Make The Finals feel like The Finals. None of this TH-cam TV Mic Ultra crap. Get the trophy on the court, script logo on the court, special espn scoreboard etc. show us starting 5s again too, where’s the pageantry?
@@ghostflame9211yup,for some reasons,they make the ist to become more similar to the old days Finals;like you have a trophy in the middle of the court,that’s interesting and fun too
They should also go back to the 2-3-2 format. It made the finals feel more distinguished then the rest of the playoffs. Don't know why Adam Silver immediately got rid of it. And also, the home and away jersy fluidity kinda takes away from the seriousness of the finals. Home Jerseys for home. Away jerseys for away. If you're going to switch it up. At least have the away jersey matching the home court. It's weird seeing white celtics jersys on a white mavs court, while the home mavs team are wearing black Jersys. Home teams got to at least match the home crowd, man.
It’s not the players and gameplay that lackluster. It’s the presentation. ESPN has changed everything, they fired Mark Jackson, Van Gundy, it doesn’t feel like the playoffs or the Finals. The coverage feels like a regular season game.
Allstar game died. Shortly after, the game itself died. Game sucks. No defense, no smack talk, no fighting, always 20 wise open 3 point shots… ohhh so exciting f off
Why is nobody just considering the fact that it’s just far more expensive to go to games now? And there’s less of a reward to watch it on TV because it’s even more expensive to keep up with all your streaming services. ratings are down because it’s expensive. It’s not because there’s nothing to watch.
Ratings are down because no one wants to watch a Mavs Vs. Celtics. Luka is not that appealing. Tatum lacks charisma, and chokes. Brown and Kyrie are not marketable. Timberwolves vs. Celtics would have been way better. Heck, as much as I can't stand Denver. They too would have been better. Need storylines. This finals was just too random, lop sided, and with boring characters. Don't understand why Adam Silver rigged the WCF to ensure the mavs win. For what? Well... at least the Antman does not have a finals loss on his resume. Unlike the Luka. 0-1. Losing in 5 games? Cmon man.
@@user-dn3fn3bg4lIf Edwards lost to the Mavs in 5 and got blown out in game 5, what makes you think he wouldn’t get swept against the Celtics (they beat the Mavs in 5). You say he doesn’t have a finals loss, but Luka spared him from total embarrassment
ya way too many people are trying to find explanations tied to the actual games and finals themselves, when the real answer is the average person has way less money and free time to actually watch the games much less keep up with the nba season
@@MegaElijah21 yeah, attending games has gotten so expensive that people are losing interest. Why follow a sport when one can't even experience it live anymore?
1. We love NBA on TNT, we love their coverage of the playoffs and it’s always been weird to me that they don’t cover the finals (I know tv rights and everything) 2. ESPN coverage SUCKS. It’s just Stephen A, a ranty general person, Malika, who’s just boring and was given this position, Michael Wilbon who’s another reporter, and Bob Myers???? Stephen A is the only one with any personality and it’s just awful, they bring on players as guest but it just turns into first take. 3. I’m sorry but Doris Burke and JJ Redick were AWFUL in finals coverage. Mike Breen is supposed to be calling the game, and the other 2 provide insight and color commentary. DORIS BURKE IS SO DRY AND SHE JUST SAYS WHAT WE ALREADY SEE. JJ IS EVEN WORSE and he just has that “oh I played in the league hehe” smugness to his commentary that I just can’t stand, so then that forces Mike Breen to have to come up with good quips. 4. No NBA Finals special logo 5. No NBA Finals classic music for intro, break, commercial, and outro, just whatever popular rap music happens to be playing. 6. NO GOOD NBA FINALS COMMERCIALS with historic moments, legacies, celebrations. All they have is this gaudy over the top fancy commercial about the finals (WHY IS JIMMY KIMMEL IN THEM, WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH BASKETBALL) It just feels like regular season games and it just sucked.
@@andre670luizthat’s part of the nba’s design. It’s far more profitable, less basketball, more “aura” = more revenue. Can’t wait to watch real basketball these Olympics
Reason 1: NBA/ESPN hasn't even been promoting it's new stars and still relying on old aging stars that are first round/play-in fodder. They had Giannis-Jokic matchups (Best players in the world, Multiple MVP winners and Champions) on fucking NBA TV. Not having the defending champs and finals MVPs in promos (Again Giannis and Jokic). It'd be one thing if they promoted them and the casuals were not receptive to international players, but they don't even try and its become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Reason 2: NBA/ESPN only cares about a few markets (LA/NY/Insert Big Market here) and they are the only ones that are promoted with any sort of reverence of the moment in basketball history. They treat so many other teams/cities as farm systems and not serious places, they are 30 teams, but if you only watched the nationally televised games you'd think there were max 10 teams. NFL does not do this. It does not have problems promoting Kansas City, Buffalo and Green Bay and holding them in high esteem. Reason 3: A Finals needs to be either be competitive or have an all-time great player/dynasty dominate. Ideally both, but if those all-time greats and their place in the basketball pantheon are not promoted then who would give a shit? This finals had neither unless Boston becomes a dynasty. (Also fuck Denver and Minnesota for losing to teams they were better than) So i guess the main reason is NBA/ESPN Coverage and Advertisement sucks ass. They race through half-time shows and pregame to bombard you with shitty commercials that molest your eyes and ears. and current NBA coverage is about tearing players down instead of building them up. I would have loved to see an NBA Finals covered by TNT in my lifetime but sadly that's never going to happen.
The reason why they put attention on players like LeBron, Steph, and KD is that even in the twilight of their careers, they are still big ratings draws. There’s definitely a lot of young superstars in the league but none of them are megastars like the 3 I mentioned. But I also think the reason you don’t have any young megastars is because they play a different game than the generation before them. They’re more team focused rather the one player on the team taking over the game. Leagues focus on large markets because of the obvious, there’s more people living in that market. You’ll always draw more eyeballs with a game involving New York than one in Orlando. This also goes back to my first point. When small market teams have a megastar, they get that national exposure. Sponsors don’t care about promoting equal talent. They want the most eyeballs they can get and you’ll also get more with a mediocre Lakers team, than a highly competitive Indiana team.
2016 gets super overhyped because of game 7. People were saying the exact same thing about that series being “boring” after it was 3-1 also everyone complained how every game was a blowout before game 5.
Before I watch, they lost some of the presentation that made it feel special and plus people don’t consume media the same way they did 10 years ago. Its still the finals tho
As soon as it was obvious Boston was the better team, the media and content creators gave up and started trashing Boston.. Even if Denver made it and lost to Boston, they'd still trash it the same way..
@@grammysworld5449 I beg to differ on if Denver made it cuz I think if Denver made it the they would played much better series and which would have it more entertaining regardless if Celtics won or not
I think since Adam silver, the nba has put money as a huge priority. We see so much crazy contacts now a days, players being a diva if they don’t get paid more, adding ads to jerseys, getting rid of finals logo but still have sponsorship, sports betting, etc.
@@chrisuncleahmad666 but it isn’t the insanity we see now a days, Scottie Barnes just got 270 million, Jalyn brown $300 million these are absurd numbers
@@zaaribzabin8308 you can’t compare contracts to before. The salary cap was nowhere what it is today and it grows every year. So naturally what was considered a lot of money 20 years ago will be middle of the road today.
Put the finals patch in front of the jerseys. Seeing finals games, it looks like a regular season game. Other sports have patches in front of the jerseys and it gives a big game feel
I miss the epic, slowed down version of the NBA on ESPN theme that they used to play during the finals too (last time they played it was either 2021 or 2022). It totally added to the vibes
I miss the NBA on NBC in the 1990s. When you heard that iconic theme song you knew Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were about to whup a team's ass on the court.
