Copyright outkick
While the business of sports is booming, the NBA continues to struggle. Major League Baseball has seen ratings and attendance grow in recent seasons, as new rule changes have drawn more general fan interest. The NFL continues its unstoppable dominance thanks to the power of general gambling, prop bets and fantasy football. College football runs Saturday afternoons in late summer and fall. Then there's the NBA. Ratings are down. General fan interest is down. Over the past decade, and particularly after 2020, the NBA became a political activist organization first and a sports league second. It's never truly recovered. RELATED: NBA's Comeback on NBC Wasn’t the Ratings Slam Dunk Bill Simmons’ Fanboys Claim Load management became one of the most commonly used phrases to describe how star players take, uh, plenty of time off. Outside social media, the league's importance has never been lower. Then there's the other issue. One that was on full display Tuesday night in the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks game, thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis Antetokounmpo Takes Advantage Of NBA Protecting Its Stars In the first quarter, Antetokounmpo started dribbling behind the 3-point line, and in an attempt to drive, essentially just picked the ball up and walked toward the rim. Why does the traveling rule even exist anymore? Does he take five steps? Is it six steps? Four steps? Eight? When did he start the made-up concept of "gathering" before driving? Who knows? Who cares! It's the NBA, it's Giannis, it's a star player. Of course, there's no traveling called. Why take the league seriously, when it doesn't take itself seriously? They've made up the NBA Cup. They allow this. They allow "load management." Welcome to the modern NBA.
