The NFL&#8217;s Christmas Day games on Netflix set a record as the most streamed games in NFL history with around 24 million people tuning in for each game, Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/12/26/netflix-nfl-ratings-beyonce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
The NFL&#8217;s Christmas doubleheader kicked off with the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, which drew 24.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen. A Netflix spokesman told Axios that around one-third of the streaming service&#8217;s global concurrent viewers were watching the game at one point, which made the Chiefs-Steelers game the most-watched concurrent stream of the past four years for Netflix.
Later in the day on Wednesday, the game between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens had an average audience of 24.3 million viewers. According to Nielsen figures dating back to 2001, the Texans-Ravens game was the most-watched Christmas Day game for the coveted 18-34-year-old demographic. The game&#8217;s viewership peaked at 27 million when Beyonce took the stage to perform at halftime.
Both Christmas Day games drew more viewers than the 2023 AFC wild card matchup between the Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins, which streamed on Peacock. Combined, both NFL Christmas Day games — along with pre-game shows and Beyonce&#8217;s halftime performance — drew in around 65 million people, the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-nfl-christmas-b59bd2a3cc1bf94d351d8db6fbe030c8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The successful NFL streams on Netflix came a month after the streaming giant was criticized during the Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight when many viewers complained about the stream freezing and buffering.
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The NBA, which has scheduled games on Christmas Day for decades, saw a bump in viewership on Wednesday, but its numbers came nowhere close to the NFL&#8217;s. The NBA, which broadcasted its games on ABC and ESPN, averaged around 5 million viewers for its five-game Christmas Day slate. This year&#8217;s Christmas Day NBA games saw an 84% rise in viewership compared to last year.
Following the Los Angeles Lakers win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, LeBron James quipped, &#8220;I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day.&#8221;
NFL Media Executive Vice President Hans Schroeder responded to James&#8217; comment, saying, “The numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can have his own view, and I’m sure more people will look at that because of this.&#8221;
&#8220;But, you know, we’re focused on the NFL and we’re thrilled with the results this year with the Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build that over the next couple of years,&#8221; Schroeder added.

NFL/Netflix

NFL Breaks Streaming Record With Christmas Day Games On Netflix

Christmas

Netflix

The NBA is seeing its viewership plummet in the first half of the 2024-2025 season while the NFL enjoys some of its best ratings in the past decade.
As of last week, NBA ratings were down 17% across its main networks, ABC, ESPN, and TNT, according to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/19/cnbc-sport-falling-nba-ratings-and-directvs-christmas-day-nfl-deal.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC Sport</a>. The problem has become big enough for NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to address it, but Silver seems positive that the negative viewership trend isn&#8217;t &#8220;a lack of interest in the game.&#8221;
The NFL, meanwhile, recorded its highest average of viewers per game (17.3 million) through the first 10 weeks of the season, Front Office Sports <a href="https://frontofficesports.com/nfl-tv-ratings-up-big-on-major-networks-but-theres-a-caveat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last month. That average doesn&#8217;t include a few games that were available exclusively services Peacock and ESPN+ or international games broadcast on NFL Network. The NFL is also seeing a 7% increase in viewership on streaming service Amazon Prime this year compared to last year.
So, what&#8217;s behind the NBA&#8217;s struggles?
There are a few theories.
Some argue that the league has become &#8220;woke,&#8221; as players and coaches focus too much on politics when fans just want to watch basketball. Since 2020, the NBA has been one of, if not the most, pro-social justice sports leagues. After the 2020 death of George Floyd in police custody, the NBA allowed players to put phrases such as &#8220;Black Lives Matter&#8221; and &#8220;I Can&#8217;t Breathe&#8221; on their uniforms.
That decision clearly left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans. While the NBA has dialed back its league-wide push for social justice, some of the most notable players and coaches in the league — such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Steve Kerr — are still openly political and openly Left-leaning.
If woke culture is a culprit for the NBA&#8217;s ratings decline, it&#8217;s probably not the sole reason. The NFL has also pushed <a href="https://www.nfl.com/causes/inspire-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social justice</a> causes in recent years, and still allows players to place social-justice-inspired phrases on the back of their helmets. The wokeness in the NFL hasn&#8217;t gone completely away, but the pro football league&#8217;s ratings are spiking again.
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Others say the NBA&#8217;s viewership has declined because a handful of star players throughout the league haven&#8217;t been playing as much this season due to injuries. Stars like Joel Embiid, Zion Williamson, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Luka Doncic, and Victor Wembanyama have all missed multiple games this season.
The NBA commissioner has another theory. He pointed to the decreasing number of people watching traditional cable TV as a reason for the numbers the NBA is seeing this year.
“We’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programming on streaming than they are in traditional television,” Silver said, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6002603/2024/12/17/adam-silver-nba-tv-ratings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Athletic</a>.
Other sports are also struggling with viewership declines. Men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s college basketball, along with the NHL are all down this year, Sports Media Watch reported, a fact that appears to bolster Silver&#8217;s argument that the ratings decline has a lot to do with the overall decline in cable TV subscriptions.
Silver added that beginning next year, the NBA is going to make every game &#8220;available on a streaming service.&#8221;
Some fans complain that the NBA&#8217;s 82-game season is just too long to stay interesting, so it&#8217;s impossible for the league to keep its ratings up all year. To address this and bring more viewers in during the first half of its long season, the NBA started an in-season tournament where all 30 teams face off in a round-robin group play followed by a single-elimination playoff. The in-season tournament began last year and recently finished its second go-round. Ratings for this season&#8217;s tournament, however, were 10% lower than last year&#8217;s, Outkick <a href="https://www.outkick.com/sports/ratings-new-nba-tournament-failure" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
In all likelihood, each theory for the NBA&#8217;s tanking ratings is partly correct. It&#8217;s true, as Silver points out, that the way people watch TV is rapidly changing, as streaming services gain more prominence, and injuries to any league&#8217;s star players won&#8217;t help with ratings.
But it&#8217;s also true that the NBA has been vocal about politics, and Americans just don&#8217;t want their favorite sports teams and players lecturing them about cultural issues and presidential candidates.

