Giannis Becoming The Latest NBA Star To Openly Talk How He Never Watches Basketball Is A Brutal Look For The League
There are a lot of trends in today's NBA, but one we seem to be getting more and more of is this idea that star players aren't really watching basketball and that playing in the NBA is just a job. They don't truly care like fans do, especially in terms of how they consume the sport. In recent years it's really shown up with guys like Kawhi and Jokic, two quiet guys who have made it very clear they have interests and a life outside of basketball, which is perfectly normal. The second the season ends we hear all these stories about how Jokic doesn't even touch a basketball, he doesn't care about any of the awards or the bullshit that comes with being in the NBA, and he's applauded for it.
But at this point, we may be taking the whole "I actually don't really care or watch about basketball" thing a little too far. Take Giannis for example. He's the latest NBA superstar to openly talk about how he never watches basketball or doesn't do any film study to prepare for his opponents
I'm sorry, what? Is he saying this as some sort of brag? That he has no idea how his opponent plays or their tendencies because he doesn't watch basketball? And that's…..a positive?
Perhaps this is why the Bucks have all their issues. Their franchise player isn't even watching tape it seems. Sure Giannis puts up godly numbers on a nightly basis anyway, but given the fact that his team is currently struggling to beat anyone right now, I'm not sure this is what I would want my best player saying in public. Maybe figuring out how opponents play might help you once the actual games start? I dunno, just an idea.
But this isn't a blog to pick on Giannis, it's a blog that speaks to the larger point of how this impacts the league as a whole. It's certainly not the first time we've heard something like this, in fact, it reminded me of a DeMar DeRozan interview where he said NBA players just play video games and don't watch games
and as fans if we continue to see the biggest names in the sport openly admit to never watching the NBA, why should anyone give a shit? Even accepting that maybe the players just want an escape from their job like any other normal person, listen to what Giannis said. I don't really get the sense that's what he means. He apparently just flat-out doesn't watch, which is a brutal look for Adam Silver's league.
Compare that to his own teammate
and I don't really understand this angle. Not everyone has to be or is capable of being Nikola Jokic, yet now it's the cool thing to talk about how much you don't watch? Call me crazy, but I think it's also pretty cool to see the best players in the NBA actually give a shit. I'm not suggesting every player has to be a basketball sicko that watches every dribble, but this is a tough look.
And hey, maybe Giannis is just joking around in this clip. I'm not sure where the joke is, but I suppose that could be a possibility that he's just having some fun with the media during the All Star festivities. Frankly, I'd much rather someone pull a LeBron and lie to me as a fan by saying they watch everything every single night than Giannis lying to a fan saying he watches nothing. That's just weird.
If I'm Adam Silver though, this would send me into a blind rage. He already has to deal with the current best player in the world and Finals MVP not giving a shit, and now at a time when NBA viewership is on life support, he has perhaps the next face of the NBA in a post-LeBron world being the latest player to openly admit he doesn't even watch the product. I didn't go to business school, but I imagine that's not great for the NBA's business. How are you going to get fans to care and watch your product if the face of your league won't even do it or at the very least jokes about not doing it?
For some reason, in this era of NBA basketball it's become "cool" for the best players in the world to tell us all how much they actually don't give a shit and don't watch the league. Is that a generational thing? Can you ever imagine the legends of the past talking this way? I can't even imagine any of those guys even joking about not caring or not watching.