NBA Finals Ratings Shows League's Decline For Embracing Woke
The NBA Finals ratings suffered because of the league's woke politics.
NBA Ratings Suffer From Woke Streak
The 2022-23 NBA Finals averaged 11.6 million viewers — the league's fourth-lowest total in the last 30 years.
Denver and Miami's five-game series underperformed against last year's Golden State vs. Boston matchup (12.4 million) and barely passed 2021's Bucks versus Suns Finals (10.8 million).
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At the height of the NBA's woke activism in 2020, amid the George Floyd riots and BLM uprisings, the Finals recorded its lowest viewership, averaging 9.6 million viewers.
This year's Game 5 totaled 13.08 million viewers.
By comparison, the fairly one-sided CFB Georgia vs. TCU National Championship game averaged 17.2 million viewers. The championship game was the lowest number since 1999 due to the uneven matchup (sorry TCU fans).
The women's basketball championship between LSU and Iowa nearly peaked at 12.6 million viewers this year.
The NBA deliberately went big on woke and is seeing tremendous losses.
All Power To The NBA Players
In Aug. 2022, OutKick founder Clay Travis bashed the NBA for suspending all games on the day of the Midterms for the first time ever — swayed by the narrative to vote for Dems or suffer a "crisis point" in America's history.
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"We have to be lectured about how we should vote by people, many of whom have never ever voted before themselves. And are a part of the left-wing sheep brigade."
In bed with China and heralding players like LeBron James, whose progressive politics nearly overshadow his game, the NBA stakes its claim as the most woke of all American leagues.
NBA stars showed how much autonomy it has on the league by embracing the "load management" tag and freely taking games off in 2022.
As a result of the NBA's dereliction, thousands of fans shelled out hundreds of dollars to watch their favorite players live and were left disappointed.
One can argue that if the NBA weren't so laissez-faire with player behavior, Ja Morant wouldn't be stuck in a predicament.
NBA In Bed With China
The NBA fights an uphill battle as they continue to bow to its players and financially handcuff itself to China; and, by extension, is subject to the whim of the CCP.
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The league, influenced by China, targeted former Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey's back after he tweeted support for the sovereignty of Hong Kong's people against the Chinese Communist Party in 2019.
NBA Media Is SUPER Woke
Morey's support for Hong Kong cost the NBA nearly $400 million in losses when China started to pull games and sponsorships.
Also, keep in mind the abundance of wokeism in the NBA media compared to other sports coverage.
Guys like Kendrick Perkins and Mark Jackson based their decision for last season's MVP based on the color of the player's skin.
J.J. Redick mocked Texas' gun laws to defend the misguided Ja Morant.
And NBA sportscaster Mark Jones continues to climb the ranks of woke commentators.
To name a few.
The NBA managed to make an entertaining sport unwatchable ... that's saying something.