7:21 in fairness to ESPN, this did this also in 2021 for the Suns x Bucks series where every game had a unique intro. I believe Spike Lee was the producer and face of the intros for all 6 games too.
The only thing it's missing is the trophy in the middle. It's like if the superbowl just had the regular home teams touchdowns and they didn't color one for each team. It adds novelty. Also, LETS GO BABY BANNER 18! 🎉🎉
I was looking this comment (except the banner 18 part lol) they need the trophy or at least a “NBA Finals” logo and the “NBA Playoffs” logo need to be bigger
Halfway through this video is when I realized that there were 2 people narrating this video. I thought it was just one guy having a conversation with himself
The production value of the NBA has completely gone downhill. The scoreboard the last 2 years is ATROCIOUS! Our TVs are littered with obnoxious ads which completely kill the immersion. The ESPN announcers suck now that they got rid of Mark Jackson and JVG. The basketball being played was just boring and not a single memorable moment happened this entire Finals besides Pritchard's half court shots. The fans want high production, we want the trophy on the damn court we've been asking for this for 10+ years now (i don't want to hear the "its too slippery" argument because that is just simply not true, look at the IST courts). The Finals have completely lost all of it's charm and the NBA is in a very bad position right now when it comes to brand identity
Its hard to talk about the quality of the Finals without mentioning that its not super captivating when the story is "The team that dominated everybody all year dominated"
People are saying it was a bad finals because the team they wanted to win got destroyed. People use to claim every SB sucked after Tom Brady won, because they were upset that he won.
You clearly don’t understand it, Most of these teams had a significant injury and weren’t at full health to be a serious contender, a Healthy Miami team is dangerous!!
Tbf SB 53 was a godawful game, I sat through that shitshow from start to finish. Anyone who claims otherwise is lying. No one actually enjoys a Super Bowl that has more punts and incomplete passes than first downs.
Everything is watered down and commercialized now. I was born in 96 so I’m grateful I got to see some good shit but even I came in the game way to late. This goes for so many more things rather than just Basketball too. “I feel like I came in at the end, The best is over” - Tony Soprano
@@sportsgamer2342the NHL still has it's fair share of legit rivalries. Really cant say the same about the NBA lately aside from the brief stretch where it looked like the Warriors-Grizzlies had something brewing
@@RR_XII what rivalry is still in the NHL? Yeah you have matchups that go back to the original 6 but they don’t want to rip each others throats out like they did in the 90’s. A lot of them are buddy buddy
Yup, and it wouldn't matter if the Lakers and Celtics face each other in the Finals nowadays because the rivalry is not with the current crop of youngsters. Many of them were not born when those franchises were at each other's throats in the 1980s.
For the casual nba fan, the nba ABSOLUTELY peaked in 1998. Insane continuity, all of the stars from the past decade were still somehow all more successful than the younger ones, and MJ had the world glued to every Bulls game, knowing that they’d only ever get to see the goat (especially at that point) play for one more year
A thing that I miss the most in ESPN's presentation of the NBA Finals, was when they would show the in-arena introductions, video and starting lineups. They haven't done it since the beginning of the Warriors run in the 2010s. It gave broadcasting the NBA Finals a big time feel. Nowadays, watching the NBA Finals is more like watching another regular season game.
The last two Finals were quite mid but I think that's necessary because all the new young faces who showed up in the playoffs are all coming back better and hungrier. We're in for years of legendary Finals soon. There's always gotta be a lull period between generations. I think we literally watched that proverbial torch be passed during Game 1 of the Timberwolves/Suns series when Ant hit that three in KD's face then started barking at him. That *CHEST BUMP* he did, that was the Nexus event.
Bruh that was my finals predication for the last 2 seasons! It just made sense. The two clear best teams in their respective conferences with clashing play styles! Nuggets just ran into the worst matchup nightmare in the TWolves this year unfortunately🤦🏾♂️
Parity is great for the regular season but does not make for a great finals. The reigning champ hasn’t had a chance to defend in the actual finals since when? 2019? Not gonna happen next year either since my Knicks are beating the Celtics
Mavs weren’t a Cinderella run casual 😂😂 they were second best team in the league after all star. Celts were just that good and Luka was injured and Kyrie choked. Nuggets couldn’t shoot for shit either and had the least depth of any playoff team. Celts vs Nuggets last year def would’ve been better tho and Heat were a fluke
The last 2 finals have been a first round series and a second round series, too many players get injured which means the lower seed advances and they get exposed in the finals, we need more 6 and 7 game finals
And who exactly got injured on the Thunder and Wolves for Mavs to whoop their ass? Or are you blaming Kawhi injury for Mavs making finals 😂😂 Mavs were second best team in the league last two months of the season, they didn’t get exposed they just ran out of gas, Luka was injured, and Kyrie choked. Celts were really good and had no test at all during their run while Mavs were the underdog in every series and had to fight. If anyone advanced due to injuries, it was the Celtics 😂
I'm not going to lie; I haven't felt really invested in the NBA finals since 2020. I think it has lost some of its "aura" especially this year, as much as I wanted the Mavericks to win, I wasn't surprised that the Celtics won in such dominate fashion. I'm starting to think the NBA finals really did peak in 2016, because ever since then the NBA really hasn't felt that special.
@@lorddj9910 2019 was not a good finals but the playoff itself was good. 2019 finals were already determined by injures. 2021 and 22 were not good just okay at best.
Increased parity is the biggest reason imo. While streaming is apart of it, even the passionate viewers have been dissatisfied with the lack of “aura”. Teams like dallas or miami would never sneak in with juggernauts like GSW or the jordan bulls. The issue is we see teams that can’t compete making the finals.
Wouldn't parity do the reverse, make finals more competitive? I think the constant injuries and the idgaf attitude by modern players is the bigger issue. Contracts have become so large and bloated it doesnt matter if the players play, let alone if they win. The product is expensive and lousy now
I can’t watch a basketball game because I’m used to football (soccer). We get 45 minutes of action uninterrupted by adverts. Then 15 minutes of ads. Then 45 minutes uninterrupted again. I know in that 15 minutes I won’t miss a thing. When watching basketball you get a 60 second ad break for every stoppage in the game. It’s ridiculous
Rewatch the series and tell me this again with a straight face. Games 1, 4, 5, and 6 were all close in the fourth quarter until a team just pulled away. Pseudo blowouts
Facts and it's not even athletes. Celebrities in all professions/industries have all lost their aura/mystique due to social media and a fragmented media landscape.
I like the point proven by youtuber SWISHOUT. Basketball is about team sport, but it is NEVER about fairness. Its about superstars. You cant have a stable brand if the champions switches every year. You don't want to be too dominant that it becomes boring. But you also want to have a dynasty to SELL.
Things they need to do better: 1. Make the Finals intros more interesting. Something like the 2006-11 intro or the 2013-15 intro. Most of the intros in the 2020s haven’t been that good. This year’s was the most boring imo. 2. Bring back the old ESPN theme. It had an epic fight-to-the-death sound like Roundball Rock did. The current theme sounds like they tried too hard to stick to the current pop sound, kinda like the 2003 ESPN theme did but it managed to sound worse. 3. Trophy on the court, ‘nuff said. 4. Bring back the previous reporters, also ‘nuff said. 5. Make the halftime show more entertaining.
