However, the point about Antetokounmpo is a good one.
Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic appears to care less about being a star in the United States, and Luka Doncic spends most of his time in Europe during the offseason.
Simmons explained that the NBA Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder did not play on Christmas Day, and neither did the Milwaukee Bucks and star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The NBA quickly boasted about their Christmas Day ratings boom as the Lakers-Warriors drew more viewers than any regular-season game in five years.
Basketball podcaster and media mogul Bill Simmons has seen the faces of basketball since the 2010s and believes LeBron James and Stephen Curry are both part of the problem and solution.
He explained that stars aren’t being given the spotlight to take the reigns of the league.
“You could go glass half full or glass half empty on it, but the fact that the Steph-LeBron game was so good and sucked up so much oxygen from the day is actually kind of part of the problem.”
The question to ask is if basketball is able to take the risk of having a game on the prime-time schedule where a player like Joel Embiid is headlining Christmas Day, knowing that he has about a 50/50 chance he will or won’t play.
The Lakers won a 115-113 thriller, with James leading the way and Austin Reaves hit a game-winning layup with one second left.
The NBA has a viewership problem and there are many hands in the pot that could be to blame.