The NBA’s ratings have been a constant topic of conversation for the better part of five years, even though they should only matter to a handful of people in the league office and various network partners. There have been countless arguments about the state of the game and why it seems fans aren’t watching as often as they used to — many of which, it should be said, have been steered by bad-faith arguments about the league’s politics.
The reality is that television ratings are down for most everything that’s not football (particularly the NFL), and the NBA cannot replicate the NFL’s success for a variety of reasons — chief among them being that they do not play football. Still, that hasn’t stopped the arguments and attempts to “fix” the NBA, with this season’s focus being whether teams are taking too many three-pointers and driving away fans because the game has changed so much.
The topic of NBA ratings breached the mainstream sports conversation once again on Thursday, when Caitlin Clark was asked about it during an appearance on the New Heights Podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. Clark used the question to go to bat for the NBA, as she lauded the incredible skill of NBA players and said she felt part of the problem is that fans think players are so good that they make it seem like they’re not trying. She also, unsurprisingly, does not think three-pointers are an issue, saying watching guys launch threes is one of her favorite things in the sport.
“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,” Clark said. “I promise you they’re trying, they’re just like, so good. That’s why it looks like they’re not trying. 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 gone soft. But, I think it’s also because the skill has changed. That’s what’s great about basketball, it’s always evolving. It’s gonna be different than when MJ played. It’s gonna be different in 10 years than it is now. So it’s hard for me to put my finger on why it’s gone down — and also it’s competing against a lot of football right now, you have to take that into consideration. Football is just, that’s America’s favorite thing. I mean, I love three-point shooting. I love seeing guys launch threes, but not everybody loves that, so, I don’t know.”
Clark is, of course, naturally inclined to enjoy the three-point shooting boom we are currently in, as she’s part of that on the women’s side, but I do think she makes some very good points overall. Her point about the game constantly evolving is a particularly important one because most of the conversations are being driven by people who are nostalgic for a past era that just doesn’t exist anymore. Nostalgia drives a lot of things (there’s a reason we are getting so many remakes and reboots in film and TV) but sports are the rare form of entertainment that will always press forward (albeit with splashes of nostalgia in the form of throwback uniforms). People always think things were at their best when they were growing up, and that is definitely the case with sports fans. Clark reminds everyone that the game is constantly evolving and always has, which she notes is a feature, not a bug.
