HereComesJustice | Spurs

332 | 3 hours ago

Lmao it wasn’t 15 ye-

Oh my god

Recent_Surprise_7391 | Suns

118 | 3 hours ago

We are just as close to the bubble as the bubble was to Lebron’s last game for the heat

imthemap45

37 | 3 hours ago

WHAT THE FUCK, i just did the math and lebrons last game as a heat and the first nba regular season bubble was 2237 days.

kobes death and now is 2220 days, in just 18 days that time span will be larger than lebrons last heat game and the start of the bubble

bubbasnub | Magic

12 | an hour ago

Yeah if we could stop doing this math, it’d be great thanks

sunpar1 | Nets

41 | 3 hours ago

Oh fuck, so there’s high school seniors who don’t remember ever seeing LeBron on the Heat? Wtf

FireMike_PleaseGod

19 | 3 hours ago

Crazy to think about. Not seeing Lebron on the heat is like never seeing MJs 90-94 run. Everyone knows it was the peak even if not their most refined game.

sunpar1 | Nets

1 | 3 hours ago

Aptly enough, I am just old enough to remember MJ’s last season before baseball. That’s the first season I have some memory of watching.

skullcandy541

2 | an hour ago

Fuck you for putting it like that 😂

cleo22270 | Heat

9 | 3 hours ago

You and me both, buddy.

joshdej | NBA

3 | an hour ago

People born i 2010 can drive in the US this year…

stevelevets

115 | 3 hours ago

He was also living in Miami at the time doing a daily sports show. But it also shows that the actual games aren’t any more or less important now than they used to be but the coverage has completely changed. A large part of it too is that local coverage of sports has been obliterated in that time frame at all, so it then falls to national outlets to pick up slack and they’ve been decimated – albeit in a slightly different sense – as well.

Also, making every game a referendum on LeBron’s legacy didn’t just end with Miami and extended to his second stint with Cleveland and was absolutely horrid for NBA coverage and discourse overall.

Pickleskennedy1

14 | 3 hours ago

A very good point. It’s a shame that print media in particular has been decimated and replaced with a great deal of misinformation and engagement baiting online

MortimerCanon

74 | 3 hours ago

Bomani maybe saying the quiet part out loud about how NBA media/himself/ESPN absolutely ruined basketball by constantly talking about legacy, what every facial feature meant, if they didn’t beat the Celtics on a February Tuesday night, what they meant for the team, instead of actually ever talking about fucking basketball. Good job Bomani.

EmbarrassedRing7806 | Lakers

1 | 17 minutes ago

The thing is, I don’t think anybody thought “hm lets be annoying and talk about his legacy hehe.” It kinda naturally happened.

LeBron’s career was unlike anything we have ever seen. The impact it had, the way he was viewed, the moments he delivered. The media was just a reflection of everybody else.

It really is this transformational before & after with how sports are talked about IMO. Not just basketball.

SchedulePhysical807 | Clippers

38 | 3 hours ago

Hate watching was a real thing. Not many teams these days people hate watch besides the Lakers and even then it’s not on that big of a scale

Barracuda374

34 | 3 hours ago

The Lakers aren’t interesting enough to hate watch. They blow out bad teams but get blown out too often by good teams.

Extension-Click-8271 | Lakers

1 | 22 minutes ago

I hate watch the team every game, crazy.

[deleted]

1 | 2 hours ago

[deleted]

vindictivejazz | Thunder

2 | an hour ago

Thunder might get it if they repeat this year, especially if they also luck into a good draft pick too

Recent_Surprise_7391 | Suns

11 | 3 hours ago

Id argue hate watching is a majority of viewers for some teams. Very few casuals watched the warriors to “admire the greatest team ever assembled”.

BomberManeuver

9 | 3 hours ago

Those Warrior teams were fun to watch and good on both sides of the ball.

thatsmymayo

2 | 3 hours ago

I disagree about the fun part

Recent_Surprise_7391 | Suns

2 | 2 hours ago

You’re on NBA Reddit, ofc you would think this

Illustrious-Share312

1 | an hour ago

It wasn’t fun if you hated them.

