Leave it to George Karl to have the last word. The former NBA coach had a response to Patrick Bet-David’s statement on the popularity of the NBA versus the NFL. Bet-David deals with the baseball pitch. That didn’t stop him from commenting on basketball and football. Karl is no longer an NBA player and coach, but he knows the appeal of his sport well enough.

It started with Patrick Bet-David writing on X, “Numbers don’t lie. The current NBA regular season product absolutely sucks. NFL gets more viewers in one game than NBA gets in 5 games combined. That’s embarrassing.” He added the image of the NFL and NBA commissioners, Roger Goodell and Adam Silver respectively, with the Christmas day viewership numbers. In 2022, the NBA viewership reached 4.27 million while the NFL averaged 22.9 million.

Karl quoted his post and wrote, “Here’s a couple other stats for you (btw as an MLB owner, your product sucks worse than any major sport): 450M play basketball around the world and that number is skyrocketing while 5M play American football and that number is plummeting. Numbers don’t lie!”

George Karl played with the San Antonio Spurs from 1973 to 1978 before transitioning to their coach staff. He coached other NBA teams down the line and was last the head coach of the Sacramento Kings. He is one of the few NBA coaches to have 1000 wins in their career and was Coach of the Year (2012-13)  with the Denver Nuggets.

WATCH THIS STORY | Shaquille O’Neal’s Glaring Error in Rare Talent Flex Immediately Exposed by Angel Reese

On the other hand, Patrick Bet-David is a minority owner of the New York Yankees. Both have a reputation for their hot takes. This time Karl took a jab at his sport’s status for coming after basketball.

NBA by the numbers

The NBA has been broadcasting games on December 25 for 76 years. In 2022, the NFL attempted to get in on that action with a three-game lineup to NBA’s five-game day.

NFL remains dominant in viewership as it beat the NBA in viewership. Regardless, the NBA has maintained steady popularity as regular season viewership across ESPN and ABC has increased by 16% since last season.

Trending

Billionaire Michael Jordan’s Drink With Derek Jeter Was Enough for Yankees Legend to Invest in $11.69 Billion Worth Industry

May 03, 2024 01:00 PM EDT

Shaquille O’Neal and TNT Co-Hosts to Part Ways After 13 Years? Analyzing “Inside the NBA” Hurdles That Might End an Era

May 04, 2024 02:30 PM EDT

Ty Lue Doesn’t Want To Coach Lakers & LeBron James As Billionaire Steve Ballmer’s Charm Traps 47YO Veteran

May 04, 2024 06:42 AM EDT

Brittney Griner Blasts WNBA for Ruining Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso’s Debut: “In No World Does It Make Sense…”

May 04, 2024 01:10 PM EDT

Billionaire Michael Jordan’s $20 Million Venture’s Identical Logo to Puma Gets Defended by Dwyane Wade: “I’m Not Even Getting Paid”

May 03, 2024 06:07 AM EDT

Get instantly notified of the hottest NBA stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

In comparison, the MLB World Series 2023 viewership was about 11 million. In its glory days, it used to bring in about 20 million viewers. In 2023, eSports brought more viewership than baseball. Viewership is becoming a glaring problem for the MLB, but the NBA viewership is on the rise.

Owner of 150 Car Washers, Shaquille O’Neal Puts Potential Rival’s Massive Launch on Display