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.