The NBA was in an interesting place coming into the 2023 season. Viewership is probably the most talked about aspect of the NBA’s success, and while it’s both true and a bit exaggerated, the NBA was nonetheless stagnant. The stigma surrounding the league has been that there’s an effort problem. From stars sitting out games to mid-season regular season games just not having the effort worth paying to see, fans, media, and NBA executives alike were frustrated and confused.
Again, equal parts true and exaggerated, that stigma was making its way all the way up the chain of command in the NBA.