The NBA has not been this irrelevant to the American cultural zeitgeist in 60 years. amirite?

NBA season doesn't start until Christmas Day

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Yep. I think the NBA decided on the this tournament being in November in hopes that players will care more about this period of the season

by fernando05 6 months ago

Fans still won't though

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Except the NFL now owns Christmas

by FirefighterFluid2194 6 months ago

Actually Jesus owns Christmas

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Not for long, we will win this war!

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I heard it was Starbucks and the liberals

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Nah, its Amazon that owns Christmas.

by Lankunding 6 months ago

I think the NBA still has a grasp on it. There's more games throughout and the games scheduled for the NFL don't seem as high priority from a matchup perspective compared to the matchups the NBA set. Even though the NFL put games here, it still feels like the NBA is for Christmas

by fernando05 6 months ago

All 4 teams are playoff teams, two teams battling it out for the division and one gunning for the 1 seed. Very high stakes involved all around

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I don't watch until May. But I enjoy it and June.

by Wyman87 6 months ago

I don't turn it on until the final game of the finals, unless the Wolves are in the playoffs

by Anonymous 6 months ago

How do you know it's the final game, if it's not a game 7?

by Wyman87 6 months ago

You can tell by the vibe of the series

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Of course.

by Wyman87 6 months ago

Playoffs for me, hmm actually maybe after the second rounds of playoffs

by RespectSeparate 6 months ago

Yup, it's when the league starts getting serious because it's basically the last 1/4 of season & hefty bonuses are tied to awards.

by Baileyjett 6 months ago

The in season tournament was actually super entertaining

by rbarton 6 months ago

Can't get past the having to look at the atrocious court designs

by Anonymous 6 months ago

This would rock

by Anonymous 6 months ago

😂😂😂😂

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Travel. Travel. Travel. Travel. 3point from almost half court.

by Aggravating-Turn9713 6 months ago

Seriously. Some of my friends are into basketball and I've tried to watch it with them but the complete lack of enforcement of some of the rules makes it a complete farce to watch.

by Irma88 6 months ago

And if it's a Bucks game, don't forget all the uncalled elbows!

by hagenesfreeda 6 months ago

I tried watching it and it doesn't seem like anyone actually dribbles the ball anymore. Their hand is under it carrying it around and then bounce it occasionally. Refs were harder on our 2nd grade team. It doesn't even look like the same game.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I've seen pick-up games by kids in neighborhood with a little more obeisance to the 'rules' than the stuff in the NBA.

by Agreeable_Coach 6 months ago

It's a shame because in principle, I think basketball is probably more entertaining than football. But the NBA, there are just so many issues. There are too many games. The playoffs are too long. This means that by necessity the players are on cruise control for most of the year. There's no defense. A 131-125 game? Seriously? If you cut the number of games in half, reduced the number of playoffs berths, and allowed for some for real defense, I'd absolutely love to it.

by AlternativeHurry 6 months ago

But its not like the NBA added games over the years. It was doing well in the past despite the amount of games, so it has to be more other factors. Imo its how the game is just nothing but 3 pointers. There's no tension

by Schusterbulah 6 months ago

I think officiating has been particularly bad recently, the NBA has done a terrible job at marketing its teams and players outside of LA, player movement has had an impact on roster stability and impacted the connection between fan bases and their teams, as well as rivalries.

by HorrorTwo 6 months ago

That's definitely a huge component as well

by Schusterbulah 6 months ago

It suffers from the same self-competition problem as baseball. There's always a basketball game on; why am I gonna go out of my way to watch it? Not as big an issue in the pre-streaming days, but sports have increasingly more competition & games perceived as "lower stakes" are harder to grab attention from the bulk of casual fans. NFL plays 17 regular season games over 18 weeks. NBA gets 17 games in by the end of Nov, usually. Not to downplay the other issues with contemporary NBA; diva players, casualness, questionable refs, etc.

by Deanheaney 6 months ago

im not a basketball fan, i have a hard time getting invested in a sport with 90 games.... but I enjoy the playoffs, UNTIL THE LAST 5 MINUTES. It's just such a slog to get through the end of any kind of close game. Total turnoff.

by Adandurgan 6 months ago

It makes no sense. Setting up a play should be a verbal cue. Why do they did to pretend like they need to draw it up?

by lamontdare 6 months ago

Wasn't this true 25 years ago though?? I remember complaining about this back then too

by edgarjohns 6 months ago

Too many games is honestly the reason I never got into watching sports. I'm not the kind of person to just root for my local team, just because they're local. I want to see excellence. It's why the Olympics are exciting. Formula 1 is easy to watch because all the teams are out there at once at the same time.

