As viewership of the NCAA tournaments reaches record highs,sports analyst Clay Travis highlights the stark contrast with the NBA’s plummeting ratings, attributing the disparity to the league’s mismanagement under Commissioner Adam Silver and the actions of prominent figures like LeBron James, Gregg Popovich, and Steve Kerr.
Travis criticizes the NBA’s pivot towards overtly political stances, driven by the outspoken views of James, Popovich, and Kerr, which have alienated a segment of the fanbase and tarnished the league’s once-storied brand.
As per Michael Mulvihill’s tweet, this year’s March Madness viewing numbers exceed the previous year’s by a significant margin, indicating a growing interest in basketball across genders.
“All time highs for the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament this year. Turns out, people love basketball. Meanwhile the NBA continues on a record low ratings path. How can the NBA media apologists spin this? They can’t. Which is why they’re all pretending this isn’t happening,” Travis tweeted in response to Mulvihill.
“If we had an honest sports media, the destruction of the NBA brand would be a top story everywhere. As is, I’m the only person who will even mention it. Adam Silver, LeBron, Pop & Kerr have destroyed the brand Magic, Bird & Jordan created. They’ve destroyed their legacies,” he added in another tweet.
Travis’s commentary underscores the failure of the NBA’s leadership and prominent personalities to preserve the legacy established by iconic figures like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Michael Jordan.
The embrace of political activism by Silver, James, Popovich, and Kerr has led to a decline in NBA viewership, as disillusioned fans seek alternatives, including collegiate basketball and other sports leagues.
