LeBron James and Steph Curry continue to dominate viewership in absence of new ‘face of the NBA’

LeBron James and Steph Curry continue to dominate the NBA's viewership, merchandise as well as fan engagement charts.

LeBron James and Steph Curry continue to dominate viewership in absence of new ‘face of the NBA’

NBA veterans LeBron James and Steph Curry still lead fan engagement

Over the past few years, the NBA as a league saw a steady decline in viewership. Fans and media members questioned if the reduced quality of today’s game had something to do with it even though veteran superstars such as LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant still dominated the league.

Fans and analysts wondered if the overuse of three pointers was the reason. Or was it something to do with the fact that the league was overbearing on their reliance on these veteran superstars. When fans wanted change, no one came out to snatch the mantle from them.

At one point it seemed as if Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander were willing to take up that challenge of becoming the next face of the league. All three of them have managed to do a lot for their respective teams in terms of performance over this season.

SGA’s Oklahoma City Thunder finished top of the league. Doncic’s Lakers are top three in the west and will face Edwards’ Timberwolves in the first round. Those results should have excited viewers enough which would translate to higher viewer ratings.

As per the NBA, the trio are creeping up the viewership charts, but they are still nowhere near the top two veterans. The league released a list of players along with their respective viewership numbers across the season. LeBron James and Steph Curry top the table with 3.23 billion and 2.56 billion views respectively.

The next best is Luka Doncic at 1.82 billion views. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ranks 7th with 1.06 billion views and Anthony Edwards clocked just 800 million views. Those are abysmal numbers when considering they are supposed to be the next faces of the league.

LeBron James and Steph Curry at the top of jersey sales too

The viewership numbers show the other younger players have a lot to do if they are to start drawing as much attention as the veteran duo. LeBron James and Steph Curry have been in the league for a long time. They cannot go on forever, which means the NBA needs a new face.

Thankfully, the league saw a new name at the top of the jersey sales charts. Luka Doncic topped the leaderboard, but most of it could be due to his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. His new fans waited overnight to get their hands on his jerseys, and even his former Dallas Mavericks fans have bought his Lakers jersey.

Other than that, No. 2 on the list is Stephen Curry, and No. 3 is LeBron James. It is quite remarkable that Curry, who has been with the Golden State Warriors the past sixteen seasons still sells the most jerseys. Similarly, James’ no. 23 Lakers jersey is quite well-known, but still does not stop fans from purchasing it.

Doncic’s trade played a hand in pushing him up the charts. But the other younger players did not come close to the top. This is a serious problem for the NBA as it needs its next faces to topple the veterans. They cannot expect to ride on their coattails for far too long.

Ja Morant’s highlights top the charts

The NBA also released details of how much social engagement they have managed to gather. They revealed that Ja Morant‘s two acrobatic layups against the Brooklyn Nets on November 4th are the most watched plays of this past regular season.

Fans have watched those plays twice more than Steph Curry’s behind-the-back crossover and finish against the Phoenix Suns on December 28th. Hopefully, the Memphis Grizzlies superstar can build on those viral clips. Along with his most recent weapons inspired celebrations, Morant has been trending.

His most recent grenade celebration has taken the sporting world by storm. More and more athletes are incorporating it into their repertoire in various disciplines. The NBA tried to shut down his finger guns celebrations. But if they see that the grenade is drawing interest, they might abstain from reprimanding him.