The crowd will buy what you sell if you sell it well. If not, things will start looking like the NBA ratings. Yikes! Not the greatest comparison there, but just enough for Adam Silver to wake up from his slumber. Oh, the Commissioner is anything but lazy; he’s already doing everything he can to elevate the viewership. Surely, that 11-year $76 billion media deal could change the trajectory of the league forever. Until then? Well… the less said, the better.

But in his obsession with recycling the same old megastars, the league keeps benching the next-gen assassins like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. And if that pattern holds, the damage to the league’s soul might be far worse than a dip in ratings. So, Bill Simmons and Ryen Russillo finally took their swing at the Commissioner—and honestly, it felt long overdue.

Adam Silver faces the harsh reality of his decisions with the next generation of teams

“Everyone’s going to just point to the ratings because the ratings will be terrible tonight. It’ll be like, ‘Oh, this is the worst Sunday night rating we’ve had since so and so because the game was decided in the third quarter…..It’s two small markets,” Bill Simmons said on his podcast. “It’s two teams we don’t have a lot of familiarity with. And, it’s a league, that we’ve talked about many times in this podcast, that has refused to push the next generation of teams because they’re just putting the old stars on over and over again in the biggest spots.”

The contrast in media development and exposure that the big-market teams and small-market teams experience is unreal. The bigger the stars, the greater the exposure. In fact, when LeBron James left the Cavs for the Lakers, he was accused of purposefully hitting the greater audience, leaving behind the small crowd. But then, true stars can never hide, but if the same continues, Adam Silver needs to reflect on the upcoming troubles, starting with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Meanwhile, Russillo pointed out, “He a [SGA]’s really quiet dude. He’s great for a franchise, to be the face of your franchise, because you’re just not dealing with any bull—-. But sometimes the bull—- brings people in. I think we all like drama, and this league has become so popular in a way that’s unlike the other leagues. I’m not talking about ratings, but just the daily consciousness of it. Certainly, you and I are far too in it, so maybe we’re not even great gauges for this.”

What Russillo implies is that the 2025 MVP is a ‘drama-free’ star. He is ideal for teams but may lack the flair that draws mainstream attention. In the NBA’s drama-driven culture, personality often fuels popularity more than pure performance. All the usual NBA drama fuels fan engagement, but with OKC and Indiana, there’s no extra noise—just pure basketball. That’s great for teams internally, but without off-court narratives, the broader audience finds little to latch onto beyond the title.

“For those secondary viewers, there’s probably just a lot of boredom. Like, ‘Oh, so their best player’s incredibly efficient with pull-up jumpers.’ The free-throw thing hasn’t been an issue, really. I don’t think at all. I mean, the third quarter is a free-throw fest, both ways. But there isn’t this big engaging personality.” Well, this is truly something that the Commissioner needs to think about. Because casual fans find the Finals boring due to a lack of flashy personalities or drama. Despite efficient stars and ‘fair’ officiating, the absence of engaging narratives or familiar faces makes it hard to capture wider attention.

Moreover, the concerns that Simmons and his guest shared on the Bill Simmons Show roots from Shai’s interview with Malika Andrews. A confused or rather philosophical Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has the experts thinking.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s interaction with ESPN’s Malika Andrews might be a new concern for the Commissioner

Malika Andrews sat for a conversation with the freshly declared MVP of 2025. As many might’ve guessed and hoped that the interview would be technical, stat-driven, and self-promotional. Instead, it was baffling and philosophy-heavy. Sounds unprecedented? Maybe, at least Simmons feels so. “Did you see that interview with him where he got asked a question, and he did the deep sigh and searched for the answer for like 10 seconds? It was pretty interesting,” he said.

“He really wanted to come up with a good answer for it. It was just unusual because a lot of these guys are so media-trained for moments like that, and these guys are still getting used to being famous people. But he’s a Canadian star who’s been in the spotlight for a while, but he’s not famous-famous. I’ve seen a couple of commercials now. I wouldn’t say he’s one of the 10 most famous players in the league right now.”

At the same time, Ryen Russillo questioned whether Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a reserved and low-profile MVP, can truly carry national appeal. He drew parallels to showbiz, suggesting that shows fail not because of talent, but due to poor promotion. In sports, too, star power and marketability often matter more than raw skill or quiet excellence. He critiqued the tendency to blame leagues for declining interest, as seen with baseball and the WNBA. The point: even with more exposure, not all stars resonate widely. If fans aren’t drawn in by SGA or OKC, the problem might not be marketing—it might be disinterest. And sometimes, that’s simply unavoidable.

Thus, the NBA’s biggest challenge isn’t just the ratings—it’s finding stars who truly captivate beyond the court. While Adam Silver’s media deals offer hope, the league must balance spotlighting established icons with nurturing fresh faces like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Without compelling personalities or narratives, even the best basketball risks losing the broader audience.