More than any other sport, the NBA’s popularity extends to fans’ relationships with players. And as the historically popular outgoing generation of stars trickles out of the league, and the media debates TV ratings, competitive balance, and the “face of the league,”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst offers a different perspective on why the league’s connection to its fans has waned over time.
Windhorst has become quite the media critic in recent years as his profile at the Worldwide Leader has risen. Today, Windhorst appears across ESPN’s NBA and general studio programming, hosts his own hit podcast, and regularly publishes reported stories online.
So he is by no means an exception to some of the trends he has railed against, from the lack of storytelling around the NBA to the talent decisions by the league’s new broadcast partners.
But in an appearance on The Old Man & the Three with Denver Nuggets forward Cam Johnson this week, Windhorst wove together several threads of his media criticism around the NBA to explain the breakdown he sees between the league and its fans.
In Windhorst’s mind, the restrictions on media access that have come as league revenue has risen and players have formed their own media brands are actively harming the league’s popularity. These changes have not only led to fans having a vested interest in fewer players, but also have created a new generation of commentators and content creators around the league that have no relationship with the people they cover.
“The media and the players would be in the same space every day,” Windhorst explained. “And if you were angry at a media member, which happened to me, and you wanted to MF them, you could just MF them. But you had to do it face-to-face.”
Previously, Windhorst has described how modern NBA practice facilities and arenas were built to keep reporters separate from players. He repeated the claim this week, arguing that while sensible from the team’s side, this setup may mean younger content creators do not see value in reporting live from games. As a result, distrust has developed between some of these reporters, content creators, and people around the league.
“Now, I think because so much of the media is done from a distance where a lot of people don’t even go to arenas, some of the leading people who cover the NBA don’t go to arenas, they’re not seeing the players, they’re not seeing the coaches, it just breaks down the connection,” Windhorst said. “So it’s easier for it to be impersonal because you don’t have that.”
“There’s people that do high-level analysis that are on social media or YouTube or whatever that literally get millions of views and don’t step into an NBA arena the entire year.”
Another point Windhorst has previously made is that “new media,” or content hosted by athletes, “largely has failed.” The money is drying up for these productions, he said.
Clearly, if the debate continues over the future of the league and what to do about its popularity, these shows and documentaries also did not replace the old vehicles for promoting the games.
Windhorst added this week that there could be a stronger partnership between professional storytellers and athletes interested in sharing their stories.
“My thing is create a better connection between the fans and the players by telling their stories,” Windhorst said. “And frankly, sometimes the players are good at telling their stories, and sometimes they’re not. Because that’s not what their profession is. But there are some people out there that are great storytellers.”
Windhorst was careful to note that the NBA has tried plenty of ideas, including producing two seasons of Starting Five on Netflix. And he added that, with fewer big media companies in the game and resources at a premium, he understands why networks or digital companies chase revenue drivers over riskier, more expensive projects.
Rather than blaming one party in particular, Windhorst looked ahead and warned that the trend will continue unless someone budges.
“It’s partially because the players have put up walls, it’s partially because the league has put up walls, it’s partially because the media hasn’t done a good job with its access, but I think we all would benefit from doing more of that,” he said. “But it’s a hard thing to get going, because the players’ salaries have exploded over the last 15 years, and it’s hard to sell a player who has seen his salary explode be convinced that ‘You need to give more for yourself.’”