Sportheadline now: The NBA’s ratings have plummeted in the first half of the season causing major concern about what this means for the league.

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Lakers’ LeBron James Makes Bold Claim About Successes in NBA Amid Ratings Decline

The NBA’s ratings have plummeted in the first half of the season causing major concern about what this means for the league. There have also been a number of theories suggesting the cause of the decline, as many fans and commentators try to pinpoint the “why”.

According to CNBC Sport, the NBA’s ratings have gone down 17% across the major networks including ESPN, TNT, CBS, and ABC. Meanwhile, the NFL’s ratings are skyrocketing, recording an average of 17.3 million viewers per game.

Some believe a major reason for the decline in ratings is the officiating in games. The league received lots of backlash in recent seasons for officials calling too many touch fouls. Fans complained the petty foul calling takes away from the excitement of the game. However, the league addressed this issue, now limiting the number of low-contact fouls.

Others believe injuries have factored into the recent decline. Lots of star players have already missed a number of games including LeBron James, Joel Embiid, Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Luka Doncic, and Victor Wembanyama. Fans could be reluctant to tune into an NBA game when critical key players have regularly been listed on the injury report.

Finally, some commentators, including former NBA champion Magic Johnson believes the narratives and storylines that used to drive ratings up for the league are not as compelling as they used to be. Johnson spoke on the league’s necessity start being more competitive in matchups. He believes the league has become drastically “more friendly”, and in return, that impacts the nature of the game.

Despite the decline in viewership, there have been some really incredibly entertaining games during the start of the 2024-2025 season. One of those games includes the NBA Christmas Day matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers. Both LeBron James and Steph Curry put on quite the show both scoring over 30 points and bringing the game down to the final seconds.

James and Curry traded baskets down the stretch until Austin Reaves hit a game-winning layup with only a second left before the final buzzer. Following the game, reporters asked James about his thoughts regarding the decline in NBA ratings. When asked “what’s still good about the NBA”, his answer was very simple.

“LeBron and Steph”, James simply stated. That’s what’s still good about this league, and he is absolutely correct.

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