INDIANAPOLIS — One of the major storylines surrounding the NBA this year has been the debate about the next “face” of the league. As superstars like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant approach the end of their careers, it’s unclear who exactly will carry the league moving forward.
It’s an arbitrary question, but one with consequences that can be defined quantitatively. NBA Finals viewership has steadily declined since 2018, the last time James and the Cavaliers battled Curry and the Warriors, and this year has seen the most drastic fall so far. The first two games of the NBA Finals have averaged 8.84 million viewers, less than half of the first two games in 2018.
The decline is, in part, due to Indiana and Oklahoma City being two of the league’s smallest markets. However, it can also be attributed to the lack of star power on both sides. While the Thunder roster includes 2025 MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Pacers have rising star Tyrese Haliburton, neither has star power similar to that of James, Curry, and Durant.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver admitted so himself at a press conference before Game 1.
“I think Shai is an enormous star. Tyrese is a huge star. Pascal [Siakam]. In fairness, not at the level of some other stars that we’ve had in this league, and maybe not as prominent as some players currently still playing in the league,” Silver said.
Social followers depict the gap between Gilgeous-Alexander, Haliburton, and the league’s brightest stars. Gilgeous-Alexander is 30th in the league with 4.4 million Instagram followers, while Haliburton is 46th with 1.6 million, according to information from the data and insights company Two Circles. Many of the players ahead of Gilgeous-Alexander, 27, and Haliburton, 25, are veterans in the league, but they trail some players with similar experience, including Trae Young and Devin Booker.
Silver, however, argued that playoff success is what will elevate those stars to the level of their contemporaries, which will come from playing in the Finals.
“I would only say that those players—say LeBron and Steph or Kevin Durant, who are better known nationally and globally than some of these players—they are in those positions because of their success on the floor. … It’s my expectation that whoever comes out of this championship series will rise to the next level almost automatically,” Silver said.
There’s validity to Silver’s argument. James, for all of his hype, even leading up to the 2003 NBA draft, was part of one of the least-watched Finals in 2007. That was a battle between two relatively small markets (Cleveland and San Antonio), and James was only in his fourth year in the league.
Haliburton and Gilgeous-Alexander have also seen their social followings grow during the playoffs and are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in terms of Instagram followers gained. Gilgeous-Alexander has also gained nearly a million followers since the beginning of the year, around the time it became clear that he was a legitimate MVP candidate.
However, what truly helped push the likes of James, Curry, and Durant was the consistency of their runs to the Finals. It’s much more difficult to assume the Thunder and Pacers will make the Finals year after year—even with Oklahoma City’s war chest of assets—considering the designed parity the league has achieved in recent years, which includes a record seventh-straight new champion this year.
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