Tom Brady in the Super Bowl? Nothing new. But this time, he wasn’t leading a team—he was calling the action. The seven-time champ swapped his helmet for a headset, making his Super Bowl debut as a Fox announcer. And while the NFL throwing games onto a Wednesday Christmas NBA slate was already a wild shift, that might just be the beginning. With the league expected to bump up to an 18-game season soon, the Super Bowl could end up moving to Presidents Day weekend. That’s the same time the NBA All-Star Game takes place. But the NBA is hitting back.

And they’re going big. It is, however, Brady’s employer now which has brought joy to Adam Silver.

When Fox4 News asked fans in Dallas whether they were more hyped for Luka Doncic’s Lakers debut or the Super Bowl, the results were eye-opening. A solid 62% picked Luka’s first game over football’s biggest night! Yes, in Texas—where the Super Bowl is practically a holiday—more people wanted to see Doncic in Purple & Gold.

That says a lot about the impact of this blockbuster trade.

Another surprising bit? Patrick Mahomes was leading the Kansas City Chiefs, a native of Tyler, Texas. And Luka used to be the face of the Mavericks. But this poll made something crystal clear: Luka’s star power outshines Mahomes in his own backyard! The Luka-Davis trade got the whole world talking about the NBA again.

The NBA will want this buzz to continue and leading the charge will be one of its marquee franchises: the Los Angeles Lakers. The iconic Purple & Gold has been generating headlines since last century. This season they drafted Bronny James, LeBron James’ son, and created history for the first in the NBA as a father-son duo shared the court.

But the NBA still has a long way to go.

The NBA needs to figure out something soon

The NBA’s ratings keep slipping, and this season’s numbers only make it more obvious. Yahoo Sports reports that ESPN’s viewership has dropped 28% from last season. Everyone has their own take on why fans are losing interest. Some blame the overreliance on three-pointers, which have taken the physicality out of the game. Sure, teams are scoring more, but watching players launch threes all night doesn’t always make for great entertainment.

Load management is another hot-button issue. Fans drop hundreds of dollars on tickets, only to find out their favorite player is sitting out for rest. Try explaining that to a kid who just wanted to see their hero play. It’s frustrating, and honestly, it’s pushing people away.

But here’s the biggest shift—none of the NBA’s top five players are American. That changes the way the game is marketed. Debate shows used to thrive on arguments over the best player, but with LeBron no longer holding that spot, those discussions aren’t as loud.

The NBA needs to stop pretending international stars like Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander don’t have massive global appeal. Not only global, but even Dallas residents preferred him over Mahomes. Instead of forcing American narratives, they should embrace the fact that basketball is bigger than one country. The league’s best talent comes from all over, and if they don’t start selling that story, the ratings will keep falling.