NFL/NBA

NBA Ratings Tank While The NFL Jumps. What’s Behind The Viewership Contrast?

NBA Ratings Tank While The NFL's Jump. What's Behind The Viewership Contrast?

Adam Silver

Sports

Former NBA player <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/charles-barkley" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Charles Barkley</a> slammed the Democratic Party in a recent rant about the its losses in the 2024 elections and the subsequent blame-game that it has played in trying to explain why it came up short.
The 61-year-old commentator, who is a staunch <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/charles-barkley-attacks-americans-boycotting-bud-light-rednecks-and-aholes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defender</a> of transgender rights, made the remarks during a recent episode of &#8220;The Steam Room&#8221; podcast with his NBA on TNT co-host Ernie Johnson.
He started his rant by congratulating President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory and wishing him success for his upcoming term in office.
&#8220;I just want to say this to the Democrats, which I&#8217;m an independent who voted Democratic, do me this favor: Shut the f*** up!&#8221; he said.
&#8220;When you win, you get to say what you want to,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;When you lose, you need to shut the hell up.&#8221;
He chided those who were making excuses by saying things like, &#8220;Oh, President Biden, they didn’t get out of the race soon enough,&#8221; or &#8220;Kamala didn’t do this.&#8221;
&#8220;We lost because we had no game plan,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We still haven&#8217;t solved the immigration problem, have no viable answers, never addressed inflation.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
He also slammed the Harris campaign and the Democratic Party for focusing its efforts on &#8220;bringing all these stupid stars out to rally the vote.&#8221;
&#8220;Hey, I love Beyonce. What is bringing her out? That ain&#8217;t gonna make me vote a certain way,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Cardi B. I like Cardi B, that ain&#8217;t gonna make me vote a certain type of way.&#8221;
&#8220;You guys lost because y&#8217;all stupid,&#8221; he added.
Barkley added that he does not believe that &#8220;everybody who voted for Trump is racist,&#8221; and although he is not a fan of Trump, &#8220;he’s the president&#8221; and &#8220;I’m gonna have to respect the office.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sir Charles Barkley on 2024: “I just want to say this to the Democrats…Do me this favor: shut the f**k up! When you win, you get to say what you want to. When you lose, you need to shut the hell up.” <a href="https://t.co/6PCCY3riMD">pic.twitter.com/6PCCY3riMD</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1859058103284887669?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2024</a></blockquote>

2024 Steve Harvey Charity Golf Classic

Charles Barkley’s Advice To Democrats After Losing: ‘Shut The F*** Up!’