by Legal-Associate 6 months ago

It's all about your local lad

by Prestigious-Log 6 months ago

Each team should only get 1 timeout in the last minute of the game

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Idk why men online like to pretend games would be more excited with LESS scoring as if it's a coincidence that MLS, NHL, and MLB trail NFL and NBA by miles. Fans want faster games and more scoring.

by ChampionshipWrong 6 months ago

The NFL isn't super high scoring, it's just that a TD is 6 points. Also globally soccer is much more popular.

by Adventurous-Pass 6 months ago

Yeah but we're talking about America as this is a discussion about the NBA, college football, and NFL.

by ChampionshipWrong 6 months ago

The NFL scoring is not that different than soccer or baseball. The score is often 4-3 or 3-2, the points just have added value

by FirefighterFluid2194 6 months ago

There's exactly as much driving to the paint as there always was. The increased three pointers come from reduced midrange shots.

by ChampionshipWrong 6 months ago

I'm not pretending I actually prefer better defense.

by Uptontriston 6 months ago

I don't doubt some people do, but you at least gotta acknowledge that's not what most people watch the game for. Which is why takes like this about the NBA are kinda pointless to me.

by ChampionshipWrong 6 months ago

I enjoy watching football more than basketball

by FirefighterFluid2194 6 months ago

Can confirm this is untrue. I enjoy watching football.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

NBA is 100% more entertaining than NFL Maybe if the officiating wasn't terrible. Why do the "stars" get less penalties called on them? How many steps before we call traveling? 4? I love college basketball, but I can't stand the NBA.

by iweissnat 6 months ago

Just sharing my opinion man

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Same... isn't that what we are all doing here?

by iweissnat 6 months ago

This is nonsense, basketball is highly strategic. Your ymca guys aren't dunking. What are you on about. Delete this nephew

by BigHuckleberry7239 6 months ago

The pick and roll is the pinnacle of nba strategy, not exactly a brain teaser

by erinlang 6 months ago

You literally just listed the biggest reasons for liking sports

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Those are all 100% valid but ancillary to the sport itself

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Then what isn't ancillary? A "love of the game"? Well where does that come from - all of the things you just listed lol. You could say "strategy" and "feats of athleticism", but football is not short on that either.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I'm separating out the sport (including strategy, athleticism, performance), from all the other things that aren't just the sport. As another example, I think baseball is boring as hell, but I enjoy sometimes going to a casual afternoon game with my girlfriend and just hanging out, grabbing a hot dog/beer, and talking. The ancillary in that case is the whole experience of being at the game.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

What you're saying makes even less sense then. Your original point was that the only reason people like football is these ancillary reasons. Not only is that flat out untrue, but you're even acknowledging the reasons someone might like it due to the "sport itself" (the "strategy athleticism and performance" as you put it).

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Go for it but you're in a tiny minority of people. the NFL and College Football are wildly more popular. Basketball is immensely boring until the final 5 min which end up being FT fests unless it's an elimination game.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

No way. I watched those games for years with my son and it's almost always ISO ball drives inside. Boring as hell without any of the offensive scheming of the good NBA teams.

by Fickle_Boss1305 6 months ago

Definitely a few teams that run that, but the vast majority we're always watching around here don't. Maybe we're just lucky, I don't know.

by hudsonjazmin 6 months ago

I think most complaining about the NBA aren't really fans of the NBA or maybe just don't have any understanding of what they are watching. The most common complaint is all they do is shoot 3's. Now, certainly Curry shoots a fair amount of Bird style fast break 3's, but most of the league (including the Warriors) run real offense sets with excellent ball movement and forced switches to find that open 3. It's as if many that complain would rather watch a Barkley style backing someone down 10 feet over and over. The NBA has some incredible talent in the league today, some of the best big men we've seen ever in terms of having a balanced game. The issue is there isn't a current face of the NBA. Lebron is at the end of his career and many the young established and best upcoming are foreign who just don't translate to off court marketing the way it's been the last 50 years.

by Fickle_Boss1305 6 months ago

If the NBA started enforcing its own rules like moving screens, carries, travelling and also brought back hand checking so players could actually play defense then the game would undoubtedly start looking better. They don't need to add anything they just need to go back to basics.

by AwayLine2327 6 months ago

Aztec rules, losing team gets sacrificed.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Definitely not LeBron!

by Montemuller 6 months ago

It's not a diss towards Curry; the issue lies more in the fact that people have tried to copy his style but failed to even come close to achieving it

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Two dribbles and a step back 3 is the whole game now.

