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The NBA has been playing Christmas games since, a year after it was formed. For over seven decades, the league has been associated with this date when it comes to sports viewership. That hasn’t been the case over the last few years with the way the NFL has entered into the picture.
It wasn’t until 1989 that the gridiron started playing Dec. 25 games and it wasn’t until 2016 that football made it an annual event. This Christmas, the football obliterated basketball when it came to viewership.
Front Office Sports posted the ratings for both leagues on the said date. The numbers overwhelmingly favored football over basketball. It looks like the much more rugged game is now the king of sports during Christmas.
Ashley Nicole Moss and sports fans reacted to the staggering disparity in viewership:
“sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh”
The NBA isn’t even on the same planet as the NFL in popularity during Christmas. Ravens-49ers had nearly five times more views than the marquee Boston Celtics versus LA Lakers game. LeBron James remains the biggest draw in basketball but the sport is overwhelmingly behind football in the ratings now.
The NBA In-Season Tournament was a huge success. Commissioner Adam Silver launched it to give fans more excitement and fun. The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was packed as the LA Lakers battled the Indiana Pacers for the championship. With the ratings results out, it has become clear that the said competition couldn’t hype up basketball enough to compete against football.
Scheduling has given the NFL a huge advantage over the NBA in December games
When December rolls, the NBA is roughly two months into the regular season. Between that month and March, things could significantly change. It isn’t the case with the way football is played and how its scheduling is designed.
The NFL starts in September. By the time December arrives, teams are already hotly jockeying for playoff positions. When the Las Vegas Raiders faced the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas, the stakes were incredibly high. The loss dropped them a 9-6 record with only two games left in the season.
The Chiefs could still click a playoff spot with a win next week against the Los Angeles Chargers. They are, however, out of the race for the No. 1 seed and will likely start the postseason playing a wildcard game. Kansas is staring at a long offseason if they lose their last two games.
Christmas games in the NFL just have so much on the table compared to NBA contests on the same date. Basketball can come up with new things but it looks like football is decisively the king of December.