Celebrities

Charles Barkley

Democratic Party

Donald Trump

Kamala Harris

Politics

The recent unveiling of a statue to honor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nba">NBA</a> star <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/dwyane-wade">Dwyane Wade</a> by the Miami Heat quickly sparked reactions from fans, who mostly agreed the tribute looks nothing like the man himself.
The statue was commissioned by the Heat and created by sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar León from Rotblatt Amrany Studio. It was intended to celebrate Wade’s lasting impact on the franchise, but many fans saw nothing but the fact that the features didn’t resemble Wade.
Wade was honored with a ceremony, and the new statue was unveiled outside the Kaseya Center in Miami on Sunday. The statue is supposed to be of Wade doing the &#8220;This is my house&#8221; pose, per <a href="https://www.si.com/nba/miami-heat-dwyane-wade-statue-roasted">Sports Illustrated</a>.
“The Miami Heat should’ve had a contest where they showed this picture to 1,000 fans — and anyone who guesses it’s Dwyane Wade gets to keep the statue,” one social media user <a href="https://x.com/JeffDarlington/status/1850668926671241616">wrote</a> on X.
“This statue is so bad it’s making me forget what Dwayne [sic] Wade actually looks like,” another comment <a href="https://x.com/OG_Rad_Hatter/status/1850663483488239826">said</a>. “The longer I look, the harder it is for me to picture his real face.”
“They did him dirty with that sculpture. In no way does that remotely look like Dwyane Wade,” another wrote.
“Why is Dwayne Wade [sic] unveiling a statue of Laurence Fishburne??” another wondered.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
Wade also seemed to react to the lack of resemblance, saying during his speech, “Like that’s crazy, I can’t believe it, like who is that guy?” while gesturing towards the statue. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Dwayne Wade on his statue: 
“WHO’S THAT GUY.” 😭😭😭 <a href="https://t.co/NGL7ZN2NYX">pic.twitter.com/NGL7ZN2NYX</a>
&mdash; NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheNBACentel/status/1850662727477235726?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Wade was not the first athlete to see a statue meant to resemble him go viral for the wrong reason.
A bronze bust of NFL star Peyton Manning made headlines after its unveiling in 2021, with fans saying it didn’t even come close to capturing the look of the former top pick of the NFL draft. 
Soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo was honored with a bronze bust that was mocked for looking nothing like him, leading to his brother having a new statue <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2781589-ronaldo-sculptor-emanuel-santos-devastated-as-bust-swapped-at-madeira-airport">commissioned</a> just one year after its unveiling in 2017. 
&nbsp;

Dwyane Wade

Dwyane Wade Statue Mocked By Fans Who Say It Looks Nothing Like Him

Florida

Miami

Statues

U.S.

NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a dominant 7-foot-2 center, died Monday after losing his battle with brain cancer. He was 58.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement that he was surrounded by his family when he died.
Mutombo played 18 seasons in the NBA, where he was one of the most feared shot blockers of all time and taunted opponents with a signature finger wag.
&#8220;Dikembe Mutombo was simply larger than life,&#8221; Silver said. &#8220;On the court, he was one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players in the history of the NBA. Off the floor, he poured his heart and soul into helping others.&#8221;
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Silver continued:
<blockquote>There was nobody more qualified than Dikembe to serve as the NBA&#8217;s first Global Ambassador. He was a humanitarian at his core. He loved what the game of basketball could do to make a positive impact on communities, especially in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo and across the continent of Africa. I had the privilege of traveling the world with Dikembe and seeing first-hand how his generosity and compassion uplifted people. He was always accessible at NBA events over the years &#8212; with his infectious smile, deep booming voice and signature finger wag that endeared him to basketball fans of every generation.
Dikembe&#8217;s indomitable spirit continues on in those who he helped and inspired throughout his extraordinary life. I am one of the many people whose lives were touched by Dikembe&#8217;s big heart and I will miss him dearly. On behalf of the entire NBA family, I send my deepest condolences to Dikembe&#8217;s wife, Rose, and their children; his many friends; and the global basketball community which he truly loved and which loved him back.</blockquote>
The league announced in October 2022 that Mutombo was undergoing treatment in Atlanta for a brain tumor.
His career in the NBA included stints for the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, and Houston Rockets, ESPN <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/34800443/dikembe-mutombo-starting-treatment-brain-tumor-diagnosis">reported</a>.
The sports publication noted that Mutombo was named the league&#8217;s top defensive player four times and finished his career ranked second all-time in blocks (3,289).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NBA Global Ambassador and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo passed away today at the age of 58 from brain cancer. He was surrounded by his family.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement. <a href="https://t.co/uHgZgSBDUJ">pic.twitter.com/uHgZgSBDUJ</a>
— NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1840769152144887869?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 30, 2024</a></blockquote>

