The National Basketball Association is starting to take shape for the 2024-25 season, with the elite teams breaking out and the slack falling by the wayside. With the news that the viewership figures are down on years past, what does this mean for the NBA in the future?
The Serbian Superstar: Nikola Jokić
Who is the best player in the NBA right now? There is a strong case that the answer is the Denver Nuggets’ center, Nikola Jokić. The 29-year-old is no stranger to the top rankings in the key performance indicators, and there’s no change to that. He’s scoring 32.3 points on average per game, which puts him amongst the top scorers. However, the overall match exhibited by Jokić makes him an early front-runner for the MVP award.
He leads the league in average rebounds per game, 10.2 assists per game, and scoring over 50% of his three-pointer attempts. The only poor element for Nikola this season is that despite having this incredible talent on the roster, the Nuggets, as a team, aren’t doing that well. They are seventh in the Western Conference standings with a 12-10 record, leaving them adrift of the top teams.
The Cleveland Cavaliers Dominate the Record
Is there a team with a superior stance on the rest of the NBA? That attribute has to be assigned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The franchise has an exceptional record, 21-4, to date. Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell, and Caris LeVert have been some of the exceptional players making a difference on the court, taking the Cavs to this lofty stature.
Kenny Atkinson’s team, however, is starting to show minor blemishes. The fourth defeat of their record came early in December when they lost to the Miami Heat with a 122-113 scoreline. This game highlighted that despite their attacking prowess, they can struggle to cope defensively with teams that go head-to-head with them on the offensive end.
Washington Wizards Unlikely to Make the Playoffs Again
The Washington Wizards haven’t played in the postseason since the 2020-21 season. That trend looks like it will not change at this point, as the team is mathematically the worst in the NBA. As of mid-December, the team has an awful 3-19 record and consistently struggles. Brian Keefe is the man charged with the head coach role at the Capital One Arena, having replaced Wes Unseld Jr. last season.
Unfortunately, the team made a significant fumble on their primary first-round draft pick. Selecting Alex Sarr from the Perth Wildcats could, in theory, work out in the future, but the team needs results now, and this French power forward is not making the team any better. Jared McCain, Carlton Carrington, and Zach Edey were all still available when Sarr was chosen and have all since gone on to have a more significant impact than Sarr for their respective franchises.
LeBron Set to Overtake Legends on Games Played Metric
Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James already holds many NBA records, including the prestigious all-time top points scorer accolade with over 41,000 points during his career. However, he can only slowly overtake one metric, and game by game; he looks to become the all-time appearance holder. LeBron is currently fifth in this table, with 1515 NBA appearances having recently eclipsed John Stockton’s 1504 appearance count.
If he wants to break the record, he still has a few games left. Robert Parish leads the way with 1611 appearances, which could take him into the 2025-26 season. However, barring injury or severe squad rotation, he could easily surpass Dirk Nowitzki (1522), Vince Carter (1541), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1560) in the appearance tally.
The Elephant in the Room: Less People Are Watching NBA
Multiple sites have started circulating news reports that the NBA viewership figures are drastically down. Whether basketball isn’t as exciting as it used to be or that people are watching through non-trackable means, this is terrible news for the association. This is a significant problem that the NBA needs to address to entice the fans back.
Perhaps there is some merit to using gambling to entice certain viewers to engage for the whole games, and with the games coming constantly you can always check out the Vegas odds for NBA tonight and find something to suit you.
Interestingly, while the NBA struggles to attract viewers, the WNBA is thriving. Around 1.1 million viewers watched the WNBA 2024 postseason! While in isolation, that doesn’t sound like a lot; it is 139% up from the 2023 playoffs, which shows a significant growth in popularity. In line with this viewership surge, the WNBA and the players are currently exploring new options to monetize the upturn in popularity.