Honestly, the Miami Heat ruin the finals. They dramatically over perform in the early rounds of the playoffs, get to the finals and then get spanked. It was charming the first time but it’s made them one of my least favourite teams 😂
I GUARANTEE…. THE NBA WILL NOT EVEN LOOK AT VIDEOS LIKE THIS- WHERE THE COMMENTS SECTION TELLS THEM EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO KNOW TO SAVE THEIR DYING RATING!!🤦♂️ All they have to do is LITERALLY ask themselves… WHAT DO THE FANS WANT..?😶 THEY CANT EVEN GET THAT RIGHT 🤦♂️💀
I don’t know if anyone here watches hockey but the Stanley cup finals this year was great. They did everything you mentioned in this video. Hype promos before the game that made it feel like a ppv event. Big trophy logo in the middle of the ice and plenty of coverage at intermissions
I think if it was Knicks v Timberwolves the finals wouldve been exciting ash. The trash talk would be entertaining ash. Sad to say that the only series that was really worth watching was Denver v Minnesota in the 2nd rd 😭
i remember 2016 it was mid of the year and it felt like a world cup final it was something that transcended the sport, even my friends that didn't watched basketball watched that finals that's what the playoffs is missing, that larger than life feeling
Ironically the NBA lost a big audience after the finals because of that series. The Golden State Warriors had drawn in a lot of new fans and them not getting it done took out a large portion of the new audience.
@@vulcanraven9701 to me KD joining the warriors took out a lot of underdog teams that could be a new cavs because everybody knew who was winning the raptors only suceeded because of injuries
@@KingAram99 by 2017 it got pretty bad but that 2015 - late 2016 stretch was goated that christmas game was to me the greatest holiday game in nba history
In my opinion, yes, but (I'm a mavs fan) if the series was super competitive, most of the games were close and in clutch time and went to 6 or 7 games this conversation wouldn't be here.
It wasn't compeititve because the Mavs aren't really good. They were a pretender with a very lucky & fluky run. Had they played a healthy 1st round opponent, they'd gone down in the 1st round. Had PJ washtinton not played out of his mind, plus getting bailed out by the refs, plus Shai getting minimal help from his supporting cast. They'd have lost in the 2nd round. Had Kat and Ant played normal to start the series... they'd have lost to MN. They really weren't a good team.
@@user-dn3fn3bg4lOr maybe the Wolves weren’t good to begin with. Not only that, but the Mavs had a much harder road to the finals, while the Wolves just choked
As someone who hasn't followed basketball, especially this closely, in years of ever even. This year and finals has been amazing! I've been waiting for a "new guard" and for a sport that is extremely competitive, rather than the usual basketball where its one dynasty team for half a decade yet again. It's always so mind-blowing to me to find people more deep in the sport has like the complete opposite opinion. What you guys said is spot on though.
Good video It cost It’s too expensive because the players are making ridiculous money. The focus is keeping the players happy. The game is more individualistic. The game is not really about the Sport. The NBA is not about Teams. The NBA is not about the Fans.
The problem is that we've been having matchups with teams that aren't on each other's level. Game 2 was one of the most-watched games of the last 5 years. The problem is that once it became clear the Mavs weren't on the Celtic level people stopped caring This year the Celtics were the better team. The same for the Nuggets last year vs The Heat. Warriors vs Celtics had pretty good ratings because it was actually competive
Ever since they started restructuring the nba arenas for the finals thats what started it and then now with espn changing their postseason theme song which is so wrong in many ways but now with the whole youtube tv thing it makes the finals feel like a regular season game rather than the big stage where stars are born
7:40 EXACTLY. Look at the NBA on NBC intros for the 1996 Finals or the 2000 WCF or Finals. Or the 1998 ECF or 1992 Finals. The NBA really needs more intros like those old NBA on NBC Bob Costas style narrated ones.
It needs to feel like it matters. 2022 was good because Steph was securing his legacy, for example. Winning that fmvp is still important now. Plus he gave us a legendary game 4. Parity is great but you need people invested. No one cared if Jokic or butler cared, for example. By this I mean there are few die hard fans of either player
I think the problem with this years finals is that unless the Mavs won, it didn’t feel like we were seeing anything legendary. It was like the Celtics winning in 08, the best team won. Nobody thought Paul piece, KG or Ray Allen were building a GOAT case. Or chasing top 5 potential legacy. If the Mavs won and Luka got finals mvp at his age, he would already be considered the goat of the Mavs. Tatum and Brown, to no fault of their own, just aren’t interesting. They’re not going down in history as some of the most legendary talents to play the game. They’ll retire below Isaiah Thomas, below Scottie Pippen, below wilt chamberlain, below dr j…and so on. Those are all time great players that let’s be honest, Tatum and brown will neither compete with.
You guys made a lot of valid points, the poor presentation of the Finals and the lack of promotion of the new generation of stars being the most prevalent. If the NBA/ESPN did those two things more often, especially now, the Finals would be seen in a much better light. A lot of people are claiming that the level of parity-the very thing that many people were decrying the NBA for lacking when the Warriors-Cavs rivalry was dominating-is the issue, which i FIRMLY disagree with. Yeah, dynasties and star power help bring in the views and all of that, but having 4 to 6 teams that could realistically reach the Finals every year as opposed to the usual 2 or 3, even if they don't involve the usual suspects, adds a shade of unpredictability.
It seems like a small detail but the thing that bothered me the most about the recent finals is the massive TH-cam tv logos on the court. Just makes it feel cheap
ESPN laying off the technical folks who make the graphics, intros, music, etc. is a topic that isn't talked about enough - we hear about on-air talent, but when they get rid of the people behind the scenes, they lose the ability to create the overall experience that you used to see. Also I don't find Boston teams in a final to be a compelling watch. I'll concede that the Celtics are good, but who cares? Boston sports fans are obnoxious and it gets tiring hearing that yet another Boston team has won a championship.
I 100% agree with you guys when it comes to marketing the newer generation. Listen at the end of the day Lebron, Steph, and KD have done a phenomenual job holding the torch for this generation but at the end of the day their older and starting to slow down. Its time to move on and get the younger generation some spotlight PLEASE!!!!
Yeah I’m gonna echo what others have said, the presentation is lacking. Put the trophy back onto the court AND onto the players’ jerseys, amp up the crowd noise in the broadcast, do all the things to make it feel important. The “presented by TH-cam TV” garbage makes it feel cheap too, although I know the NBA loves its sponsor money
As a Toronto sports fan, the only time I’ve ever been happy was watching my team win in the most boring finals out of the 4 major sports. I’ll take it, but would have rather the Jays or Leafs won, cause at least the finals in those sports are exciting.
The NHL’s Stanley Cup Final has the same feeling of not having the same aura. Doc Emerick had a lot of passion calling games and the current announcers sound like they’re watching golf. “Stanley Cup Final” being plastered on the ice also gave it that visual playoff flair like the O’Brien trophy, but is sadly replaced by ads now. Lastly the cup finals the last few years have had lackluster performances and not crazy memorable.
@@Renegade-kf8fp”Almost” key word. If they had that’d be crazy, but idk personally found that series to be a snooze fest. Every game excluding game 5 was a lopsided
I'm late but the NHL removing the "Stanley Cup Playoffs/Final" decal on the ice in replace of ads bothered me badly. The gambling ads also don't any type of justice at all
Man, I used to love looking forward to the intro for the finals, they would have a damn near 2-3 minute mini movie as the intro. It’s just not the same anymore smh
Porzingis return in game 1 and getting hot was amazing after over a month injury. Jaylen Brown dunking, and the half court shots from Pritchard was pretty exciting for me lol. Would be more interesting if Mavs made it a closer series or even won 😂
My personal theory is the lingering effect of the pandemic and the concept that 2020 titles in hockey, hoops, and baseball meant less because of the circumstance, and without the aura of the atmosphere and such.... even though we have the atmosphere back now obviously, I feel like the aura is gone for good, replaced with everyone jumping through hoops to discredit titles/runs the way they did with the Lakers. ...You do make a point though on it being easy to follow games/the league without watching. I took my basketball fandom overseas this year (because I cannot deal with the Hornets...well in general, but mostly still employing Bridges) and I still had a very good feel for the pulse of the season thanks to Twitter/TH-cam.
