Celtics to blame for declining NBA ratings? Debunking Shaquille O’Neal’s theory
Shaquille O'Neal's theory of three-point shooting making the NBA boring was shot down by Adam Silver, despite data proving otherwise.
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Shaquille O'Neal claimed Adam Silver's NBA was struggling to find viewers due to boring three-point game
The NBA has seen a year-on-year decline in viewership just from its opening week games. Commissioner Adam Silver though, pinned it on the elections as well as the MLB World Series taking place around the same time as events that diverted fans. But Shaquille O’Neal thinks the game has become boring.
The league even claimed that compared to last season, ratings have improved. However, legend of the game Shaquille O’Neal mentioned that the increased three-point play has made the game boring. The likes of the Boston Celtics, who actively pursue the three ball, won the NBA title based on that approach.
But that NBA Finals series last season was less interesting to fans as viewership decreased overall. At that time the election campaigns weren’t running at full steam, and neither was there any other major sporting event that could divert viewers.
Even the WNBA started to draw more viewers to its game than its parent. But can the Boston Celtics be blamed for this? Three-point plays have been on the rise since Stephen Curry burst on to the scene. But what O’Neal was referring to was different.
Stephen Curry shooting threes and Celtics shooting threes are different
The four-time NBA champion mentioned that when he watches Stephen Curry shoot threes, he is in awe. As the Golden State Warriors superstar shoots it differently and that too in the face of increased opposition. The response fans showed when he shot clutch threes in Team USA’s gold medal-winning game attested to O’Neal’s logic.
But when the Boston Celtics shoot threes, it is different. All players on their roster can shoot threes and they end up taking the most of any team. They have been attempting a staggering 51.4 times per game this season, which is almost ten attempts more than last season.
Along with that increase from the winningest team in NBA history, the rest of the league has also upped its efforts from beyond the arc. A decade ago, the Houston Rockets were the only team to crack 30 attempts per game. This season, the entire league is launching more than 30 threes every night.
That’s at least 60 attempts from the perimeter per game. The rate of conversion has gone up, but defense has plummeted as less and less players try other entertaining shots. Shaquille O’Neal says, that lack of physicality has made fans yawn while watching the game. But is he right?
The data says Shaquille O’Neal may be right
In the past decade, the NBA Finals used to enjoy per game viewership ratings well above the 10 million mark. In last year’s finals, Game 1 was dangerously close to that figure and Game 4 dipped below that baseline.
The only other time this has happened was during the NBA bubble when the entire world was bothered about other things than basketball. In fact, one has to go back to the 2007 Finals to find less than 10 million viewers per game.
The decline in NBA Finals ratings has been constant since the ‘Bubble,’ but it could also be attributed to the sheer lack of superstars who fans can relate to. But then, the likes of Steph Curry, who routinely drew 20+ million along with LeBron James, could not break the 14 million mark in their 2022 title run.
In those finals, he faced the Boston Celtics, and their battle had a lot of three-point shooting. So, the common problem here is the three-point shot, as even a global superstar could not save fans from the boredom it induces. Shaquille O’Neal may be right. The data proves it, so do the variables.
Adam Silver may be defiant about it, suggesting social media engagement has improved. But social media won’t by itself cover up for the lack of the returns the holders of the $76 billion media rights deal seek. The game has become boring, and no number of superstars can help change it.
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Joseph Varghese
(2168 Articles Published)