The NBA had a serious ratings problem in the first half of the season, but things have been looking up ever since mid-February. According to Adam Silver, viewership has been up drastically over the past few months, due in part to the blockbuster Luka Doncic trade that shook up the Los Angeles Lakers core.
“The narrative early in the season was that ratings were down. They were down,” said the NBA Commissioner on the Pat McAfee Show. “There was a competitive World Series, a Presidential election… There were a bunch of factors that led to our ratings being down early on. But to end up down 2%, which is a victory these days, that’s a victory. The reason that’s happened is that post-All-Star, the ratings picked up a lot. To end up just down 2% for the season from where we came from, the ratings had to be up significantly. I think you saw tremendous competition across the league, teams playing for playoff seedings, teams playing into the playoffs, healthy stars, and a trade that attracted a lot of attention. A bunch of things happened in the league, and it generated a lot of interest.”
As the NBA approaches a new TV deal, growing and expanding its audience is going to be more important than ever. So when league executives noticed a dip in the ratings this season, they knew they had to respond quickly to reverse the concerning trend.
While some fans blamed the three-pointer on modern officiating, Silver had a feeling that the problem wasn’t related to the product on the court. Instead, he theorized that other events were getting in the way, such as the 2024 election and the MLB World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees. The NFL football season was also in full swing until February, and everyone was tuning in to watch Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen.
Fortunately, the ratings have been much improved over the past few months, and the Luka Doncic trade no doubt played a role in the increased interest. Out of nowhere, the NBA’s youngest European star was traded overnight to the Los Angeles Lakers, which is easily the league’s most popular and recognizable franchise.
The trade changed the entire hierarchy of the Western Conference and has put the Lakers (17x champions) right back on track as a regular title contender. Going into the playoffs, Luka is now in a position to lead the Lakers to their 18th championship, months after failing to finish the job in Dallas.
Adam Silver Sympathizes With Mavericks Fans
The story of this season will be Luka Doncic, and his trade to the Lakers is still a sore subject among Mavericks fans. Despite some theories that the team owners are trying to piss off the fans and move the team to Vegas, Silver confirmed that there were no ulterior motives behind the deal.
“I understand why Dallas Mavericks fans are so upset, and I personally am a fan of Luka Doncic,” said Silver. “I want him to be great, and I want the Dallas Mavericks to be great. There’s been so much interest in this trade, and let’s see how this turns out… but the Dallas Mavericks aren’t going anywhere and that team is staying in Dallas. They’re looking at building a new arena in Dallas.”
The Luka trade was so controversial that fans thought it had to be some bigger conspiracy to pull the team out of town. It turns out that the Mavericks are just doing what they think is best for the franchise, even if it doesn’t look like it right now.
All Adam Silver can do is watch it play out from behind the scenes, but at the very least, he can find some comfort knowing that Luka’s trade to Los Angeles has generated a ton of new interest in the league and in this year’s NBA playoff bracket.