It feels like this in every major sport. Havent cared about MLB since the Cubs broke their streak. Haven't cared about the Super Bowl since like Phillys win and I haven't cared about NBA since the Bucks (bc I'm a fan). Don't know why tho
The problem is the NBA has lost its excitement factor. The most obvious reason for this is how the game is played nowadays. Oversaturation of the 3-point shot, weak defense and lack of credible superstar players has led most fans to tune out. The NBA is like the MLB, a tired and boring version of something that was once must-see TV. In the 1980s the NBA became exciting thanks to Magic and Bird and the intense Lakers and Celtics rivalry. People cared about the Finals because the league was interesting all season long. You wanted to see who was going to win it all. Then came the 1990s and Michael Jordan. This was the golden era when the NBA was at the height of its popularity. Teams were full of superstars. You knew almost every one of them even if they did not play for your favorite team. The 2000s were the curtain call for the golden era. Many of the superstars were still playing but were approaching retirement. Once they were all gone, and teams became full of generic young players with average skills the NBA's popularity began to decline. The less popular the league became the less people cared about the finals. The NBA isn't exciting anymore. It's just meh.
It always bothered me that they don’t add a lot of extra stuff to the courts and the presentation to make it feel special unless it’s the team you root for in the finals
While I am glad that Dallas made it (not even a Mavs fan), the outcome outside of some super low chance was already decided. I kept up with the first couple of games but that was it. The presentation has also taken a hit over the years. It doesn’t feel as exciting as say the Super Bowl or even the World Series. I do think this was one of the better playoffs we had in a while. Enough for me to watch quite a bit of it.
It’s cause the nba puts 0 effort into making the finals seem special. It’s supposed to be the Super Bowl of the nba and they won’t even put the trophy on the court.. + the teams in the last 2 finals are just a bit boring
To be fair this was a auraless playoffs. There was a few stand out games here and there but god damn was there so many blowouts. You could tell who was winning a game by the second period in almost every game this year. Just a meh season, those happen from time to time.
it better to watch highlights than to watch commercials every two minutes...the game last 48 minutes, and broadcast lasts for two hours...it was so much better before when you didn't have all that match interruptions all the time...i know everyone needs to make money, but that is a problem...they should do something about that
It felt like the producers and commentators couldn't give a shit about the finals. There were plenty of storylines they could have produced: 1. What would it mean for the Celtics and Boston to have the most titles and surpass the Lakers? Plenty of opportinties to bring in legends for interviews and clips. 2. After all the nonsense the last few years, an actual sit down with Kyrie to relect on what it was like to be back in the finals. 3. Luka cementing his place as a top level guy. Could have done video packages with other past players his age and their first finals and what it meant for their career. 4. Could have done a LEGENDARY package around Jason Kidd, his finals runs as a player and what its like to be there as a coach. Thats just off the top of my head. But I guess we can settle for more Lakers coach drama
first time I did not care who win NBA ring. Maybe I am getting older and have other stuff to do, maybe there to many other entertainment so I dont care about NBA to much, it is strange.
as a NBa fan, its true this NBA finals has no aura on it... maybe because its just a one sided series, and also its how ESPN presented that Finals. ESPN is just talking about Lakers and LBJ than promoting this series
Its sad when fans were cheering for the Dodgers in the middle of a Lakers game. It’s load management to still get injured and the stars joining stars just to lose
They even stop making promo intros every game before tipoff...like putting Gang Starr's songs in 2022, Spike Lee's narration 2021, Cole and Kendrick in 2018 & 2017 respectively, and even The Roots' narration and Champion song IN THE PERFECT 2016 FINALS mind you. Those kind of coverage got me hype every finals game back then, replaying all of it even til today It's like those narrations for me bring out the importance and the stakes of every Finals game too This is just aside from the Finals logo or championship in the court tho
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Make The Finals feel like The Finals. None of this TH-cam TV Mic Ultra crap. Get the trophy on the court, script logo on the court, special espn scoreboard etc. show us starting 5s again too, where’s the pageantry?
they made more effort for the damn in season tournament. really sad.
@@ghostflame9211yup,for some reasons,they make the ist to become more similar to the old days Finals;like you have a trophy in the middle of the court,that’s interesting and fun too
They should also go back to the 2-3-2 format. It made the finals feel more distinguished then the rest of the playoffs. Don't know why Adam Silver immediately got rid of it.
And also, the home and away jersy fluidity kinda takes away from the seriousness of the finals. Home Jerseys for home. Away jerseys for away. If you're going to switch it up. At least have the away jersey matching the home court.
It's weird seeing white celtics jersys on a white mavs court, while the home mavs team are wearing black Jersys. Home teams got to at least match the home crowd, man.
@@user-dn3fn3bg4l disagree 2-3-2 is terrible and gives way too big an advantage to the lower seeded team. But the jersey shit is awful
@@user-dn3fn3bg4lthat 2-3-2 format is really good because they will have the home court advantage,whether it’s a stronger or weaker team
It’s not the players and gameplay that lackluster. It’s the presentation. ESPN has changed everything, they fired Mark Jackson, Van Gundy, it doesn’t feel like the playoffs or the Finals. The coverage feels like a regular season game.
It’s both
😂"Mama there goes that mann"😢
Ngl it's the players at the Celtics for me
Pretty much how I felt about it
Allstar game died. Shortly after, the game itself died. Game sucks. No defense, no smack talk, no fighting, always 20 wise open 3 point shots… ohhh so exciting f off
Why is nobody just considering the fact that it’s just far more expensive to go to games now? And there’s less of a reward to watch it on TV because it’s even more expensive to keep up with all your streaming services. ratings are down because it’s expensive. It’s not because there’s nothing to watch.
Ratings are down because no one wants to watch a Mavs Vs. Celtics.
Luka is not that appealing.
Tatum lacks charisma, and chokes.
Brown and Kyrie are not marketable.
Timberwolves vs. Celtics would have been way better.
Heck, as much as I can't stand Denver. They too would have been better.
Need storylines. This finals was just too random, lop sided, and with boring characters.
Don't understand why Adam Silver rigged the WCF to ensure the mavs win. For what?
Well... at least the Antman does not have a finals loss on his resume. Unlike the Luka. 0-1. Losing in 5 games? Cmon man.
@@user-dn3fn3bg4lIf Edwards lost to the Mavs in 5 and got blown out in game 5, what makes you think he wouldn’t get swept against the Celtics (they beat the Mavs in 5). You say he doesn’t have a finals loss, but Luka spared him from total embarrassment
ya way too many people are trying to find explanations tied to the actual games and finals themselves, when the real answer is the average person has way less money and free time to actually watch the games much less keep up with the nba season
@@user-dn3fn3bg4l they are boring but lousy finals ratings have been a thing for years now.
@@MegaElijah21 yeah, attending games has gotten so expensive that people are losing interest. Why follow a sport when one can't even experience it live anymore?
1. We love NBA on TNT, we love their coverage of the playoffs and it’s always been weird to me that they don’t cover the finals (I know tv rights and everything)
2. ESPN coverage SUCKS. It’s just Stephen A, a ranty general person, Malika, who’s just boring and was given this position, Michael Wilbon who’s another reporter, and Bob Myers???? Stephen A is the only one with any personality and it’s just awful, they bring on players as guest but it just turns into first take.
3. I’m sorry but Doris Burke and JJ Redick were AWFUL in finals coverage. Mike Breen is supposed to be calling the game, and the other 2 provide insight and color commentary. DORIS BURKE IS SO DRY AND SHE JUST SAYS WHAT WE ALREADY SEE. JJ IS EVEN WORSE and he just has that “oh I played in the league hehe” smugness to his commentary that I just can’t stand, so then that forces Mike Breen to have to come up with good quips.
