Finals ratings prove it. Let’s recap:
1999- 29 million watched the year before and it dropped to 16 million. Though it was the first Finals after MJ retired so can’t fault the Spurs for that.
2003- 15.7 million watched the Lakers sweep the Nets the year before. Drops to 9.9 million viewers
2005- 18 million watched Lakers/Pistons the year before. Down to 12.5 million for this one
2007- 13 million watched Heat/Mavs the year before. Down to 9.3 million for this juggernaut
2013 and 2014- 16.9 million watched Heat/Thunder in 2012. 2013 actually went up to 17.5 million, but 2014 went back down to 15.5 million
So in essence, why do fans seem to loathe the Spurs? And I can only imagine how much the NBA loved having ratings drop whenever they made it.
Because the fans are either Europeans who of course decide to be Spurs fans and then obnoxiously dog-whistle about “culture” and playing the “right way” or Americans who decide to be Spurs fans and then obnoxiously dog-whistle about “culture” and playing the “right way”.