by savannamiller 6 months ago

Oh noooooo now theres more space to drive into the cup then theres ever been in the history of the game the game is ruined thanks a lot steph. I don't understand how a 7'4" guy is getting lobs for fun and people complained about his 3s.

by goyetteaudrey 6 months ago

It's a tired and unfounded take and hating on the nba is far from unpopular right now

by rbarton 6 months ago

Really feels like a lot of people don't actually watch the game.

by ChampionshipWrong 6 months ago

What if you're determined not to like something? I feel like if that's the case, yes. 20 foot shots becoming 22 foot shots is an excuse and when you're looking for any excuse, that'll work.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Because they don't actually watch much basketball.

by ChampionshipWrong 6 months ago

Every game ends up looking the same. That doesn't make for a fun watch.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I have ball knowledge and no teams play very similarly because they are the optimal ways to play. I don't blame individual teams for this, they are just following exactly what the numbers say to do. They would be stupid to ignore the numbers. But that results in a style of play that is pretty similar team to team

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I think the talking head culture around the NBA plays a big role. Obviously, no one is watching games and saying it's so much more homogenous than ever before, but the NBA media landscape is dominated by people who don't watch games and just love to hate.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Except the numbers they follow are based on team personnel. It's why teams like the Celtics and Heat have vastly different shot profiles.

by SeriousAnimator2228 6 months ago

This is vastly different? Lmao

by hagenesfreeda 6 months ago

How are they generating these shots? Pick and rolls? Iso? Are they off the dribble? Off screens? Unassisted?

by SeriousAnimator2228 6 months ago

Those differences while ovbious is less meaningful imo. Like there is not as much of a difference in play style compared to Europe or say 10 years ago -Casual nba watcher from Europe

by Traditional-Plan-853 6 months ago

Because they miss the threes and they score off the rebound, these guys take like 35-40 threes a game dawg come on

by savannamiller 6 months ago

Ok, try again.

by savannamiller 6 months ago

Oh I'm not trying to talk ball with you at all actually

by SeriousAnimator2228 6 months ago

I don't think you're entirely wrong, but I think that you have the wrong time span. Magic v. Bird was HUGE in the early 80s. Jordan was a phenomenon who made the NBA a global sport in the 90s. Kobe/Shaq carried that global torch. LeBron had a HUGE impact culturally in the early aughts; you'd see kids everywhere with LeBron jerseys. But then it waned. I think Steph was the last star that people outside of sports fandom could reliably name. Now that he and LeBron are fading away, the sport is, too. The only person I think gets ANY recognition from non-NBA fans is Giannis, and that's due to his press conference response about losing. So yeah, it's fading, but don't discount how HUGE the NBA was for 3/4 of the last 45 years.

by idaschumm 6 months ago

Good point. I haven't really watched much basketball in a loooong time so I really only know the names that have become super mainstream. And I don't really know many names younger than Curry at this point

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Somehow Americans are less excited about 7 foot 4 French guy who spends his spare time reading fantasy novels.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

The only person I think gets ANY recognition from non-NBA fans is Giannis Who?

by damoreleonard 6 months ago

The games are extremely boring, and the players are low effort the intensity of the game is not there

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Is there even a zeitgeist anymore?

by Anonymous 6 months ago

No, culture is far too heterogenous and fragmentary to think in those terms any longer.

by SwimUnable5153 6 months ago

This is on the players and commissioner. A lot of players are unlikeable in today's league. Plus the game has gotten boring like you said, too many 3's, no variety, no defense, and the referees are the worst imo in American sports.

by fgibson 6 months ago

Don't you think it's more on the media? Obviously, your opinions come from talking heads, not from what happens during games. The uptick in offense comes more from smarter strategy than players not trying on defense. Of course, there is a lot of variety when you look at current NBA teams. The relentlessly-negative media environment is driving these narratives.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I think they definitely have a hand in the game, sure. I mean it doesn't help that they constantly talk about the same teams. Plus, a lot of NBA analysts are terrible today. Kendrick Perkins and Melika Andrews? One is an idiot and the other has no business talking basketball. But yes the media pushing narratives definitely have their share of the blame, but at the same time the players are actually playing the game.

by fgibson 6 months ago

That, plus the talking heads people like (Inside the NBA) don't watch games and are super negative and wrong about the league.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Yeah they're negative. But I dont take them seriously. Shaq is kinda an idiot with his takes, Barkley does make some points, so does Kenny. They do have points I will say. Shaq does annoy me a lot though.

by fgibson 6 months ago

Meh, compared to what? How do you measure "the cultural zeitgeist?"

