I don't think the NBA is anywhere near it's peak as in the days from Wilt to Jordan, but it's got a worldwide following probably broader and bigger than any of our domestic sports.
I admit I was seeing some good in the NBA strike. Not because I don't like basketball, but because I like college basketball a whole lot more and less NBA would have meant more college on the tube.
Nobody cares...
Get outside their major markets, and find someone who cares. Honestly, their season didn’t start and nobody missed a beat.
Oh sure folks will watch a game if its one, but die hard? IE games not on and it affects their lives? Nope, not at all once you leave their major markets.
Big difference from, yea, I’ll watch the game, and oh yea, I live for the game. NBA does not have a rabid fan base outside a few major markets. A season without NBA is an oh well to most folks... Whereas a year without Baseball or a year without Football would be a major blow to fans everywhere.
End of the day, a pointless strike in a sport that literally no one cares about. Much like NHL strike a while back. Doors closed and no one outside the major markets cared.
NBA is not a defining sport, it, like hockey is a secondary. Folks will watch it, but outside of their major markets, few live for it. They are overlapped by sports that folks truly care about, like football and baseball, so if they don’t have games, nobody really cares.