Starfreeze | Supersonics

2 | an hour ago

15 and 16 warriors were a fun watch. After KD i would say yeah most of us were hatewatching.

LTIRfortheWIN | Spurs

9 | 3 hours ago

Oh I hate watch the clippers

Top_Willingness_6858

1 | an hour ago

It’s not just that. Today’s players aren’t all that interesting to watch tbh. Drose with Bulls was more exciting to watch than any player in today’s game.

Ilil9nbxclli1

-1 | 3 hours ago

Too many games. Most real rivalries are dead outside of a few in football.

Players and statisticians also figured it out.

captain_ahabb | Lakers

2 | 2 hours ago

Baseball rivalries are very much alive

Ilil9nbxclli1

-3 | 2 hours ago

Not from a casual fan perspective.

BOS vs NYY use to be a big deal. Now it’s a nothing burger just like the BOS at LA NBA game last night.

It happens too frequently and the stakes are too low for it to matter.

captain_ahabb | Lakers

1 | 2 hours ago

Yeah because Boston hasn’t been that good since the Mookie trade.

Go to a Dodgers/Padres game and talk to the casual fans there.

Ilil9nbxclli1

1 | an hour ago

Lmao at thinking the Padres are even in the same realm as the Red Sox in popularity.

You just proved my point.

No one cares about the Padres. Never heard a single person ever say they live and breath Padres baseball.

captain_ahabb | Lakers

0 | an hour ago

When was popularity established as a goalpost in this conversation?

I’m also sorry to hear you haven’t been to San Diego. It’s a lovely city.

Ilil9nbxclli1

0 | an hour ago

Bro no one cares about the Padres. This whole conversation has been about meaningful rivalries. The padres are completely irrelevant on a national stage which automatically disqualifies them from a meaningful rivalry.

Mine as well of said your local little league team.

I’ve been to San Diego well over ten times. It’s great city but it’s no sports city. Full of transplants. Stop it.

captain_ahabb | Lakers

0 | an hour ago

No, it was about rivalries.

You inserted the word “meaningful” to move the goalposts.

The padres are completely irrelevant on a national stage

Completely untrue statement. They’ve been one of the most talked-about teams in baseball for half a decade.

I’ve been to San Diego well over ten times. It’s great city but it’s no sports city.

Now I know you’re making shit up. I was out there last year and it was wall to wall Padres gear in every bar and restaurant.

Ilil9nbxclli1

1 | 17 minutes ago

Bruh San Diego has literally lost a NFL team and 2 basketball teams. They are not a sports city. It is a city of transplants.

I said “real rivalries”. It’s not a real meaningful rivalry. No one says “padres playing dodgers I gotta watch tonight”. It wouldn’t even make it on national TV.

San Diego is a terrific city. I go there all the time for work. But it’s one of the worst sports towns relative to its population in the USA.

TheBigF128 | United States

1 | an hour ago

Or any NL Central matchup. Honestly, any Midwest matchup outside of the NBA always go crazy

captain_ahabb | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

There’s a nice little hate triangle in the NL East too.

Gryphon999 | Bucks

1 | 32 minutes ago

any NL Central matchup

FTC!

peanut-britle-latte | Knicks

39 | 3 hours ago

He’s right. The first season of the Heatles was prime content. There are very few moments in modern NBA when a team captures the zeitgeist like 2011 Miami, and it probably will never happen again given load management.

Prime GS also had that vibe in 2015-2017.

Ok-Topic-6095 | Spurs

-3 | 2 hours ago

I mean, its more the salary cap than load management? Like, if somehow in 4 years Cooper Flagg, Anthony Edwards and Wemby conspired to join the same team in the West, we’d probably get the same level of media hype (assuming no injuries and exepected continued development)

Penguinho

19 | 3 hours ago

Every single game mattered for the Heat. But the regular season didn’t matter that much for pretty much any other team. I don’t think the point Bomani is making stands up; if anything, it’s the opposite. The Heat didn’t even matter that much – it was just the media getting one player to take over the whole NBA story.

Van_life_fantasy

5 | an hour ago

dont agree. it was a viciuos regular season for their rivals too, bulls, celtics, pacers at various times.