4. No NBA Finals special logo
5. No NBA Finals classic music for intro, break, commercial, and outro, just whatever popular rap music happens to be playing.
6. NO GOOD NBA FINALS COMMERCIALS with historic moments, legacies, celebrations. All they have is this gaudy over the top fancy commercial about the finals (WHY IS JIMMY KIMMEL IN THEM, WHAT DOES HE HAVE TO DO WITH BASKETBALL)
It just feels like regular season games and it just sucked.
You nailed it. Give me Legler for pregame and halftime shows.
Dang spot on … I found myself rewatching Bulls intro videos and NBC intro videos to relieve the moments of just great basketball
Man Jimmy Kimmel was a staple of the NBA Finals for a long time! One of my favorite childhood memories of the 2000s was watching his pregame show
NBA FANS: “Finally! Some parity in the league!!”
ALSO NBA FANS: “No LeBron or Steph? WORST FINALS EVER NO AURA
This "aura" stuff is so incredibly dumb. Basketball fans dont seem to like the sport but love narratives instead
@@andre670luiz😂 exactly it
@@andre670luizthat’s part of the nba’s design. It’s far more profitable, less basketball, more “aura” = more revenue. Can’t wait to watch real basketball these Olympics
@@MWE_Payne make sense
The fans just can’t accept that the old titans aren’t gonna be around forever and that the new guys are gonna run the show going forward.
Reason 1: NBA/ESPN hasn't even been promoting it's new stars and still relying on old aging stars that are first round/play-in fodder. They had Giannis-Jokic matchups (Best players in the world, Multiple MVP winners and Champions) on fucking NBA TV. Not having the defending champs and finals MVPs in promos (Again Giannis and Jokic). It'd be one thing if they promoted them and the casuals were not receptive to international players, but they don't even try and its become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Reason 2: NBA/ESPN only cares about a few markets (LA/NY/Insert Big Market here) and they are the only ones that are promoted with any sort of reverence of the moment in basketball history. They treat so many other teams/cities as farm systems and not serious places, they are 30 teams, but if you only watched the nationally televised games you'd think there were max 10 teams. NFL does not do this. It does not have problems promoting Kansas City, Buffalo and Green Bay and holding them in high esteem.
Reason 3: A Finals needs to be either be competitive or have an all-time great player/dynasty dominate. Ideally both, but if those all-time greats and their place in the basketball pantheon are not promoted then who would give a shit? This finals had neither unless Boston becomes a dynasty. (Also fuck Denver and Minnesota for losing to teams they were better than)
So i guess the main reason is NBA/ESPN Coverage and Advertisement sucks ass. They race through half-time shows and pregame to bombard you with shitty commercials that molest your eyes and ears. and current NBA coverage is about tearing players down instead of building them up. I would have loved to see an NBA Finals covered by TNT in my lifetime but sadly that's never going to happen.
Well said!
I'm still surprised that TNT never did the finals. I always like their commentators better than ESPNs.
Sorry, Mike Breen.
The reason why they put attention on players like LeBron, Steph, and KD is that even in the twilight of their careers, they are still big ratings draws. There’s definitely a lot of young superstars in the league but none of them are megastars like the 3 I mentioned. But I also think the reason you don’t have any young megastars is because they play a different game than the generation before them. They’re more team focused rather the one player on the team taking over the game.
Leagues focus on large markets because of the obvious, there’s more people living in that market. You’ll always draw more eyeballs with a game involving New York than one in Orlando. This also goes back to my first point. When small market teams have a megastar, they get that national exposure. Sponsors don’t care about promoting equal talent. They want the most eyeballs they can get and you’ll also get more with a mediocre Lakers team, than a highly competitive Indiana team.
@@DeadAir21curry didn't take over games more than Luka or joker. It's just glaze stans
Mavs are and were better than the Wolves. Cope.
I agree with nostalgia bias being a real thing but man those intros for the 2016 Finals were so damn good. I felt this years finals weren’t on par
That finals wasn't that interesting either tbh. Every game minus the game7 was a blow out
@@vulcanraven97012016 finals was the last great one I remember in recent memory
2016 gets super overhyped because of game 7. People were saying the exact same thing about that series being “boring” after it was 3-1 also everyone complained how every game was a blowout before game 5.
100% the presentation is lacking
The presentation of the 16 finals was beautiful the aura of that series was amazing
Before I watch, they lost some of the presentation that made it feel special and plus people don’t consume media the same way they did 10 years ago. Its still the finals tho
It was boring because the Mavs played like trash.
As soon as it was obvious Boston was the better team, the media and content creators gave up and started trashing Boston.. Even if Denver made it and lost to Boston, they'd still trash it the same way..
@@grammysworld5449I haven’t seen much of the media coverage but what content creators were trashing? Everyone I seen is giving them respect
@@twixtwix2915 so you're saying you saw people giving Boston respect throughout the series? I wish I lived in that world
Absolutely!
@@grammysworld5449 I beg to differ on if Denver made it cuz I think if Denver made it the they would played much better series and which would have it more entertaining regardless if Celtics won or not
I think since Adam silver, the nba has put money as a huge priority. We see so much crazy contacts now a days, players being a diva if they don’t get paid more, adding ads to jerseys, getting rid of finals logo but still have sponsorship, sports betting, etc.
We forgetting how many players in the David Stern era got bad contracts?
@@chrisuncleahmad666 but it isn’t the insanity we see now a days, Scottie Barnes just got 270 million, Jalyn brown $300 million these are absurd numbers
@@zaaribzabin8308 you can’t compare contracts to before. The salary cap was nowhere what it is today and it grows every year. So naturally what was considered a lot of money 20 years ago will be middle of the road today.
Put the finals patch in front of the jerseys. Seeing finals games, it looks like a regular season game. Other sports have patches in front of the jerseys and it gives a big game feel
They should put the NBA patch back in front too and remove the advertisements on the jerseys.
It’s on the back…
@@KAye633looks better on the front
I miss the epic, slowed down version of the NBA on ESPN theme that they used to play during the finals too (last time they played it was either 2021 or 2022). It totally added to the vibes
I miss the NBA on NBC in the 1990s. When you heard that iconic theme song you knew Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were about to whup a team's ass on the court.
I 1000% blame ESPN I can tell you those broadcasters are so low effort
Corporate sellouts...
Mike Breen is low effort?!?!
@@duhduhduhdiesel1436 apart from him. But he's surrounded by such low talent around him that it's very noticeable.
7:21 in fairness to ESPN, this did this also in 2021 for the Suns x Bucks series where every game had a unique intro. I believe Spike Lee was the producer and face of the intros for all 6 games too.
The only thing it's missing is the trophy in the middle. It's like if the superbowl just had the regular home teams touchdowns and they didn't color one for each team. It adds novelty. Also, LETS GO BABY BANNER 18! 🎉🎉
I was looking this comment (except the banner 18 part lol) they need the trophy or at least a “NBA Finals” logo and the “NBA Playoffs” logo need to be bigger
Halfway through this video is when I realized that there were 2 people narrating this video. I thought it was just one guy having a conversation with himself
The production value of the NBA has completely gone downhill. The scoreboard the last 2 years is ATROCIOUS! Our TVs are littered with obnoxious ads which completely kill the immersion. The ESPN announcers suck now that they got rid of Mark Jackson and JVG. The basketball being played was just boring and not a single memorable moment happened this entire Finals besides Pritchard's half court shots. The fans want high production, we want the trophy on the damn court we've been asking for this for 10+ years now (i don't want to hear the "its too slippery" argument because that is just simply not true, look at the IST courts). The Finals have completely lost all of it's charm and the NBA is in a very bad position right now when it comes to brand identity
Its hard to talk about the quality of the Finals without mentioning that its not super captivating when the story is "The team that dominated everybody all year dominated"
People are saying it was a bad finals because the team they wanted to win got destroyed. People use to claim every SB sucked after Tom Brady won, because they were upset that he won.
