The Biggest Problem in the NBA
(or at least a big one)
The NBA has a problem. And I’m not sure how to fix it… but I am sure it’s a problem.
Two months ago, you couldn’t talk about the NBA and not see anything about the Brooklyn Nets. Kevin Durant trade rumors had yet to die down, Steve Nash had just been fired/let go/quit, and K*rie Ir*ing was an entire thing. The Nets were in the NBA new stream daily, while NBA games were literally happening every night, for everything besides them playing basketball. Durant rumors have quieted, Nash was replaced with Jacque Vaughn, and K*rie Ir*ing has been mostly quiet since his suspension.
Brooklyn has faded to the background. And while doing so? They’re 18-4 since Thanksgiving. Sure, they’ve lost two in a row, but it’s hard to imagine that a healthy Durant returning in a few weeks -he injured his knee on 1/9/23- they’ll be any less stellar when they’re all on the floor. Nic Claxton is stepping up and playing impactful minutes defensively, Ben Simmons has proven to he may be some semblance of his former self, and Seth Curry is shooting 42% from three, on 4.2 attempts per game.
But, in just scrolling headlines on
ESPN.com, the Nets are nowhere to be found. Even on NBA.com, the only Net-centric story is that Kevin Durant is one of two leaders in All-Star voting. Foxsports.com has more Miami Dolphins content pieces (one) than the Brooklyn Nets do (zero).
It’s not that I miss Nets’ content either, but the trend is part of a bigger issue. In covering the NBA, the concern is more in the soap box than the box score. Who cares how someone played in their 32 minutes if they didn’t post a shady Instagram story? Why bother with defensive adjustments when there are defensive press conferences to break down?
In talking about basketball, the discussion continues to be less and less about basketball. This isn’t helped by analysts on a show starting at 6:00 AM Eastern breaking down a game that finished after 1:00 AM ET, sometimes not even on national television. I don’t mean to be “above” it at all. Frankly, the last P.Ainstaking Basketball was all about the idea of Twitter being unable to gut a rebuild. Further, I did an entire episode of “‘F’ In Sports” on the chaos surrounding the New Jersey Brooklyn Nets.
But there’s got to be some middle ground found. At some point, basketball entertainment does need to highlight the play on the floor. As entertaining as the TNT crew is, the oldheads hating on modern basketball bit has played a (negative) role here, too. Googling TNT Analyst Hate brings up several dozen articles about players and teams in modern basketball that Charles Barkley alone has disdain for. Is it entertaining to see Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and others riled up? Sure. Is it a meaningful discussion on the game?
That’s not to say every fan needs to know what a 54-half drop coverage is, or have some clue how to draw up a Spain Pick and Roll. But what’s happening in basketball is truly spectacular. Nikola Jokic is going for a third consecutive MVP. Luka Doncic is challenging him at 23 years old. Jayson Tatum is coming off of an NBA Finals run, Ja Morant dunks on anyone and everything with the new grit and grind Grizzlies, and Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to live a career that reads like a Disney, comes from nothing, story.
Meanwhile, what’s atop the ESPN NBA page headline? At the time of writing this, it’s potential trade deadline deals, the Warriors’ white house visit, and another article from two days ago about the trade deadline. On NBA.com? It’s a LeBron James scoring tracker, NBA All-Star voting, and a “clutch ladder” in honor of the first annual Clutch Player award for this season.
Admittedly it’s not drama filled… but also not exactly highlighting a league worth of results, either.
The NBA is absolutely growing. In a streaming and international sports landscape, the NBA adapts to reach the audience in a way other sports leagues don’t. The NBA embraces things like social media, content creation, and doing whatever it takes to get themselves in their fans hands, eyes, and ears. But the conversation around the NBA has struck a stronger cord than the games itself: the gossipy nature of the fan.
I’m not sure how to close pandora’s box, nor am I some expert in gossiping or avoiding it. But, I do think it’s interesting (and probably bad) that that’s the only kind of story about the Brooklyn Nets worth talking about. Without diving into the direct correlation between K*rie Ir*ing being quiet and his team winning, that Brooklyn has been playing beautiful basketball under Coach Vaughn has gone more or less undiscussed.
This isn’t the first time, nor the most egregious time, this has happened in the NBA. Analysis of Lakers’ sideline antics trumped the second consecutive Jokic MVP campaign. Fanfare in Philly has drowned out that the Boston Celtics are atop the Eastern Conference for the third time in four years with their third coach. Basketball conversations, in many forms of media, are no longer about basketball.
But where does blame fall? In a “chicken or the egg” discussion, is the media giving the national basketball audience what it wants (i.e. clicks on), or is the audience left with only basketball-talk-not-about-basketball to click on?
On the floor, this is the best basketball that has ever been played. There have never been athletes as big, strong, and fast as the ones flying around playing defense -without hand-checking or clogging the lane- today. We’ve never had consistent, league-wide scoring outpours -from athletes of all body types in all corners of the league- as we do now. We’ve never had as coaches with as much information-analytical, medical, and practical- as there is now. So why is the conversation so often something else?
Thus concludes a conversation about... something else
The Best Highlight Since Last P.Ainstaking Basketball
I mean… were there any other options?