by ChampionshipWrong 6 months ago

Does the next gen not have a LeBron or Steph (well, I guess, next gen after Jokic/Luka/Giannis)? I mean this by stats. Is anyone young being really exceptional?

by trantowambrose 6 months ago

They have the stats they just don't have the same wow factor, marketing or hype

by Itchy-Seaweed6347 6 months ago

Who has the stats? I legit don't know. Edwards?

by trantowambrose 6 months ago

Wemby.

by Temporary_Photo 6 months ago

This is a long time coming - the NBA has changed the rules so much over the years that now 3 point shooting is favored over action in the paint. Less lay ups, dunks, defense. Even centers are running to the perimeter to take 3-pointers. These rules turned the NBA into the Steph Curry league. I like Steph Curry but he would not have been a superstar under the old school rules.

by Few-Field 6 months ago

As someone that's not a sports guy but grew up with Space Jam, I feel like Space Jam 2 flopping was pretty telling when it comes to this.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

LeBron put the League on his shoulders and led it to great heights, but he has lingered so long in diminished capacity that it's a steady drag on NBA popularity. The NBA is a now a few aged warhorses on their way out, and and a bunch of greenhorns that I have no interest in.

by Mooreemilio 6 months ago

Hey at least he was able to secure a likely undeserved spot for his son

by Anonymous 6 months ago

NCAA Tournament is the best basketball to watch hands down. The NBA suuuucks, the rules are weird and don't make sense probably cause they aren't enforced, except for LeFlop.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

You do realize every major sport besides the NFL has been down in ratings the last 5 or so years right ?

by Legitimate-Ear-6417 6 months ago

MLB is making a huge comeback.

by Genovevagaylord 6 months ago

Yep and those other sports are also less and less important to American culture.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

WNBA games are more entertaining.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

That made me laugh out loud

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I'm not making a joke. I watched a bunch this season and they were more fun to watch.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

What's the deal with airline food? Am I right?

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Disagree. In the 80s and 90s, Michael Jordan and the Bulls, the rise of sneaker culture. The NBA and it's biggest names were everywhere.

by Money_Rock 6 months ago

Also USA Olympic Dream Teams had appeal to the masses.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

That's OPs point though, right? We lost that momentum after the mid-2010s and there's nothing in the future that's going to give the NBA that same momentum you saw in the 80s and 90s

by Antique-Diver 6 months ago

Wemby might.

by Temporary_Photo 6 months ago

They don't even try. So good

by lbashirian 6 months ago

Makes sense to me. There's so much scoring that unless it's already a blowout, the only part of a game which matters is the last, say, 10 minutes or so. Plus these guys are big fat crybabies (in my defense, I'm a hockey fan, so most other athletes seem like crybabies by comparison).

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Start calling carry-overs, traveling, the 7 steps to the basket without a dribble for a start. Make threes like the wanker old guys that play slo pitch softball and hit dingers all day. After so many HRs they start getting penalized. 3 pointers and WNBA are killing basketball as a spectator sport.

by Alternative_Lunch817 6 months ago

The referees giving Superstars all the whistles in the 90s ruined professional basketball for me forever.

by Uptontriston 6 months ago

All the stars are old and the young players are either foreign or always injured.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Regular season is the most irrelevant of all the sports. 7 months of meaningless basketball isn't a good look

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I don't know many genz guys who are into sports besides their college's team

by ForeignArm 6 months ago

My issue is I have Hulu Live and most Bucks games are on Bally which I won't pay for. The Brewers just finished their final year with Bally Sports thankfully. Hopefully I'll get more TV next season but I don't mind radio.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

If my city had a team again I'd have some hot take

by Gkrajcik 6 months ago

Rule changes made it boring and the European style is boring as well.

by Genovevagaylord 6 months ago

Sport in general haven't been this irrelevant in years

by Shot-Debt5667 6 months ago

It's because it's also the hardest league to watch. NFL puts Sunday Ticket out of reach of most viewers, but you get at least 5-6 nationally televised games a week for free or very close to it. NBA's TV contract is convoluted and confusing.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I am not from the US, but I would guess NBA has probably turned what people call woke. People are moving away from that.

by Comfortable-Bus-6395 6 months ago

it's definitely getting less relevant atm, however from 79-81 the just over half of the finals games were tape delayed. not sure how we can go so far as to say least relevant in 60 years when during that timeframe the climax of the season couldn't even be shown live.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

The stars deciding that they're only playing 40 games a year certainly doesn't help

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Yes it has. When Jordan retired before Kobe came around it was trash

by Anonymous 6 months ago

60 years? Michael Jordan alone had a stranglehold on pop culture, let alone everyone in the 90s having their own shoe/fashion line. Id say 20 years max

by Garfield18 6 months ago

No good way to watch the games for free.

