There are many recent articles about the massive decline in viewership for NBA games and sports in general… I don’t know the source of this observation below, but I think it sums up very well the public’s current disenchantment with professional sports:
Professional sports are staffed by mercenary multimillionaire athletes with no connection to your hometown. These professional sports leagues snub their noses at your traditions, and then exploit your desire to identify with a team and a locality. They then humiliate you by kneeling for our National Anthem and making you pay to watch.