SACRAMENTO, Calif. — If only for a little while, first-year Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick was reliving his past life as a basketball podcaster. And the topic of this episode — recorded during his pregame media session before a game against the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night — was the NBA’s decline in television ratings.
Advertisement “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to provide takes anymore,” Redick said before settling into his seat and delivering his answer that lasted nearly four minutes. “I’ll try to be brief.” Redick, who hosted a podcast with LeBron James before taking this job last summer, cited a number of factors that he believes have played a role in the ratings, among them the shift away from conventional cable and to streaming services.
But as the former NBA player and ESPN analyst sees it, it’s the negative discourse about the game among “national partners” that is largely to blame above all else. “I don’t think we ..
. have done a good job of storytelling, of celebrating the game,” Redick said. “If I’m a casual fan and you tell me every time I turn on the television that the product sucks, well, I’m not going to watch the product.
And that’s really what has happened over the last 10 to 15 years. I don’t know why. It’s not funny to me.
” While Redick didn’t specify which voices he was referring to, the celebrated former players on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” — Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Ne.
