The NBA schedule for the 2024/25 season is out and the immediate thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was the LA Lakers’ fixtures. They have LeBron James and Bronny’s tandem locked in for the opening night of the season, but is that a compelling enough to make a Lakers-heavy schedule?

On top of that, the purple and gold brigade will have only 13 back-to-backs next season thanks to Adam Silver’s tinkering. According to the NBA schedule, the Lakers will have 39 National TV games, the highest number, followed by the Golden State Warriors with 36. Last season, the Dubs led with with 41 and the Lakers had 40. The blockbuster appeal of LeBron and Steph Curry’s bis the driving force behind these numbers, and it’s no surprise.

This is what Travis Rodgers and Allen Sliwa had to say during the recent episode of  Travis & Sliwa on ESPN LA. According to the duo, the NBA is a movie, a show and your star names should be at the forefront of it. The business motive of the NBA schedule can be easily guessed as LeBron, in his 22nd season will share the court with his son. Curry’s Dubs will also take the court without Klay Thompson, marking the start of a new era.

It almost makes certain that all the eyes will be on these two teams despite their timid bid in the championship race. The hosts of the show drew parallels to golf and Tiger Woods to explain the situation. “I know the business part of it makes sense and that a really good example of this of golf for so many years still to this day are depending on Tiger Woods to this day,” Silwa said. “He took the tour on a 10 or 12 year ride that was unprecedented, made countless people millionaires time after time after time that didn’t have any of what he had. It’s just his star power dragged it along,” Travis further elaborated.

Even in his later years, Tiger Woods remains a major draw on golf TV. In the 12 years in which he finished in the top-5 of the Masters, an average of 14.89 million viewers tuned in for the final rounds. Now with Woods in decline, this year’s final round drew only 9.59 million viewers on CBS, a 20% drop from the previous year. “I know he had the one major, but he’s still the thing that is Tiger playing…LeBron has it. Steph has it,” Travis concluded.

Compared to the Lakers and the Warriors, the Boston Celtics will have 34 National TV games, the same as their opening night opponents, the NY Knicks. The Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns will have 30 each in that regard. While players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Luka Doncic, and Anthony Edwards could be seen as the league’s future stars, none quite match the star power of LeBron or Steph. Similar to Woods in golf, LeBron and Steph continue to dominate the NBA spotlight. Hence, the ESPN LA crew supported the Western Conference duo and backed Adam Silver’s decision.

The decision wasn’t met with enthusiasm, however. Trae Young has already voiced his frustration at the NBA schedule for excluding Atlanta Hawks from the MLK Day fixtures. “MLK disappointed in y’all.. @NBA. I’m sorry Atlanta”, Young wrote in an post on X after the NBA schedule was released. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta and thus the day holds a special significance for the Hawks who’ve been featured in the MLK Day fixtures since 2017. So, aside from the Hawks, which team dealt collateral damage due to the scheduling?

Looking at the coverage-deprived teams after NBA schedule revealed

As fans eagerly mark their calendars for exciting matchups, some teams have reason to complain. While the Lakers and Warriors dominate national TV coverage, some franchises will see minimal coverage due to the current NBA schedule. The teams with the least amount of coverage will have just four games on TV. This includes the Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors, and Detroit Pistons. Following them are the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards with 5 games each.

With 7 games each, the Utah Jazz and Charlotte Hornets come third from the bottom, with the Hawks trailing closely behind with 8 games to their names. The Orlando Magic will have one more game for their fans, wrapping up the list for teams with fewer than 10 games on national TV. But the good thing about schedule is it is subject to changes and as the season progresses, there might be some changes to it, depending on how things play out.