Exactly
You clearly don’t understand it, Most of these teams had a significant injury and weren’t at full health to be a serious contender, a Healthy Miami team is dangerous!!
Ding ding
@@dewaynerobvais4030lol nah every top 4 team from the east this year would have beat the heat healthy or not they simply were not that good this year
Tbf SB 53 was a godawful game, I sat through that shitshow from start to finish. Anyone who claims otherwise is lying. No one actually enjoys a Super Bowl that has more punts and incomplete passes than first downs.
Everything is watered down and commercialized now. I was born in 96 so I’m grateful I got to see some good shit but even I came in the game way to late.
This goes for so many more things rather than just Basketball too.
“I feel like I came in at the end, The best is over” - Tony Soprano
Lack of rivalries.
Nobody is watching. They spread out all the games you have to buy 6 different platforms
New to sports now days? There aren’t any rivalries anymore in pro sports. They’re buddy buddy
@@sportsgamer2342the NHL still has it's fair share of legit rivalries. Really cant say the same about the NBA lately aside from the brief stretch where it looked like the Warriors-Grizzlies had something brewing
@@RR_XII what rivalry is still in the NHL? Yeah you have matchups that go back to the original 6 but they don’t want to rip each others throats out like they did in the 90’s. A lot of them are buddy buddy
Yup, and it wouldn't matter if the Lakers and Celtics face each other in the Finals nowadays because the rivalry is not with the current crop of youngsters. Many of them were not born when those franchises were at each other's throats in the 1980s.
For the casual nba fan, the nba ABSOLUTELY peaked in 1998. Insane continuity, all of the stars from the past decade were still somehow all more successful than the younger ones, and MJ had the world glued to every Bulls game, knowing that they’d only ever get to see the goat (especially at that point) play for one more year
A thing that I miss the most in ESPN's presentation of the NBA Finals, was when they would show the in-arena introductions, video and starting lineups. They haven't done it since the beginning of the Warriors run in the 2010s. It gave broadcasting the NBA Finals a big time feel. Nowadays, watching the NBA Finals is more like watching another regular season game.
The last two Finals were quite mid but I think that's necessary because all the new young faces who showed up in the playoffs are all coming back better and hungrier. We're in for years of legendary Finals soon. There's always gotta be a lull period between generations. I think we literally watched that proverbial torch be passed during Game 1 of the Timberwolves/Suns series when Ant hit that three in KD's face then started barking at him. That *CHEST BUMP* he did, that was the Nexus event.
Last year the NBA didn't even change the font or ANYTHING for Denver vs Miami . It literally had the courts of a regular game and all.
There were too many Cinderella runs recently. Celtics vs Nuggets would be so much better in the past two years.
Bruh that was my finals predication for the last 2 seasons! It just made sense. The two clear best teams in their respective conferences with clashing play styles! Nuggets just ran into the worst matchup nightmare in the TWolves this year unfortunately🤦🏾♂️
It’s the new era
Parity is great for the regular season but does not make for a great finals. The reigning champ hasn’t had a chance to defend in the actual finals since when? 2019? Not gonna happen next year either since my Knicks are beating the Celtics
Mavs weren’t a Cinderella run casual 😂😂 they were second best team in the league after all star. Celts were just that good and Luka was injured and Kyrie choked. Nuggets couldn’t shoot for shit either and had the least depth of any playoff team. Celts vs Nuggets last year def would’ve been better tho and Heat were a fluke
@@bailoch When I said Cinderella, I meant by seeding, nothing more.
The last 2 finals have been a first round series and a second round series, too many players get injured which means the lower seed advances and they get exposed in the finals, we need more 6 and 7 game finals
And who exactly got injured on the Thunder and Wolves for Mavs to whoop their ass? Or are you blaming Kawhi injury for Mavs making finals 😂😂 Mavs were second best team in the league last two months of the season, they didn’t get exposed they just ran out of gas, Luka was injured, and Kyrie choked. Celts were really good and had no test at all during their run while Mavs were the underdog in every series and had to fight. If anyone advanced due to injuries, it was the Celtics 😂
I'm not going to lie; I haven't felt really invested in the NBA finals since 2020. I think it has lost some of its "aura" especially this year, as much as I wanted the Mavericks to win, I wasn't surprised that the Celtics won in such dominate fashion. I'm starting to think the NBA finals really did peak in 2016, because ever since then the NBA really hasn't felt that special.
It’s Giannis fault
2019 was actually pretty good. It was nice to see Canada get a Larry O’Brien trophy.
2019, 2021, 2022, are all good years
@@lorddj9910 2019 was not a good finals but the playoff itself was good. 2019 finals were already determined by injures. 2021 and 22 were not good just okay at best.
@@theultimate341 that’s literally your opinion
Increased parity is the biggest reason imo. While streaming is apart of it, even the passionate viewers have been dissatisfied with the lack of “aura”. Teams like dallas or miami would never sneak in with juggernauts like GSW or the jordan bulls. The issue is we see teams that can’t compete making the finals.
Injuries take a lot of incentive to watch away as well
Wouldn't parity do the reverse, make finals more competitive?
I think the constant injuries and the idgaf attitude by modern players is the bigger issue. Contracts have become so large and bloated it doesnt matter if the players play, let alone if they win. The product is expensive and lousy now
If parity is the issue then the NBA is cooked. Because people were complaining when the Cavs and warriors was facing each other 4 times in a row
@@dontaerogers2687💯
I can’t watch a basketball game because I’m used to football (soccer). We get 45 minutes of action uninterrupted by adverts. Then 15 minutes of ads. Then 45 minutes uninterrupted again. I know in that 15 minutes I won’t miss a thing. When watching basketball you get a 60 second ad break for every stoppage in the game. It’s ridiculous
That Star Wars take is spot on!
2016 finals except game 7 were majority blow outs. You guys legit remember the moment game 7 itself. Not the entire series.
Rewatch the series and tell me this again with a straight face. Games 1, 4, 5, and 6 were all close in the fourth quarter until a team just pulled away. Pseudo blowouts
Social Media has hurt sports We see the athletes too much There's no mystery
Screw idol worship
Facts and it's not even athletes. Celebrities in all professions/industries have all lost their aura/mystique due to social media and a fragmented media landscape.
I like the point proven by youtuber SWISHOUT. Basketball is about team sport, but it is NEVER about fairness.
Its about superstars. You cant have a stable brand if the champions switches every year.
You don't want to be too dominant that it becomes boring. But you also want to have a dynasty to SELL.
Unless you were a Celtics fan, the nba finals were brutal this year
It was beautiful brother
Not really, 2018 was way worse
Things they need to do better:
1. Make the Finals intros more interesting. Something like the 2006-11 intro or the 2013-15 intro. Most of the intros in the 2020s haven’t been that good. This year’s was the most boring imo.
2. Bring back the old ESPN theme. It had an epic fight-to-the-death sound like Roundball Rock did. The current theme sounds like they tried too hard to stick to the current pop sound, kinda like the 2003 ESPN theme did but it managed to sound worse.
3. Trophy on the court, ‘nuff said.
4. Bring back the previous reporters, also ‘nuff said.
5. Make the halftime show more entertaining.
Honestly, the Miami Heat ruin the finals. They dramatically over perform in the early rounds of the playoffs, get to the finals and then get spanked. It was charming the first time but it’s made them one of my least favourite teams 😂
Maybe next season third time the charm for them
You guys are very entertaining!
It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
It's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight
I GUARANTEE….
