“These guys better wake up.” Magic Johnson warned the NBA and its players to fix some glaring issues that he believes have led to the recent decline in ratings. Lack of meaningful rivalries. Players are very friendly with the competition. And of course, load management. Well, it looks like even veteran insider Stephen A. Smith agrees with the Lakers legend as he pointed fingers at LeBron James and Adam Silver for the ongoing problems.

Addressing Magic’s comments on The Stephen A. Smith Show, the ESPN analyst questioned the fans, “You don’t see all this hugging and Kumbaya-ing going on? You don’t see players sitting up there and following LeBron James’ lead?” To prove his point, he even referred to the time when LeBron returned to Miami for the first time after breaking up the Heatles, but instead of keeping that competitive rivalry, Bron and Dwyane Wade hugged it out like good pals.

Smith also claimed that the iconic Celtics-Heat and Celtics-Lakers rivalries have taken a hit due to LBJ’s friendly nature. “You gotta remember. Just recently they were enemies! Boston was enemies with Miami, not just the Lakers. LeBron comes along, and you are getting along with everybody.” Moreover, the analyst highlighted that LBJ has a nice-guy brand as opposed to Michael Jordan, who was considered an assassin. And that has caused other NBA players to follow LBJ’s lead and change their demeanor.

“Everybody saw a way to cultivate relationships with one another, ultimately doing business with one another or advising one another on how to do business to get more money. As a result, everybody was about brand protection.” Smith remarked. As competitive as players are on the court, most of them are friends off it. And that could be a problem in terms of selling the product because there are no heated rivalries to excite the fans like in the 80s and 90s. Then, Stephen A. shifted his focus to Adam Silver!

Stephen A. Smith sounds off at Adam Silver, and compares the NBA to “General Hospital”

Well, LeBron and other players were not the only ones to face Smith’s wrath, as he added, “They ain’t the only ones. The NBA is guilty of this too because you took the physicality out of the game. To a lesser degree.” The analyst believes that the rule changes, which have caused the games to be less physical and more fast-moving, have also reduced the animosity between players.

“As a result, hate dissipates too, because if somebody ain’t getting away with knocking you upside the damn head, or they know doing so could get themselves ejected, suspended, fined, etc., it’s going to be less of that. Less of that leads to more cordiality… And as a result, everybody ends up singing Kumbaya to one another.” He remarked. Then, the analyst made a wild comparison: “Sometimes I watch the NBA and wonder if it’s the latest episode of General Hospital!”

The frustration is justified because the NBA has seen a significant decline in television ratings. And Silver has even acknowledged it. However, despite Magic’s warning and Smith’s outburst, the NBA Commissioner does not seem too worried as he sees the viewers’ shift from television as part of the natural progression: “If you look at other data points, in terms of our business, for example, we’ve just come off the last two years of the highest attendance in the history of this league. We’re at a point where our social media audience is at the highest of any league and continuing to grow exponentially. So, it’s not a lack of interest in this game.”

Not only the NBA, but even college basketball and the NHL have lost TV viewership. That’s mainly because more people are shifting to streaming platforms for a better viewing experience. And the NBA is moving with the trend with their latest media rights deal with Amazon Prime Video and other networks. “We’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programming on streaming than they are in traditional television. And it’s a reason why for our new television deals, which will enter into next year, every game is going to be available on a streaming service.” Silver remarked.

So, there might not be anything to worry about after all. Do you agree?