by Cute_Oil5520 6 months ago

A big problem with the NBA is smaller markets don't seem to matter.

by Unhappy_Offer 6 months ago

LeBron, his legacy.

by Prior-Indication9961 6 months ago

So Larry Bird, Magic, MJ, and LeBron have meant absolutely nothing to the culture?

by Anonymous 6 months ago

People are realizing it's gym class and most people didn't really like gym class.

by Straight_Cabinet 6 months ago

NBA players and there attitude suck. This is coming from a season ticket holder in 1990's. I won't watch a game or promote anything NBA

by Anonymous 6 months ago

First of all it's not an unpopular opinion because this "back in my day basketball was better" talk has been going on since forever. The analysis is lazy and agenda driven compared to other sports. No other sport loves to tear down their upcoming/current superstars more than the NBA media does. Bad marketing of next-gen superstars. Wemby is currently dominating but there is no way to see him because Spurs barely have any nationally televised games. No one has seen a single highlight from this year's #1 pick. Make games affordable to watch/stream. A key reason why the ratings are down is because people are simply going on illegal streaming links. The ratings aren't down because there are too many threes, no defence bla bla bla. It's literally because of these things mentioned above.

by Sadie04 6 months ago

Not an unpopular opinion in 2024!

by Anonymous 6 months ago

It's a bad product and the athletes are less relatable than ever. Refusing to play a sport for trivial reasons when you're getting paid 30+ million a year is insanity. It makes me hate the players.

by Successful_Bee_1763 6 months ago

My guess is, by 2040 the NBA will be teams of five positionless players that chuck up 3 pointers as soon as they hit halfcourt. The game has to change, and soon, or it will continue to hemorrhage viewers.

by Reichertkailey 6 months ago

Good intentions lead to bad unintended consequences instant replay has taken the drama, and even some integrity out of the game, and only magnifies the calls still missed or wrong. the rule changes to create more offense have made the game boring.

by Cassindestin 6 months ago

Because basketball is the only sport you can tune in the last 5 minutes of a game and see everything that matters. Either the game is a blowout, and you can immediately turn it off, or you'll see the game deciding plays. Also, team play is dead. It's all about one or two superstars and 3 point shooting. The product is stale and boring. And the flexing and disrespect culture is just...lame. 90s basketball was so much more fun to watch. Besides, hockey is on in winter. Why would I want to watch basketball when I can watch hockey?

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I watched a few games during the playoffs last season because the Timberwolves were making a run for the first time in 20 years. The game is just so hard to watch. 48 minutes of play and 48 called fouls. Zero flow to the game, when a team actually goes on a run the other team calls timeout.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Much less blue collar players in the league. They're all pansies that want to sit back and get their overblown checks as they complain about getting slapped on the arm a few times.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

Anything I already wanted to see was done by Michael Jordan. I have no interest anymore since no one else can be better than that.

by christianmante 6 months ago

- NBA is killing it globally - Record profits year over year - Signed an 11 year $76 billion TV deal in 2024. - Players are recognized around the world nearly to the level of footballers. The NBA will be fine. Lebron and Curry are aging out and were generational stars its to be expected that ratings slipped a bit. OP you are late to the party this was a massive internet talking point a week or two ago its beyond tired at this point.

by megane27 6 months ago

NBA games get smaller ratings than morning talk shows

by Anonymous 6 months ago

I don't think that's an unpopular opinion when you're citing to the fact that viewership is down, so clearly a lot of people agree with you. I'm one of those people. The league has gone too far diva and drama, without the power players that at least kept it interesting. Personal fouls were at an all time low last season, and the lowest overall this past decade. Three pointers are at an all time high, and has increased pretty much consistently this past decade. Rule changes and coaching shifted the focus to more three pointers and less power drives that keep the game interesting. We're in an era of the best shooters, but watching a three point contest gets old at some point.

by Antique-Diver 6 months ago

The NBA is nothing but a bunch of primadonna millionaires whining and acting like fools. It's not even the same game it was 40 years ago. The constant traveling and hot dogging. It's really childish and off putting. Way too many teams in th playoffs. Season is much too long. It's just boring to watch as well.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

The revenue says you're wrong.

by Anonymous 6 months ago

How the hell is this unpopular? The media and social has been shoving this narrative down our throats all season. The NBA is not perfect, but a lot of this hate stems from the outspoken progressive political stances the league has taken in recent years. A certain segment of the population has always hated the NBA, and now is their chance to spit out their dumb cliches about the game.

by Ok-Willingness-1075 6 months ago