Deep-Structure7250

14 | 3 hours ago

The Heat were also the most entertaining basketball team to watch. They ran the most exciting fast break that always ended in dunks. Just a spectacle to watch

chapoktt | United States

1 | 9 minutes ago

Some of the most fun times I ever had watching basketball. I was in middle school and I damn near cried when the Bulls beat them on that 27 game win streak I think it was lol.

Hot_Injury7719 | Knicks

9 | 2 hours ago

I honestly think KD joining the Warriors broke the regular season. After that, it felt like whatever happened in the regular season was pointless because the Finals were already decided. By the time KD left, “load management” was a thing and full steam ahead.

The same thing didn’t happen to the Heattles because the Heat weren’t some powerhouse when Bron joined them, but there also was the curiosity/hate watch aspects of seeing if the team would really be as good as expected.

weirdsignal45 | Spurs

5 | 2 hours ago

I definitely think the KD Warriors share the brunt of the blame here but I think just the fact that we had Warriors vs Cavs 4 years in a row with only 2 of those being competitive really killed a lot of momentum and interest the league had in the early 2010s. Off the top of my head, I don’t think that’s ever happened in the league. Even in the dominance of the Lakers vs Celtics in the 60s and 70s was broken up every few years.

JoeBiden2020FTW | Lakers

0 | an hour ago

I think the opposite.

Steph Curry and the Warriors were incredible for the NBA. And that’s reflected in ratings.

It was everything after that - the fixation on propping up teams like OKC and Indiana with the new CBA - that destroyed ratings.

CyclingThruChicago | Bulls

2 | an hour ago

I think that is part of it but there are also other factors.

The NBA making it so that 20 of 30 teams are alive for the post season between the play-in and playoffs. Since basketball is so star driven it’s basically guaranteed that all of the superstars/stars WILL be in the post season. So why care about game 47 being played on a random Wednesday when the stars are likely going to end up all playing when it matters?
Lack of a super team. Whether people are rooting for or against them, they bring eyes to the league. And it’s not just about being the best team, it’s about a team having that star power/draw.
The volume of threes. Teams shoot threes a ton. Last season the NBA averaged nearly 38 three point attempts per game with ~92,500 total threes attempted. In 2014-2015 teams averaged 22.4 threes per game with ~55,000 total threes attempted. Nearly 38,000 more threes being attempted is an insane increase in just about 10 years worth of play. They make for a lot of blow outs, bad shooting nights and lack of interesting games at times.

Hot_Injury7719 | Knicks

1 | 27 minutes ago

I agree with those points too. For your first point - the play in was a bandaid to curtail tanking, which I think helped a little. But overall, just created other issues because it’s a half assed measure.

MddlingAges | Knicks

1 | 41 minutes ago

I’d say it’s cyclical. Champions in the middle of dynasties don’t always take the regular season seriously. When there’s a new champion who does - OKC early this season - it’s a big deal, depending on the team. The Heatles, the Kobe Lakers, the MJ Bulls, they were all larger than life. OKC not as much, just the way it is.

Yes, the Heat regular season with a wins streak was a very big deal, but it’s not like a lost era or anything. Happened with the Warriors, and earlier with the Bulls if not the Kobe Lakers.

imperialmoose | Bulls

6 | 3 hours ago

What’s an A1?

captain_ahabb | Lakers

20 | 3 hours ago

A-1 is the first page of a newspaper

Nuclearfarmer | Cavaliers

12 | 2 hours ago

And a news paper was a thing that was like Reddit, in the form of a book, printed daily.

EmbarrassedRing7806 | Lakers

1 | 17 minutes ago

Book?

imperialmoose | Bulls

5 | 3 hours ago

Thanks.

Erosun

6 | 2 hours ago

That truly was a crazy time lol people legit made it out to be a criminal offense that LeBron committed.

And everyone ate that shit lol could not go anywhere and people not talking bout those games.

Extension-Click-8271 | Lakers

1 | 21 minutes ago

ESPN had a dedicated section on their home page called Heat Watch lol

Vegetable-Tooth8463 | Hornets

6 | 3 hours ago

A1s?

noochies99 | Heat

17 | 3 hours ago

Top story/segment on TV programs?