THE NBA WILL NOT EVEN LOOK AT VIDEOS LIKE THIS- WHERE THE COMMENTS SECTION TELLS THEM EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO KNOW TO SAVE THEIR DYING RATING!!🤦♂️
All they have to do is LITERALLY ask themselves…
WHAT DO THE FANS WANT..?😶
THEY CANT EVEN GET THAT RIGHT 🤦♂️💀
I don’t know if anyone here watches hockey but the Stanley cup finals this year was great. They did everything you mentioned in this video. Hype promos before the game that made it feel like a ppv event. Big trophy logo in the middle of the ice and plenty of coverage at intermissions
Because teams don’t play like it’s a game 7 every game anymore.
I think if it was Knicks v Timberwolves the finals wouldve been exciting ash. The trash talk would be entertaining ash. Sad to say that the only series that was really worth watching was Denver v Minnesota in the 2nd rd 😭
i remember 2016
it was mid of the year and it felt like a world cup final
it was something that transcended the sport, even my friends that didn't watched basketball watched that finals
that's what the playoffs is missing, that larger than life feeling
Ironically the NBA lost a big audience after the finals because of that series. The Golden State Warriors had drawn in a lot of new fans and them not getting it done took out a large portion of the new audience.
It doesn’t have Mahomes like figure that changing the narrative
@@vulcanraven9701 to me KD joining the warriors took out a lot of underdog teams that could be a new cavs because everybody knew who was winning
the raptors only suceeded because of injuries
Seeing the cavs vs warriors was getting repetitive
@@KingAram99 by 2017 it got pretty bad
but that 2015 - late 2016 stretch was goated
that christmas game was to me the greatest holiday game in nba history
In my opinion, yes, but (I'm a mavs fan) if the series was super competitive, most of the games were close and in clutch time and went to 6 or 7 games this conversation wouldn't be here.
yup, i thought it was going to a tight series. But it was one sided and a let down
Bro fuck the Mavs
It wasn't compeititve because the Mavs aren't really good. They were a pretender with a very lucky & fluky run. Had they played a healthy 1st round opponent, they'd gone down in the 1st round.
Had PJ washtinton not played out of his mind, plus getting bailed out by the refs, plus Shai getting minimal help from his supporting cast. They'd have lost in the 2nd round.
Had Kat and Ant played normal to start the series... they'd have lost to MN.
They really weren't a good team.
@@user-dn3fn3bg4lOr maybe the Wolves weren’t good to begin with. Not only that, but the Mavs had a much harder road to the finals, while the Wolves just choked
Also it hasn’t to appeal to casuals yet
As someone who hasn't followed basketball, especially this closely, in years of ever even. This year and finals has been amazing! I've been waiting for a "new guard" and for a sport that is extremely competitive, rather than the usual basketball where its one dynasty team for half a decade yet again.
It's always so mind-blowing to me to find people more deep in the sport has like the complete opposite opinion.
What you guys said is spot on though.
Can’t wait for y’all to hit 100k
ESPN fired Jeff van Grundy and mark jackson because Adam silver was pushing espn to get them both fired because of how much they criticize the nba
Good video
It cost
It’s too expensive because the players are making ridiculous money.
The focus is keeping the players happy.
The game is more individualistic.
The game is not really about the Sport.
The NBA is not about Teams.
The NBA is not about the Fans.
My biggest problem is the timeouts and commercials. You never get more than like 3 minutes of basketball before there are like 5 commercials
I’m one of the “old heads” who thinks 1998 was the height of the finals.
If you're one of the oldheads(I'd like to think I'm one too at 53)like me, I trace it to the fact that there are no true/legit hatefests anymore.
@@cpthetrucker9067 Competitiveness and team loyalty is fucking gone now
I miss the pre 2016 intro where they showed the history of the finals
For me... it's the endless gambling commercials.
The problem is that we've been having matchups with teams that aren't on each other's level. Game 2 was one of the most-watched games of the last 5 years. The problem is that once it became clear the Mavs weren't on the Celtic level people stopped caring
This year the Celtics were the better team. The same for the Nuggets last year vs The Heat. Warriors vs Celtics had pretty good ratings because it was actually competive
Ever since they started restructuring the nba arenas for the finals thats what started it and then now with espn changing their postseason theme song which is so wrong in many ways but now with the whole youtube tv thing it makes the finals feel like a regular season game rather than the big stage where stars are born
7:40 EXACTLY. Look at the NBA on NBC intros for the 1996 Finals or the 2000 WCF or Finals. Or the 1998 ECF or 1992 Finals.
The NBA really needs more intros like those old NBA on NBC Bob Costas style narrated ones.
am i the only one that thinks the playoffs and finals were... fine and entertaining? i found playoffs this year entertaining as a thunder fan.
i just wish i can find a way to mute doris burke
The Nuggets vs Timberwolves literally felt like the finals more than the finals
They were cool definitely weren’t the best and could’ve been better. Doesn’t help that Mark Jackson and Van Gundy are gone also.
@@JoshSportsMovies It felt more like who was going to get their ass kicked by Dallas.
It needs to feel like it matters. 2022 was good because Steph was securing his legacy, for example. Winning that fmvp is still important now. Plus he gave us a legendary game 4. Parity is great but you need people invested. No one cared if Jokic or butler cared, for example. By this I mean there are few die hard fans of either player
Lol
I think the problem with this years finals is that unless the Mavs won, it didn’t feel like we were seeing anything legendary. It was like the Celtics winning in 08, the best team won. Nobody thought Paul piece, KG or Ray Allen were building a GOAT case. Or chasing top 5 potential legacy. If the Mavs won and Luka got finals mvp at his age, he would already be considered the goat of the Mavs. Tatum and Brown, to no fault of their own, just aren’t interesting. They’re not going down in history as some of the most legendary talents to play the game. They’ll retire below Isaiah Thomas, below Scottie Pippen, below wilt chamberlain, below dr j…and so on. Those are all time great players that let’s be honest, Tatum and brown will neither compete with.
Additionally: neither Tatum or brown will be viewed as the face of the league at any point.
Remember the old intro of the finals? Orchestral, epic music highlighting past battles, quotes, and prestige?
Yeah that’s gone too lol
You guys made a lot of valid points, the poor presentation of the Finals and the lack of promotion of the new generation of stars being the most prevalent. If the NBA/ESPN did those two things more often, especially now, the Finals would be seen in a much better light. A lot of people are claiming that the level of parity-the very thing that many people were decrying the NBA for lacking when the Warriors-Cavs rivalry was dominating-is the issue, which i FIRMLY disagree with. Yeah, dynasties and star power help bring in the views and all of that, but having 4 to 6 teams that could realistically reach the Finals every year as opposed to the usual 2 or 3, even if they don't involve the usual suspects, adds a shade of unpredictability.
It seems like a small detail but the thing that bothered me the most about the recent finals is the massive TH-cam tv logos on the court. Just makes it feel cheap
ESPN laying off the technical folks who make the graphics, intros, music, etc. is a topic that isn't talked about enough - we hear about on-air talent, but when they get rid of the people behind the scenes, they lose the ability to create the overall experience that you used to see.
Also I don't find Boston teams in a final to be a compelling watch. I'll concede that the Celtics are good, but who cares? Boston sports fans are obnoxious and it gets tiring hearing that yet another Boston team has won a championship.
I 100% agree with you guys when it comes to marketing the newer generation. Listen at the end of the day Lebron, Steph, and KD have done a phenomenual job holding the torch for this generation but at the end of the day their older and starting to slow down. Its time to move on and get the younger generation some spotlight PLEASE!!!!
