The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the premier markets for any franchise in the history of sports.
Legends Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and more have captivated audiences in every game they played.
Even when the Lakers eventually began missing playoffs and became a lottery team, interest remained high.
Then, LeBron James joined the franchise and re-energized it. Anthony Davis’ arrival made the squad even more appealing.
A year removed from lifting the franchise’s 17th NBA championship, the Lakers had aspirations of repeating. However, injuries and a season mired in the coronavirus pandemic thwarted those goals.
A first-round exit in the playoffs is how the Lakers went out. Los Angeles simply didn’t have enough firepower against the scorching Phoenix Suns, who couldn’t miss in Games 5 and 6. Davis’ groin strain was the final nail in the coffin.
After the Suns eliminated the Lakers, the NBA world erupted in debates about how a big market team like L.A. leaving the playoffs this early would dampen ratings.
The Suns, the No. 2 seed, simply did what they needed to do against an injury-riddled L.A. team, but the debates provided an insight into how Lakers’ games performed on ABC, according to Ethan Strauss of The Athletic:
“In the sports fan foreground, the Lakers’ first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns was the result of a captivating series that could be a launching pad to superstardom for Devin Booker. In the financial background, it’s a disaster for the league’s broadcast partners, if not one for the pandemic-squeezed league itself as it tries to advertise growth while negotiating a huge TV deal.
For a comparative example, Lakers games on ABC are up 48.7 percent in viewership over the other ABC games in this postseason so far. Extrapolate that, and you can see there’s a huge difference, measured in millions of people, between a Lakers Finals run and a Lakers first-round exit, to say nothing of the Warriors’ Play-In ouster. Yes, maybe a shift away from older superstars and an influx of new blood could be good long term for the league, but in the short term? There’s a reason David Stern once quipped that his ideal NBA Finals is “the Lakers vs. the Lakers.”
Both teams displayed some of the best talents the league has to offer. James and Davis for the Lakers, and Chris Paul and Devin Booker for the Suns, including role players Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges who rose to the occasion in a major way.
It was an unfortunate ending for the Lakers, but those ratings give a clear look at the potent appeal of watching the storied franchise compete for more glory.
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