Adam Silver calls NBA a “highlight sport” while defending the prices

[mson]

That’s a slap in the face to all the players who do the dirty work that doesn’t show up in the highlights but contributes to winning.

The fukk was he thinking?

I’m not even saying the average fan is checking for these players, but he’s essentially telling fans directly that those players don’t matter to the public

How do you think the current players feel about Silver?

 

[kdslittlebro]

How do you think the current players feel about Silver?

Can’t be mad at the bread

 

[feelosofer]

It's wild. I understand making money for your league but basketball still needs to accessible to the layman. Someone should not have to pay potentially hundreds of dollars to watch their team. Every fan is not a casual some people want to watch the game from start to finish.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

That’s a slap in the face to all the players who do the dirty work that doesn’t show up in the highlights but contributes to winning.

The fukk was he thinking?

I’m not even saying the average fan is checking for these players, but he’s essentially telling fans directly that those players don’t matter to the public

He’s not saying anything that hasn’t been obvious for decades now. Folks aren’t checking 82 games of teams they don’t support. That’s why NBA discourse is dominated by box score arguments, because folks microwave what they’re not watching and just use surface numbers and highlights to draw conclusions.

 

[L $ C]

this is disgusting man, I get everytihng is about the bag but we have totally lost any decency anymore its gross

 

[kdslittlebro]

He’s not saying anything that hasn’t been obvious for decades now. Folks aren’t checking 82 games of teams they don’t support. That’s why NBA discourse is dominated by box score arguments, because folks microwave what they’re not watching and just use surface numbers and highlights to draw conclusions.

I know that’s the issue, but this is potentially further fukking up the game for the sake of the “product” (profit).

Don’t double down and tell people to just watch the highlights. Make the game and real discussion more accessible. Silvers just copping out.

The toothpaste is out the tube tho, so it’s already over. General sports discourse is cooked unless you find your corners of YouTube/podcasts

 

[jwinfield]

I mean, whether it's true or not, do you want the commissioner of the league saying this?

This is some slick shyt Goodell would say when talking about how the NFL putting games on during Christmas would take away viewers from the NBA.

 

[Fresh]

is Adam Silver stupid or dumb ?

don't you want your entire games to be taken seriously by fans, especially regular season games where people might not care as much

Adam Silver just wanted that money, fukk Adam Silver, he always doin some dumb shyt

 

[Broad Street Bully]

Hey Adam, we fukking know and that’s the problem with the league goofy dikkhead

 

[Henry Orbit]

Silver calling a faction of his league's audience broke boys

 

[Squirrel from Meteor Man]

An absolutely idiotic statement especially in today’s economy. One of the worst commissioners in professional sports.

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

I know that’s the issue, but this is potentially further fukking up the game for the sake of the “product” (profit).

The consensus of this board was that last season’s playoffs was one of the best we’ve had in recent memory. Keep in mind, a good portion of these same posters had been complaining about the product no longer being watchable for various reasons.

I’d say the game is in a pretty good place that detractors of it quickly switched up their position to find it entertaining again, don’t you think?

Don’t double down and tell people to just watch the highlights. Make the game and real discussion more accessible. Silvers just copping out.

Silver has spoken about this in the past when discussing the topic of how the public consumes the NBA. It’s understood that in 2025 with the league competing with all these different channels of entertainment, watching highlights is how the public keeps up. Folks don’t have the time to be watching 82 game seasons. With the different time zones, games overlapping and the sheer volume of games, the public has always consumed the NBA in this manner.

The modern NBA is a highlight sport in large because of that. This has been established long before Silver was commissioner.

The toothpaste is out the tube tho, so it’s already over. General sports discourse is cooked unless you find your corners of YouTube/podcasts

The exact reason why I don’t see why there’s all this uproar about what he said. He’s not saying anything we didn’t already know. And I don’t see it as a good/bad thing, I see it as something that is a natural cause.

Apart from when MJ managed to band-aid the league, it’s always been viewed in this manner. It doesn’t have the same societal strings to hold it up like football and baseball do.

 

[nieman]

Everyone knows he's right. The modern fan isn't tuned into the NBA like me and my peers were 30-35 years ago...even as recent as 20 years ago. We couldn't wait for the season to start, watched as many games as we could, went to a few, talked about the game and players after watching. Those days are over.

However, no CEO of any product that actually cares about the product will openly say their product ain't ish, so you don't even need to watch. He's essentially stating we already got paid, the rest of the suits are happy, so who cares what happens in 5 years. He's not even worrying about expanding the fan base, or even maintaining it.b

 

[TEH]

Let a Sith Lord lead your organization crehs.

 

[TEH]

Everyone knows he's right. The modern fan isn't tuned into the NBA like me and my peers were 30-35 years ago...even as recent as 20 years ago. We couldn't wait for the season to start, watched as many games as we could, went to a few, talked about the game and players after watching. Those days are over.

However, no CEO of any product that actually cares about the product will openly say their product ain't ish, so you don't even need to watch. He's essentially stating we already got paid, the rest of the suits are happy, so who cares what happens in 5 years. He's not even worrying about expanding the fan base, or even maintaining it.b

Anyone taking about 30 years ago is not the target demographic for watching games on TV. Sit this one out Pops.