Did the NBA product suddenly suck when viewership dropped by 50% when MJ 1st retired?

[Joe Sixpack]

Kobe fans destroyed the league.

Everything that we’re seeing now is a byproduct of disingenuous, cynical, ring culture fanbase.

Well ask yourself, what great player benefits most from context-less counting of rings. When did ring culture go into hyper mode? It’s when Bron became a threat to Kobe. So let me get this straight you’re a better scorer but I score the same ppg as you, I score more than you in the playoffs, I avg more assists, more rebounds, im more athletic, im doing more with less. Kobe had literally nothing on Lebron expect…..

RANGZ.

So in order to stave off lebron, it ushered in the ideology that your stats don’t matter, you playing the game the right way don’t matter. Your regular season don’t matter, reaching the finals don’t matter in fact if you lose ima make it a negative. All that matters is ngga lemme see them RAAANGZ

Ffwd that same mentality has led to: your regular season don’t matter, your playoffs don’t matter, your all star game don’t matter, nothing matters at all except the chip. And guess what we gon dismiss that too if we don’t like you. Bron got a ‘bubble ring’. Tatum wins a ring it’s ‘but you didn’t do it with aura’, and ‘JB is better’. League is cooked bc the fanbase is cooked and that’s the genesis

They ruined this board too

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

I don't know about immediately but the Heat/Knicks series and later on the Pistons and Spurs were tough to watch. Heat/Knicks at least had the fukkery of potential fights breaking out but it wasn't well played basketball. It was just pure goon shyt.

The thing that made the NBA exciting in that era was individual personalities like Iverson coming into the league, then Kobe, Vince, T-Mac etc. who had great 1 v. 1 skills..

 

[WesCrook]

Those Lenny Wilkens Hawks and Cavaliers coached teams and Mike Fratello Hawks and Cavs coached teams were mid af.....despite consistently winning 50 games per season.

 

[RedBull]

No it didnt. CBS made it about Lakers vs Celtics.

Ring culture started with MJ. There’s a reason why MJ’s 63 points at Boston Garden was celebrated, and that was in a series where the Bulls got swept. That performance wasnt dismissed.


How old were you then?

Reb, we’re about the same age or I might be a year or two older, so don’t run that age line with me.

Magic Johnson was the loudest about who had the most rings BACK THEN because that was the determining factor between him and Larry. The Ring culture GAINED traction and became a real topic in the Jordan debates, but it didn’t start there.

To further my point, who’s talking about rings with who? Before Jordan’s 6 back at the ASG ‘97. Ring talk started before Mike.

 

[Brozay]

1994 NBA All-Star Game Viewership Drop**
Following Jordan’s retirement, the 1994 NBA All-Star Game saw a 40.3% decline in viewership, dropping from 22.91 million viewers in 1993 (the most-watched All-Star Game ever at the time) to 13.7 million viewers in 1994.

Regular Season Viewership Trends
During Jordan’s peak with the Chicago Bulls (1993–1998), the NBA regular season averaged 3.725 million viewers**. After his retirement, the 1999–2000 season saw a **43% drop** to 2.1 million viewers . This decline was part of a broader post-Jordan trend, with viewership falling by nearly half compared to the 1995–96 peak (2.99 million) .

Id imagine the lockout contributed heavily to the decline in 1999 regular season viewership

 

[NYC Rebel]

Reb, we’re about the same age or I might be a year or two older, so don’t run that age line with me.

Magic Johnson was the loudest about who had the most rings BACK THEN because that was the determining factor between him and Larry. The Ring culture GAINED traction and because a real topic in the Jordan debates, but it didn’t start there.

To further my point, who’s talking about rings with who? Before Jordan’s 6 back at the ASG ‘97. Ring talk started before Mike.

Doesnt change that NBA discussions didn’t center around rings until MJ and NBC.

 

[NYC Rebel]

Id imagine the lockout contributed heavily to the decline in 1999 regular season viewership

It dropped like mad in 94.

 

[RedBull]

Doesnt change that NBA discussions didn’t center around rings until MJ and NBC.

Proof in your face. But okay.

 

[NYC Rebel]

Proof in your face. But okay.

Thats Magic talking shyt. That has nothing to do with how the game was covered. Ring Culture post MJ has dismissed a lot of ringless greats

 

[RedBull]

Thats Magic talking shyt. That has nothing to do with how the game was covered

Like I said, it started with him and Bird. It gained traction and became broader with Jordan. The poster said it started with Kobe, that’s false, you said it started with Jordan, that’s false.

 

[NYC Rebel]

Like I said, it started with him and Bird. It gained traction and became broader with Jordan. The poster said it started with Kobe, that’s false, you said it started with Jordan, that’s false.

Nope. Ring culture started with the three peat MJ pulled off. The dismissing of ringless player culture started post MJ.

https://www.basketballnetwork.net/old-school/ron-harper-claims-that-ring-counting-began-with-michael-jordan-during-his-comeback

Dumping Them Out: Rings Culture Ruined Sports

Welcome back to an extra special Super Bowl episode of Dumping Them Out. In honor of the Super Bowl, I will be writing a blog that belittles the importance of winning one, and belittles the importance...

www.barstoolsports.com

 

[Field Marshall Bradley]

It already sucked when MJ was playing.

League was watered down for the most part

 

[Field Marshall Bradley]

90s basketball was ass lol. It would have been in the gutter without MJ.

Expansion is the main reason it took a dip for most of the 90s

 

[RedBull]

Nope. Ring culture started with the three peat MJ pulled off. The dismissing of ringless player culture started post MJ.

https://www.basketballnetwork.net/old-school/ron-harper-claims-that-ring-counting-began-with-michael-jordan-during-his-comeback

Dumping Them Out: Rings Culture Ruined Sports

Welcome back to an extra special Super Bowl episode of Dumping Them Out. In honor of the Super Bowl, I will be writing a blog that belittles the importance of winning one, and belittles the importance...

www.barstoolsports.com

Nowhere in his OPINION did he prove that it STARTED with Jordan. You can fight it all you want, it started with Larry and Magic.

 

[Field Marshall Bradley]

Fans even bond over a shyt product in soccer and football.

Yup. Can’t speak on soccer, but the current NFL product is mid at best… it’s just more pliable because of fantasy leagues and gambling…. Brute force marketing has made it a part of pop culture so to speak…. But the product is not as good as it once was…. IYKYK