It’s only been a few days since Shaq’s comments on the current state of play in the NBA. It didn’t take long for some interesting pushback from the highest levels of the Association. Highest? Yeah, how about straight from the NBA Commissioner himself.
On his podcast – the Big Podcast With Shaq – a week or so ago (as of this posting date), O’Neal talked about this year’s NBA TV ratings. They’re down a bit, at least at this point in the season, and Shaq put the blame on the current-day style of play.
Shaq said ratings have declined because “We’re looking at the same thing. Everybody is running the same plays.” He also talked about the way just about everyone is leaning (heavily!) on the three-point shot. That was Shaq’s bottom line: “I didn’t mind Golden State back in the day shooting threes, but every team isn’t a 3-point shooter. So why [does] everybody have the same strategy? I think it makes the game boring.”
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
Apparently, Shaq’s comments reached the highest heights of the NBA offices in New York. The Commish himself – Adam Silver – made some comments during an appearance at an industry conference. Silver said, “There was so much diversity in Shaqi’s game, I can’t believe he said that.”
Did you catch the sarcasm there? Yeah, we did too. Shaq’s game was the absolute best-in-class, yet it was also pretty one-dimensional. Shaq was the king of the bruising, low-post style of O’Neal. In playing days, he was a towering 7-foot-1 and about 330 pounds, setting the definition of “dominating” for the close-in game.
Silver added to his comments, saying, “I respect his opinion. I think that we pay a lot of attention to what we see in our game. … Sometimes there’s more appreciation for a 12-foot jumpshot than a 30-foot jumpshot. When Shaq played, it was the exact opposite.” Silver recognized Shaq’s complaints that there’s not enough variation in today’s game, that it’s all about 3-point shots and inside dunks.
Silver said the game has indeed changed, saying today’s NBA is more about what he called “highly skilled shooters.” He talked about moving the 3-point line back a bit, to make the three-ball even more challenging.
Of course it’s all about the ratings and the money those numbers generate, and that’s something Silver is very interested in and talked about. “This is a good opportunity this season as we’re about to enter into three 11-year television deals to step back and study the game a bit. … Our game has never been more popular. I’m not saying there aren’t things we could do. … There is something to what he’s saying. No one would want to see every team play the same offense.”
Ratings are always a huge concern for any entertainment, sports or – for that matter – just about anything on TV or the internet. The NBA is in the middle of drawing up new broadcast and streaming rights contracts. We’ve done a lot of coverage on that story – and how it will affect Shaq and the rest of the Inside the NBA crew – on other posts here on the blog.
Will new TV / streaming deals mean pressure from broadcast partners to make changes in the game? That sounds like a long shot at this point, but – as always – anything is possible.