Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been one of the biggest names of the NBA in his era and has pulled in fans and viewers on games he plays in, and for teams he has been a part of. However, some people have been turned off by his recent mix of politics and sports, including entrepreneur and podcast host Patrick Bet-David.
In one of the recent episodes of the PDB Podcast, Bet-David called out NBA commissioner Adam Silver for allowing left-leaning takes to be a major part of the NBA now and cited big names such as LeBron James and Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr as examples.
“You want me to hear this b******t? Get the f*** out, no we’re not watching this,” Bet-David said, talking about a new left-leaning rant Gregg Popovich made during a post-game presscon. “Adam Silver, it’s on you. I put it on you, I put it on you for walking on eggshells around guys like LeBron and walking on eggshells around guys like Steve Kerr. They don’t respect you, Adam Silver. They don’t look at you as a commissioner—they look at you as a lawyer who got lucky.
“I used to love this game,” PBD added. “[I’m] a die-hard Laker fan until LeBron came over. [I was a] die-hard NBA fan until this spectacle happened.”
Is LeBron James No Longer Pulling Enough Viewers?
LeBron James has been playing for the NBA for more than two decades now and has played for 21 seasons already, with the current 2024-2025 season being his 22nd one. With how long he has been in the league, from his rookie days with the Cleveland Cavaliers to his present tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, the concern of his decline has been repeatedly brought up, as well as his ability to view viewers for the league.
In a report by Front Office Sports, the viewership decline the NBA is facing was attributed to the league not being able to find new superstars that could bring in the same amount of people as Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant did.
“Young stars like Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker have yet to attract the same audience as the aforementioned trio, in part because of their lack of titles,” the report said. “They’ve fallen behind international players like Nikola Jokić and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who, despite their success, haven’t been able to compel U.S. viewers quite like James, Curry, and Durant.”
So far this season, LeBron James averages 22.8 points per game, 9.1 assists, and 8 rebounds.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