Vegetable-Tooth8463 | Hornets

2 | 3 hours ago

oh

donkadunny | Celtics

6 | 3 hours ago

The Heatles were not 15 years a-….. oh my god.

Eltneg | 76ers

1 | 11 minutes ago

My exact reaction lol, legit the oldest I’ve ever felt

MrBuckBuck | Trail Blazers

5 | 3 hours ago

The full segment. He also mentioned that since the Warriors signed Kevin Durant the regular season did not matter

Fuckblackhorses

4 | 2 hours ago

Oh come on, people have been saying the regular season didn’t matter way before Lebron was even in the league

enyinna7 | Pistons

3 | 2 hours ago

I think a few things changed in that time period

First, Lebron was the biggest sports star in America and he went to the finals 8 of 10 years. 4-5 of those 10 years the Warriors were also in the finals. Because of those two phenomena, there was an overwhelming feeling that the regular season was window dressing for the finals: whether they would get there and who would win was the only thing to talk about.

Second, local sports media cratered. Where you used to have at least one major newspaper covering every game for the local team, you have far less coverage today. To hear about your team, you have to rely on national writers that aren’t going to focus on bad/average teams for very long.

Third, fractured TV rights make following the regular season very difficult. For example, I have league pass but I would need to also have peacock and espn to watch the Pistons play this week. Even worse, watching your local team in your local market means getting a subscription to a local sports network that is constantly shifting ownership.

I honestly think the best way to address it would be to put more games on free TV (tubi, league pass without a subscription, etc.) That’s how I became a fan that cares about regular season basketball. The games are still really good; they are just hard to watch consistently.

pragmacrat | Warriors

1 | 17 minutes ago

It didn’t help that the Athletic poached the sports beat writers from local media and put them behind a paywall.

Skinnecott | Heat

3 | 3 hours ago

i promise they were complaining about tanking when bron was in the heat too.i remember it vividly. the bobcats had the lowest win total ever when bron was on the heat

jimb0z_ | CLE

2 | 37 minutes ago

Except the 2011-12 Bobcat’s weren’t trying to tank. Nobody on that team wanted to be remembered for the worst record in NBA history. It was a combination of injuries and legitimately the worst GM of all time, Mr Michael Jordan

That was sad to watch because they were really trying to win down the stretch. And to add insult to injury they didn’t get the #1 pick anyway

MedicineSoup | Trail Blazers

2 | 2 hours ago

It’s a highlight league now. Better learn to ball watch.

GardinerExpressway | Tampa Bay Raptors

2 | 37 minutes ago

Remember when Jim Halpert could have cheated on his wife with a baddie but instead decided to watch a regular season Heatles game?

heat_fan_ | Raptors

1 | 3 hours ago

Shit time flies lol

HOFredditor | Warriors

1 | 3 hours ago

I blame the dubs losing in 2016

FirstPreparation8538 | Pacers

1 | 3 hours ago

Mike tirico on ESPN was my fav era

GoRangers5 | Nets

1 | 2 hours ago

Bo not being the most reliable narrator here because the LeBron Heat years were the exception, not yesterday’s norm.

TooCozy21 | Lakers

1 | an hour ago

The NBA currently lacks a marquee team that is box office.

FowlZone | Knicks

1 | an hour ago

and it was absolutely fucking insufferable.

SpareMushrooms

1 | 29 minutes ago

No way!! A-1’s?!?

jumboponcho | Hawks

1 | 9 minutes ago

We really were spoiled with the Heatles to Steph years, I haven’t had that type of excitement about the regular season since then. I’m curious to see what the Spurs turn into. Wemby is a generational talent who’s outspoken, and he plays alongside some entertaining guys who can bring eyes back.

JoeBiden2020FTW | Lakers

0 | an hour ago

And Adam Silver’s response?

Change the CBA to prevent anything like the Heatles from ever happening again!

Bomani Jones on the importance of the regular season today vs 15 years ago: “The LeBron Miami Heat, for 4 years, every game they played mattered. We were doing A-1s on television shows basically every time the Heat played.”