The NBA has a ratings problem. Or it doesn’t. It sort of depends on who you ask.
Heading into the holiday week, the narrative was that ratings were down, but after putting up huge numbers across five games on Christmas—including a Warriors-Lakers match-up that was the most-watched regular season game in five years—people are largely feeling a bit better about the state of the sport.
Still, Kevin Durant is making it his mission to keep interest high, telling ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne "I want to see people, the viewership. I want to see it get it back up. The league ain't going nowhere, but we are in a rough patch when it comes to that."
Durant has a pretty strong theory of where regular season apathy began.
"I feel like fans only want free agency and drama and only care about playoffs and Finals and what that means for somebody's legacy," Durant explained. "Then they get programmed to just think about that, which has made them not want to care about the regular season."
Indeed, with so much of the interest in the NBA driven by narrative, it can be easier for fans to find compelling moments in the personal relationships and roster management possibilities of teams than it might be to get excited for a regular season game between the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic.
In one sense, Durant’s point is clear to see—ring culture and debate shows have undoubtedly made it harder to appreciate the night-to-night miracles that happen across the NBA. That said, it’s days like the NBA had on Christmas that ultimately prove the sport of basketball is just fine.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kevin Durant Thinks Media's 'Programming' of Fans to Blame for NBA Ratings Decline.