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The playoffs have been much more interesting without the spectacle that is LeBron James hovering over them.

That's not a knock on Bron. He's incredible and has earned our undivided attention when he's on the court. But, for the first time in what feels like forever, the NBA's other stars are finally getting some breathing room. We're able to talk about Giannis Antetokounmpo's quest to become an all-time great or Luka Doncic's incredible early career playoff dominance that mirrors Michael Jordan's. We can focus on the old guard vs. the new with Steph Curry and Ja Morant and talk about players like Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum fighting to finally get over the hump.

These stories, these players. They're all so interesting. And we've had so much room to explore them. It's been a joy to watch in my opinion.

The NBA has continued to enjoy higher TV ratings as the playoffs continue with the L.A. Lakers and LeBron James sitting on the sidelines, down and out of contention.

For now, the league’s three years of bottom-dwelling TV ratings have come to an end, and the NBA Playoffs have been earning record ratings, besting decades of dismal showings.

The first few games had already resulted in the best ratings in 20 years, and that good fortune seems to have continued as the games rolled on to the final championship contest.

Dupp wrote:Welcome to the Luka era

HotRocks34 wrote:https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2022/05/04/2022-nba-playoffs-lebron-james-fun/9649413002/

The playoffs have been much more interesting without the spectacle that is LeBron James hovering over them.

That's not a knock on Bron. He's incredible and has earned our undivided attention when he's on the court. But, for the first time in what feels like forever, the NBA's other stars are finally getting some breathing room. We're able to talk about Giannis Antetokounmpo's quest to become an all-time great or Luka Doncic's incredible early career playoff dominance that mirrors Michael Jordan's. We can focus on the old guard vs. the new with Steph Curry and Ja Morant and talk about players like Joel Embiid and Jayson Tatum fighting to finally get over the hump.

These stories, these players. They're all so interesting. And we've had so much room to explore them. It's been a joy to watch in my opinion.[/quote


On a related note, the TV ratings for the playoffs are soaring:

https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2022/05/04/nba-playoff-ratings-continue-to-soar-without-lebron-james/

The NBA has continued to enjoy higher TV ratings as the playoffs continue with the L.A. Lakers and LeBron James sitting on the sidelines, down and out of contention.

For now, the league’s three years of bottom-dwelling TV ratings have come to an end, and the NBA Playoffs have been earning record ratings, besting decades of dismal showings.

The first few games had already resulted in the best ratings in 20 years, and that good fortune seems to have continued as the games rolled on to the final championship contest.

I don't usually cite politically-oriented sources like Breitbart, but that's where the ratings story was so I had to use that article.

No one plays forever. Next year will be LeBron's 20th season and he will be 38 years old.

He's not done, but it is nice to see that the Association appears to be in good shape even as Bron sits out this year's playoffs. That, to me, is a positive sign for the league's future.

life_saver wrote:Unfortunately I took a look at the comment section of that Breitbart article...gosh it's a cesspool. Some of these folks really live in some alternate reality

life_saver wrote:That's clickbait...the ratings have been better than last 2 seasons but not the best ratings I'm 20 years.

Sunday’s Nets-Celtics Game 1 led the way with a 3.1 rating and 6.90 million viewers on ABC, the most-watched opening weekend game in 20 years (2002 Trail Blazers-Lakers: 8.37M) and the most-watched first round game overall in six (2016 Warriors-Rockets: 7.24M).

(snip)

HotRocks34 wrote:

Dupp wrote:Welcome to the Luka era

That may be coming. I'm not sure it's here just yet, but we may be on the verge of it.

He's ready, IMO. Or close to being ready.

Luka, as someone who watches a lot of Mavs games (me), is more competitive and aggressive (in personality) than I realized he was. He wants to dominate, not just win.

Good omen. Just hope he stays healthy.

JRoy wrote:His style seems to pretty low risk in terms of injuries so hopefully we get to watch him for a long time.

KGtabake wrote:20 years of dominance and entertainment.
He did a phenomenal job, the sport is becoming popular worldwide again like in the mid 90s. His contributions cannot be ignored.

Big J wrote:Bron always makes everything about him. It's funny to see him tweeting about the games now so that people still talk about him. The attention on other guys has to be killing him.

An Unbiased Fan wrote:

KGtabake wrote:20 years of dominance and entertainment.
He did a phenomenal job, the sport is becoming popular worldwide again like in the mid 90s. His contributions cannot be ignored.

Eh 10 years, and the sport got big in the 00s worldwide.

life_saver wrote:Unfortunately I took a look at the comment section of that Breitbart article...gosh it's a cesspool. Some of these folks really live in some alternate reality