The beginning of an NBA season is always fun because every team is starting from the same point. Technically, each team has the same opportunity to win an NBA championship. Of course the way of the land reveals itself once the games begin. But this season has had a different start to it. In what seems to be a somewhat unprecedented occurrence, a few of the NBA’s biggest stars are injured to start the season. Former league MVP Joel Embiid was not ready to start the season, even after playing in the Olympics in Paris. His new star teammate Paul George unfortunately hyperextended his knee during this year’s pre-season. Lastly, the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard has been recovering from off-season surgery. I think the lower ratings thus far is directly correlated to this.

Clearly, as fans of the NBA, we watch the games for the stars, and how they match up against one another. But when they’re absent, it sort of deflates everything. The intrigue gets lost. And in this new age of load management, guys are sitting sometimes for arbitrary or ambiguous reasons. It’s a tough sell for the fans of the game.

Viewership in the NBA has been declining, per @awfulannouncing:

• ESPN’s Opening Doubleheader:
•Averaged 1.6 million viewers, down 42% from 2023’s debut with Victor Wembanyama.

• Bucks vs. 76ers: 1.71 million viewers (down from 2.55 million for Celtics vs. Knicks in 2023).… pic.twitter.com/qAIJCCaXrp
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 30, 2024

Let’s start with Kawhi Leonard for example. It is just dumb luck that the Clippers’ owner Steve Balmer is without Leonard for the beginning of the season. The Clippers opened a new arena in Inglewood dubbed the Intuit Dome. Leonard is to be a huge part of helping sell the venue out from night to night. Unfortunately due to an off-season procedure on his knee, this isn’t the case. He has had an extensive injury history, and Balmer extended his contract in good faith. So I’m sure that it’s disappointing that the Clippers have to conjure up a way to be competitive in yet another season.

In the case of the 76ers’ Joel Embiid, it isn’t readily known why he wasn’t ready for the start of the NBA season. He won a gold medal with team USA this past summer, seemingly without incident. As far as we could see, there was know injury. Compounded by an injury to Paul George in the pre-season, fans have to wait to see how good the 76ers actually are. It didn’t help that while on the sidelines during the pre-season, Embiid mentioned that he may never play in back-to-back games again. This once again deflates fan interest and vigor for the product. It was a media misstep that I think he will learn from ultimately.

Without the excitement that the stars bring to the table, fans don’t feel the urgency to watch games. That’s especially the case when the football season is in full swing, and the Yankees and Dodgers are in the World Series. I’m not surprised by these lower returns. However, I’m sure it won’t define this season. As players get healthier, these games will certainly grab our attention. But it will continue to be evident to the NBA, that they need to find ways to get more clarity on some of these phantom injuries. One could surmise, some of it is getting out of hand now.

Joel Embiid

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