Posted on 11/15/2024 7:45:34 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Shaquille O'Neal says he's bored with basketball. The former Los Angeles Lakers center reacted to a recent report about the NBA's declining ratings by claiming that the league has become too predictable-and he quickly pointed to Stephen Curry, the master of three-pointers, as the reason.
According to a report by Sports Media Watch, ratings for the first two days of the 2024-2025 NBA season dropped by as much as 47% compared to last year, depending on the game.
O'Neal didn't hold back on finding a reason for the ratings decline. On the latest episode of "The Big Podcast with Shaq," the three-time NBA champion claimed that the game has become too predictable and "boring," which he believes is why fans have stopped tuning in.
"I have a theory," Shaq told co-host Adam Lefkoe. "It's down because we're looking at the same thing. Everybody's running the same plays. At the top of the key, dribble handoff," he asserted.
Blaming Stephen Curry The Big Aristotle played in an era dominated by giants like Hakeem Olajuwon, Yao Ming, Ben Wallace, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, and David Robinson, who ruled the NBA in the '90s and early 2000s. So it's no surprise that O'Neal isn't impressed with a game increasingly led by sharpshooters.
"Steph Curry and those guys messed it up," he said. "I didn't mind Golden State back in the day shooting threes, but not every team is a three-point shooter, so why does everybody have the same strategy?"
(Excerpt) Read more at marca.com ...
Gave up bball after the Bird Magic era.
Nope. You are just seeing what you want to see.
Frame by frame it. As the ball comes up from the dribble and contacts Dr. J’s right hand, his right foot is in the air. Then his right foot contacts the floor ONCE until the ball is going through the hoop. 2 steps running, perfectly legal play.
“Exactly. Time to get rid of 3 pt line.” - and raise the basket 18-24 inches.
But I really don’t care ... I quit the NBA about 2005.
NBA was best with Michael Jordan.
Basketball went downhill fast after the Larry Bird era when there was true competition between great players and teams.
Two things are killing the NBA
Wokeism
Thuggery
” A slam dunk is exciting when the dunker is 5’11” or even 6’4”, but not when he’s 7’6”. And tip-ins? No thanks.
Ban dunks and 3 pt shots . ; )
Demographics my man!!
I prefer his era. It was harder to make a basket, for whatever reason. They used to play defense back in the day.
Modern professional basketball game is designed in a way to maximize scoring (to please spectators), to minimize defending (to facilitate scoring) and to maximize profits from attendance fees and advertising (by having a million teams playing every day). It is not a sport, but a gigantic money-making show. No wonder it is losing its appeal.
“Exactly. Time to get rid of 3 pt line.”
I agree. Also, reduce the shot clock from 24 seconds to 20. Will speed up play.
Yeah, yeah. What was that? 5 running “steps” from the midcourt line to the basket without a single dribble?
I lost count of the multiple concerts and Flyers games we saw there until 1973 (departure from Philly...best decision ever!)
Not counting the Blazers games at the Convention Center.
Doctor J fun fact. He NEVER argued with refs over a call. Loved that. He said it was pointless so what would be the point?
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