The NBA world and its fandom have grown exponentially over the years. Since the late 80s, there has been consistent growth in the fanbase of the league. While many factors have contributed to it, one of the major ones was the arrival of superstars like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Michael Jordan, among others. Since then the league has attempted to increase its bandwidth and reach substantially using different means. According to recent reports, the NBA has stood up to its reputation after achieving a huge milestone. However, fans weren’t exactly ecstatic as they spotted some glaring issues in the league’s progress.
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The NBA surpassed 75 Million followers on Instagram recently, as it ended up ranking eighth among the most followed brands on the social media platform. Although it tops all the U.S. Pro sports leagues, fans believe there are quite a few chinks in the league’s armor.
Fans believe the NBA needs to do better than just being the most followed sports brand in the U.S.
The 77-year-old organization has done well in maintaining a relationship with its fans, as it recently hit 75 Million followers on Instagram. Subsequently, the NBA became the most followed sports brand in the U.S.
However, fans had many reservations about the achievement as they felt the league was out of touch with the broadcast viewership compared to others. Here are some of the reactions.
This is why when compared to NFL viewership they look outclassed. When in reality Basketball is more global and international viewership should be in discussion
— Josh Walters (@Joshywawalters) January 30, 2023
Wow how does NFL always demolish the NBA in viewership
— 𝙂𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙨𝙤𝙣 (@MeltonSZN) January 29, 2023
The reason the NBA doesn't have more viewers is 100% bc of their distribution rights, Nuggs fans can't even watch the game in Denver, they're not the only market like that
— Huitzilopochtli X (@Huitzil0p0chtl1) January 30, 2023
NBA sits so high just because of NBA players celebrity culture NBA players really communicate with the fans really well
— Throttle #44 (@HammerWatch44) January 30, 2023
High media exposure among young people, but the viewership numbers aren’t nearly as strong as the NFL.
— Sebastian (@Sebastian_FL123) January 29, 2023
Hold refs accountable and it would have 90 million followers
— blkswn (@KDotMeekBron) January 29, 2023
Fans spotted the fact that NFL average viewership beats the NBA by miles and fan engagement doesn’t really mean anything at this point. The NFL’s average viewership in 2022 was over 10 times than that of the NBA viewership. The NFL average stood at 16.7 Million compared to the NBA’s 1.6 Million for 2022.
Many pointed out that the Instagram reach of the league signifies that it is banking upon a few stars rather than the pool of talent in the league.
Additionally, some fans have been devastated by the officiating in the league. Safe to say, their complaints go beyond just the problems with viewership.
The recent controversies on officiating in the NBA
The Los Angeles Lakers have had a below-par season and recently the officiating has just put salt in their wounds. Their recent matchup against the Boston Celtics was a prime display of poor officiating. Subsequently, the Lakers were robbed of the game via tons of missed calls.
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This display was so evidently poor that the league had to issue an official apology for the mistakes in the game. However, this isn’t the first time a game tipped on the other side due to bad officiating, as the same happened during the Dallas Mavericks-Lakers game a couple of weeks ago.
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Edited by
Satagni Sikder