Yeah I’m gonna echo what others have said, the presentation is lacking. Put the trophy back onto the court AND onto the players’ jerseys, amp up the crowd noise in the broadcast, do all the things to make it feel important. The “presented by TH-cam TV” garbage makes it feel cheap too, although I know the NBA loves its sponsor money
As a Toronto sports fan, the only time I’ve ever been happy was watching my team win in the most boring finals out of the 4 major sports. I’ll take it, but would have rather the Jays or Leafs won, cause at least the finals in those sports are exciting.
The NHL’s Stanley Cup Final has the same feeling of not having the same aura. Doc Emerick had a lot of passion calling games and the current announcers sound like they’re watching golf. “Stanley Cup Final” being plastered on the ice also gave it that visual playoff flair like the O’Brien trophy, but is sadly replaced by ads now. Lastly the cup finals the last few years have had lackluster performances and not crazy memorable.
We literally almost saw the oilers come back from 3-0 down
@@Renegade-kf8fp”Almost” key word. If they had that’d be crazy, but idk personally found that series to be a snooze fest. Every game excluding game 5 was a lopsided
@@Charlezzdaman1 people gonna be nostalgic of that series in the future
Just wait
I'm late but the NHL removing the "Stanley Cup Playoffs/Final" decal on the ice in replace of ads bothered me badly. The gambling ads also don't any type of justice at all
Man, I used to love looking forward to the intro for the finals, they would have a damn near 2-3 minute mini movie as the intro. It’s just not the same anymore smh
Porzingis return in game 1 and getting hot was amazing after over a month injury. Jaylen Brown dunking, and the half court shots from Pritchard was pretty exciting for me lol. Would be more interesting if Mavs made it a closer series or even won 😂
Bring back the finals trophy decals in the middle of the court! And the finals logo on the front of the jersey
How dare you insult the prequels. IF YOU'RE NOT WITH ME, THEN YOU'RE MY ENEMY!
My personal theory is the lingering effect of the pandemic and the concept that 2020 titles in hockey, hoops, and baseball meant less because of the circumstance, and without the aura of the atmosphere and such....
even though we have the atmosphere back now obviously, I feel like the aura is gone for good, replaced with everyone jumping through hoops to discredit titles/runs the way they did with the Lakers.
...You do make a point though on it being easy to follow games/the league without watching. I took my basketball fandom overseas this year (because I cannot deal with the Hornets...well in general, but mostly still employing Bridges) and I still had a very good feel for the pulse of the season thanks to Twitter/TH-cam.
When someone discredits everything then nothing is going to matter
Watching luka vs the celtics was hard bro.
I deadass still bump the Roots theme to 16. Idk if you will get close to that again but you can definitely try harder
Wait, you're tell me that the NBA Finals was not a TH-cam TV ad vs. Steven A. Smith's suit? But it was actually the Celtics vs. Mavericks?
Mind Blown
It feels like this in every major sport. Havent cared about MLB since the Cubs broke their streak. Haven't cared about the Super Bowl since like Phillys win and I haven't cared about NBA since the Bucks (bc I'm a fan). Don't know why tho
The problem is the NBA has lost its excitement factor. The most obvious reason for this is how the game is played nowadays. Oversaturation of the 3-point shot, weak defense and lack of credible superstar players has led most fans to tune out. The NBA is like the MLB, a tired and boring version of something that was once must-see TV. In the 1980s the NBA became exciting thanks to Magic and Bird and the intense Lakers and Celtics rivalry. People cared about the Finals because the league was interesting all season long. You wanted to see who was going to win it all. Then came the 1990s and Michael Jordan. This was the golden era when the NBA was at the height of its popularity. Teams were full of superstars. You knew almost every one of them even if they did not play for your favorite team. The 2000s were the curtain call for the golden era. Many of the superstars were still playing but were approaching retirement. Once they were all gone, and teams became full of generic young players with average skills the NBA's popularity began to decline. The less popular the league became the less people cared about the finals.
The NBA isn't exciting anymore. It's just meh.
Because nowadays, teams rely on depth more than just star power. That's not a bad thing.
@@manzac112No. They rely on heavy emphasis on 3 point shooting. Depth has always been a focus for teams competing for championships.
6:30 THANK YOU
It always bothered me that they don’t add a lot of extra stuff to the courts and the presentation to make it feel special unless it’s the team you root for in the finals
While I am glad that Dallas made it (not even a Mavs fan), the outcome outside of some super low chance was already decided. I kept up with the first couple of games but that was it. The presentation has also taken a hit over the years. It doesn’t feel as exciting as say the Super Bowl or even the World Series. I do think this was one of the better playoffs we had in a while. Enough for me to watch quite a bit of it.
It’s cause the nba puts 0 effort into making the finals seem special. It’s supposed to be the Super Bowl of the nba and they won’t even put the trophy on the court.. + the teams in the last 2 finals are just a bit boring
It felt great for me being in Boston and I know because I live in Southie...
BANNER 18!!!
☘️🏆🥇
To be fair this was a auraless playoffs. There was a few stand out games here and there but god damn was there so many blowouts. You could tell who was winning a game by the second period in almost every game this year.
Just a meh season, those happen from time to time.
just want the player intros like the 90s bulls and 2010s heat
might not be memorable to you but i got to see my team win their first ever with the best player we will ever have
it better to watch highlights than to watch commercials every two minutes...the game last 48 minutes, and broadcast lasts for two hours...it was so much better before when you didn't have all that match interruptions all the time...i know everyone needs to make money, but that is a problem...they should do something about that
Does Ben from Canada edit these? I knew these videos background edits comedic style is very similar to Mr Sunday movies!!!
I'm only in my 2nd year of watching the NBA, both the All-Star game and the 2024 Finals were big disappointments.
we need NBC to do the Finals again because NBC know how to bring rating
It felt like the producers and commentators couldn't give a shit about the finals. There were plenty of storylines they could have produced:
1. What would it mean for the Celtics and Boston to have the most titles and surpass the Lakers? Plenty of opportinties to bring in legends for interviews and clips.
2. After all the nonsense the last few years, an actual sit down with Kyrie to relect on what it was like to be back in the finals.
3. Luka cementing his place as a top level guy. Could have done video packages with other past players his age and their first finals and what it meant for their career.
4. Could have done a LEGENDARY package around Jason Kidd, his finals runs as a player and what its like to be there as a coach.
Thats just off the top of my head. But I guess we can settle for more Lakers coach drama
NBA on NBC gave the best intros. The regular season games were more interesting than a Finals game on ABC.
Wake up bae, new Synthetic Sports video dropped
Fr
This comment theme is getting so annoying
Damn what a original idea in a comment😐
That three movie comment was about the prequels wasn’t it?😂
first time I did not care who win NBA ring. Maybe I am getting older and have other stuff to do, maybe there to many other entertainment so I dont care about NBA to much, it is strange.
Agree, the NFL is the same as well. It’s garbo
as a NBa fan, its true this NBA finals has no aura on it... maybe because its just a one sided series, and also its how ESPN presented that Finals. ESPN is just talking about Lakers and LBJ than promoting this series
The NBA doesn’t feel historic anymore.
Testing my loyalty with the prequel hate
Its sad when fans were cheering for the Dodgers in the middle of a Lakers game. It’s load management to still get injured and the stars joining stars just to lose
They even stop making promo intros every game before tipoff...like putting Gang Starr's songs in 2022, Spike Lee's narration 2021, Cole and Kendrick in 2018 & 2017 respectively, and even The Roots' narration and Champion song IN THE PERFECT 2016 FINALS mind you.
Those kind of coverage got me hype every finals game back then, replaying all of it even til today
It's like those narrations for me bring out the importance and the stakes of every Finals game too
This is just aside from the Finals logo or championship in the court tho
JVG and Jackson getting fired was a crime. Malika Andrews stinks as a host. The ads in our face 24/7. It’s all horrible.