Another season has passed, and the NBA viewership did not record its best performance despite the two best teams in the Finals. Dallas has not been that active this offseason. However, due to Jayson Tatum‘s Team USA snub, the Celtics are still headlining the media news. Following the events, it attracted comments from the Celtics legend like Bob Cousy. He accused Steve Kerr of being anti-Celtics as he benched Tatum in the Paris Olympics. Though Kerr has clarified it many times, the Celtics C’s are stretching it further. It’s better for Adam Silver, as he’s going to get viewership from the defending champions anyway.

When ‘Celtics Beat’ podcast host Evan Valenti asked Boston Globe insider Chad Finn about such bias, he straight denied it. Valenti found it funny since the buzz is around only one player, Tatum. Rather, there were three Celtics players on Team USA. But Chad calmly negated the questions, replying, “No, no, no, no.” 

Also, it might have felt to the NBA community that it would blemish Adam Silver’s reputation in the league. Rather, the NBA commissioner has benefited from it as he can rely on their popularity to gain viewership. The Boston Globe insider Chad Finn affirmed the fact as he expressed on ‘Celtics Beat’ podcast, “Adam Silver loves the fact that the Celtics are super relevant um that LeBron and Anthony Davis are on the Lakers so you can still put them on the TV even though they’re mediocre as a team.”

“And that the New York Knicks are suddenly relevant with their Villanova alumni squad, it doesn’t get much better than that for the NBA just in terms of viewership markets,” Chad added how teams’ relevance is serving Adam Silver’s business. The Lakers could not get past the first round of playoffs. So it can be argued that they’re not the best they used to be. However, is it Adam Silver who has an obsession with the Lakers, or is it the NBA fanatics out there?

Is it Adam Silver, or do the Hoopers have an obsession with the Lakers?

It’s a mix of both the NBA community and Adam Silver, who has a secret love for the Lakers. Despite their humbling first round of playoffs snub, fans want to see bigwigs. That’s why LeBron James‘ Lakers have 39 games to be televised on ABC, ESPN, NBA TV, or TNT this season. As per the Washington Post’s Des Bieler, the purple and gold jerseys squad is “resuming their annual role as a showcase franchise.”

The second spot for the showcase franchise has gone to the Golden State Warriors with 36 games nationally televised games. Following the Dubs are the defending champions, Boston Celtics, with 34 games. It is quite ironic that Adam Silver has not given a major chunk to the Celtics despite their rich history and championship. However, it seems that the NBA commissioner has little role in it.

As per Yahoo Sports‘ Jack Baer, the television networks demand such a proposition. They “do want good teams on their docket, but they want big names most of all.” Now, when we go with LeBron’s name instead of the Lakers, Chad Finn’s theory justifies it. So that might be the reason Adam Silver allotted the games to teams for broadcast, as they are currently. Still, do you think Silver has some personal bias? Let us know in the comments.