Does the NBA have a content problem?
The answer to that question, simply put, is yes. But why? In a league filled with superstars like Lebron James, Stephen Curry and James Harden, why can’t the NBA transfer the same energy off the court?
As the NBA season restarts in Orlando, let’s look back at how the league did during its time away. To start, we saw attempts at events like ESPN NBA Horse competitions, where players like Chris Paul, Trae Young, retired forward Paul Pierce and WNBA stars Allie Quigley and Tamika Catchings took part in the action.
Unfortunately, the program failed to generate strong ratings and viewership during the global pandemic. Could it be because there were no big names like Lebron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo? Maybe.
After that, we saw ESPN get players around the league to participate in an NBA 2K20 video game tournament. In a time where basketball wasn’t being played and the season had stopped at arguably the best time with playoffs approaching, this was the closest thing we could get.
The tournament featured some big names as well. Kevin Durant, Trae Young, Zach Lavine and Patrick Beverley took part. That is, until players from their respective teams did not want to play as their own team.
At one point in a matchup between Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns and Michael Porter Jr. of the Denver Nuggets, Porter said to Booker when deciding which teams to play as, “You should pick the Suns, I’ll pick the Nuggets.” Booker declined, and Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets later did the same.
So much for taking pride in your team. Players not wanting to represent their respected teams and play as themselves was a turn off for a lot of fans.
Finally, Michael Jordan’s documentary, “The Last Dance,” aired on April 19. That was about a month’s worth of NBA content that every fan was invested in. It did not matter who you thought the greatest player of all time was, you still tuned in when each episode aired.
In the days, weeks and months after “The Last Dance” was over, we saw no sign of entertaining content from the NBA and its players. Now, due to COVID-19 restrictions, there is not much players can do in person.
At the same time, we saw NASCAR move to IRACING, a virtual form of racing simulation that was broadcast to major networks like FOX. The MLB had its players take part in a video game tournament called MLB: The Show, which their players streamed on platforms like Twitch or Mixer. The NHL also had video game content, as players around the league played in an NHL tournament.
What did NBA fans get? For a small period of time they could get NBA Game pass, a site that lets fans stream any game, from any time, for free. Although this is a nice perk, other leagues are generating content on a regular basis and most superstars won’t step up to the plate for the NBA, making it clear that they currently have a content problem.
Hopefully when the 2020 season resumes, NBA fans can receive the content they have been waiting for by watching the game they love.
Photo courtesy of Sports Raid
