Why NBA Ratings Decline ? Kevin Durant Has An Answer !

NBA‘s declining ratings of roughly 48% since 2012 are a true concern around the league, as many begin to give their opinion on the phenomenon. Coming off a historic Christmas Day slate with audiences up 83% from last year’s and an average of 5,25 million viewers per game, Kevin Durant made himself clear to explain the slump.

Following a strong performance (27 pts, 4 rebounds and 6 assists) to secure an important 110-100 win against Denver and Nikola Jokic on wednesday, the Phoenix Suns superstar shared his thoughts on NBA audiences’ slump with ESPN. “I feel like fans only want free agency and drama and only care about playoffs and Finals and what that means for somebody’s legacy.”

“Today was a step in the right direction”

Indirectly pointing a finger at the media, Kevin Durant added. “They get programmed to just think about that, which has made them not want to care about the regular season.” An interesting explanation from the 2-time Finals MVP with the Golden State Warriors, who clearly accused journalists and social media of focusing only on storytelling and players’ legacy, rather than on regular season games’ stakes and night to night miracles.

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Aware of this year’s historic audiences, Kevin Durant seemed pleased with the outcome and the content of the NBA Christmas Day games. “Today was a step in the right direction to get people excited again for the game of basketball.” The gold medalist with team USA in the latest Paris Olympics couldn’t help expecting better tomorrows for the league. “Hopefully it’s not just because it’s Christmas. Hopefully they stay invested in the game, invested in each player, each team throughout the rest of the season and not just the playoffs or the Finals.”

"It's not just [me, Steph and LeBron], you see Jokic tonight. You see a hall of famer, an icon in Russ tonight. … It was an amazing day for basketball, I'm grateful I was able to play."

—Kevin Durant wraps up NBA Christmas in the perfect way 🏀 pic.twitter.com/wPKcXEk4D9
— ESPN (@espn) December 26, 2024