such a huge following outside of North America which is obviously a big reason some of those numbers are so inflated.

I wonder what their US only numbers are in those areas compared to other sports.

Yeah. I thought about that too

It made me wonder if it's actually a good or bad thing if they are creating a product that people enjoy more broadly worldwide as opposed to focusing on the US market

Like people who grew up watching ball in the 80s, 90s, 00s are the ones brothered the most by the current product.... meanwhile new/young consumers and international audience like it and their interest is growing concurrently

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[Majingir]

Re: NBA Off Topic Thread

Yeah. I thought about that too

It made me wonder if it's actually a good or bad thing if they are creating a product that people enjoy more broadly worldwide as opposed to focusing on the US market

Like people who grew up watching ball in the 80s, 90s, 00s are the ones brothered the most by the current product.... meanwhile new/young consumers and international audience like it and their interest is growing concurrently

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I feel like all companies are especially trying to appeal internationally seeing how it feels like the US markets have essentially reached their peak growth.

I've noticed it with WWE the last few years too. It's for different reasons, but they more than most live events have historically have been all about "Americana" but the last 2 years especially they've gone big in to the international markets and want to expand internationally even more (such as airing live events on Netflix from other countries even if it means a Monday 1pm show over here).

That's definitely the trend all around now.