The NBA has changed.
It seems today’s game is more about which team or player makes the most 3-point shots. The center and power forward position are irrelevant. The 3-point shot doesn’t feel special anymore.
This is bad for the NBA.
When you think of the NBA on NBC you think of players like Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O’Neal.
These were tough, physical players that liked to take the ball to the basket. Fans loved the slam dunks and great defensive plays, the 3-point shot was more strategic or taken as a last resort.
Michael Jordan’s first game back from Minor League Baseball drew an estimated television audience of 35 million. The 1998 NBA Finals that featured Jordan and the Chicago Bulls versus Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz had a 18.7 rating.
The NBA returned to NBC on Oct. 21 and earned a 5.6 rating which would seem impressive but nowhere near what the ratings were when the NBA on NBC was at its peak during the 1990s-2000s.
The lack of dominant big men has hurt today’s NBA.
Fans miss the days when players cut and drove the ball to the basket for a layup or slam dunk.
Most of the teams seem to revolve around the 3-point shot.
Yes, there are some exceptions like Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks, Kawhi Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers and Anthony Davis from the Dallas Mavericks.
But even they chose to take a lot of 3-pointers for some reason.
This minimizes great defensive plays.
Zion Williamson who fans and analysts deemed would bring back dominant centers for the modern NBA during the 2019 draft turned out to be a bust.
No matter what major sport you play, if you become predictable then you become easy to defend.
There is a severe lack of drama especially on the offensive side of the ball in today’s NBA.
Why should we stay invested in a sport when we can easily predict what happens next?
This might also explain the lack of interest and enthusiasm during its All-Star Weekend the past few years. Especially the slam dunk contest, the lack of a dominant center has hurt the event.
Also, because today’s NBA revolves around the 3-point shot people stopped caring about the three-point contest. The only event that generates any interest is the celebrity basketball game.
Even that is a stretch.
The NBA can return to the network that helped make them a household name after a 23-year absence, they can bring back the theme song, they can continue to send their best players to the Olympics but fans have lost interest in how the NBA is played today.
Unless we see a few more dominant centers coming out of high school or college, the NBA on NBC’s popularity will never be what it once was.
