Adam Silver Blames 1.1M Decline on NBA Community as Late National Hero’s Vision Nears It’s Fulfillment

There has been a lot of talk about the NBA’s decline in viewership. The number itself till Christmas was down by 1.1 million per game. Several legends and analysts blame the style of play. The league is averaging a considerably higher volume of threes, which is popularly seen as the primary reason. However, Adam Silver disagrees.

The commissioner isn’t overly concerned about the decline in ratings. While speaking to Shaquille O’Neal, he pointed out that the modern audience’s shift to streaming is a major cause, citing the upcoming media deal that kicks in next year as evidence. However, he also acknowledges a fault within the league that could be contributing to viewers not tuning in to live games. He believes the league’s storytelling needs improvement.

“I’ll be self-critical here about the job the league is doing. I think we have to do a better job and not just leave it to commentators, critics you know fans to tell those great stories about the game itself. Why this game is so special? Why is everybody saying this is a transformative era in the league? What is it that you should be looking for as a fan? What’s going to draw you in to understand what makes these players so great? Why a combination of certain players on the floor is working in a way that another combination of players isn’t?” Silver noted on ‘The Big Podcast’.

In that regard, he credited Shaq and the Inside the NBA crew for keeping their intricate coverage of the game strong. But as far as the broader picture is concerned, Adam Silver does feel their social media presence is the highest in the history of the league supported by their number through various channels.

The new media deal will help capitalize on this growth. According to Silver, the advent of streaming services will help reach the younger generation. In addition, he is also pursuing another major breakthrough that could potentially increase the audience even more.

Adam Silver is following the dreams of David Stern

David Stern, the late commissioner of the NBA was a visionary. In 2012 he spoke about the league expanding its horizon. Notably, Stern wanted to enter the European market. Since then, the number of international players in the NBA has increased each year. Moreover, since 2018, only international players have won MVP.

Still, Stern didn’t feel the NBA had the resources in 2012 to make the vision a reality. “We need the buildings. We need the increase in affinity in terms of television. And we need an economic model that works,” he told ESPN. The former commissioner felt ten years would be ample time.

And well, Adam Silver is carrying his dream forward.

“One of the things we’ve been discussing is whether, before adding NBA franchises in Europe, there’s an opportunity to create an independent league there. This could leverage the enormous interest in basketball in major European capitals like Paris, London, Berlin, and Madrid— and other major cities that love basketball,” he explained to Shaq.

At the same time though, some issues do exist. Silver thinks logistics could be an issue, mainly air travel. That’s the reason he is waiting for a few developments before fully committing to the mission. But it only seems to be a matter of time before his plans materialize.