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In recent weeks, much has been made of the perceived struggle of the NBA to generate television ratings, with everyone from Shaquille O'Neal to league commissioner Adam Silver weighing in on the issue. Several things have been blamed for the downtick in viewership, including increased reliance on the three-point shot, a lack of young star personas in the league, and the rise of illegal streaming platforms, whose views are much harder to track.
One person who knows a thing or two about generating ratings is Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, whose presence in the WNBA this year led that league to shatter several of its television and attendance records.
Recently, Clark took to the New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce podcast to relay her thoughts on the dilemma the NBA finds itself in.
“Honestly, I feel like the average basketball fan doesn’t understand how good NBA players are and they think it looks like they’re not trying. I promise you they are trying, they are just like so good, that’s why it looks like they’re not trying,” said Clark. “And obviously the physicality of the league has changed a lot and I wasn’t around when it was much more physical and maybe people want more beef and physicality and people think it’s gotten soft but I think that’s also because the skill has just changed.”
Clark then spoke on why she believes this change is a positive thing for the sport.
“That’s what’s great about basketball, it’s always evolving,” said Clark. “It’s going to be different from when MJ played, and it’s going to be different in 10 years to what it is now.”
Does the NBA have a legitimate problem?
The NBA rebounded somewhat from its ratings crisis with a strong reported viewer turnout for its slate of Christmas Day games, which included four contests that went right down to the wire.
However, there is something to be said about the largely monotonous brand of basketball that most teams seem to be playing, even if it's the smart thing a do from a, well, winning perspective.
It probably doesn't help that several of the game's best players, like Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, don't exactly radiate distinct personality, which is something the league never had a problem with in previous generations.
Overall, there probably isn't one single culprit as to why ratings are down, but that certainly isn't going to stop Adam Silver and company from trying to reverse the trend.