Washington Wizards v Golden State Warriors – NBA Japan Games

NBA Legend Dikembe Mutombo Dead At 58

On Monday, the Boston Celtics regained their status as the NBA team with the most championships, winning their 18th title with a 106-88 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
The Celtics won the series 4-1, cementing their reputation as the NBA’s best team after having boasted the league’s best record over the regular season. Jayson Tatum led the way with 31 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.  Jaylen Brown, who was named the Most Valuable Player in the Finals, scored 20 points, Jrue Holiday had 15 points, and Derrick White added 14. The Celtics outrebounded the Mavericks 51-35.
Tatum and Brown have been together on the team since 2017, going as far as the NBA Finals but not winning a title until now.
The Celtics led by nine points at the end of the first quarter, then built the lead to 21 points at halftime as Payton Pritchard threw in a three-point shot from beyond halfcourt. The outcome of the game was never in doubt after that.
The title came 16 years to the day after the Celtics won their last championship in 2008, when they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, who have 17 titles, in the Finals. Head coach Joe Mazzulla, 35, became the youngest head coach to win the NBA title since legendary player-coach Bill Russell led the team to its title in 1969 to conclude the most dominant run of titles in sports, as that was the Celtics&#8217; 11th title in 13 years, with a string of eight consecutive championships between 1959-1966.
Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson tweeted, “I hate that the Celtics officially have more championships than us now,” adding, “Celtics GM Brad Stevens trading for Jru Holiday and Kristaps Prozingis was an MVP move that made the Celtics the best team in basketball this year! Adding Holiday made them the perimeter defending team in the league, and adding Prozingis made them the most explosive offensive and best starting 5 in basketball this year! &#8230; Joe Mazzulla really improved as a coach this season and had the Celtics prepared for every round of the playoffs, making all the proper adjustments on offense and defense.”

2024 NBA Finals – Game Five

Boston Celtics Win 18th NBA Title, Regain Spot As Team With Most Championships

Bill Russell

Boston Celtics

Magic Johnson

Jerry West, an NBA Hall-of-Famer and the man widely considered to be the player depicted in the NBA logo, died on Wednesday morning. He was 86-years-old.
West, who played his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers, was an NBA all-star in each of his 14 seasons and won one championship in his nine NBA Finals appearances. The former Lakers guard was the third player in NBA history to reach 25,000 points and the only player to win a Finals MVP after losing the NBA championship. He was nicknamed &#8220;Mr. Clutch&#8221; for his common late-game heroics.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
RIP JERRY WEST aka Mr. Clutch aka The Logo!
The only player to ever win NBA Finals MVP on a losing team. He&#8217;s also 1 of 7 players with scoring &amp; assist titles. Of those 7, he &amp; LeBron are the only ones to make an All-Defensive 1st team. <a href="https://t.co/vNWzwc3QC0">pic.twitter.com/vNWzwc3QC0</a>
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1800889448131072067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The NBA mourned West&#8217;s death with Commissioner Adam Silver releasing a statement on Wednesday, ESPN <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40333628/nba-all-great-jerry-west-dies-age-86" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;Jerry West was a basketball genius and a defining figure in our league for more than 60 years,&#8221; Silver said. &#8220;He distinguished himself not only as an NBA champion and an All-Star in all 14 of his playing seasons, but also as a consummate competitor who embraced the biggest moments.&#8221;
&#8220;I valued my friendship with Jerry and the knowledge he shared with me over many years about basketball and life,&#8221; Silver added. &#8220;On behalf of the NBA, we send our deepest condolences to Jerry&#8217;s wife, Karen, his family and his many friends in the NBA community.&#8221;
After his storied NBA playing career, West coached the Lakers from 1976 to 1979 and then became an NBA executive, helping build the dominant Lakers teams of the 1980s, which won five NBA titles with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. West was also part of the front office, which put together the all-time great duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O&#8217;Neal and hired head coach Phil Jackson.
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Later in his life, West advised the Los Angeles Clippers and worked in the front offices of the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors, ESPN reported.
West&#8217;s fellow NBA legend Michael Jordan also released a <a href="https://x.com/esteep/status/1800911175930229195" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Wednesday, saying West was &#8220;like an older brother to me.&#8221;
&#8220;I always wished I could have played against him as a competitor, but the more I came to know him, I wish I had been his teammate,&#8221; Jordan said. &#8220;I admired his basketball insights and he and I shared many similarities to how we approached the game. He will be forever missed! My condolences to his wife, Karen, and his sons. RIP, Logo.&#8221;
West&#8217;s death came just two weeks after NBA Hall-of-Fame forward <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nba-hall-of-famer-bill-walton-dead-at-71" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bill Walton</a> died at the age of 71. Walton was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1974, beginning his career just one season after West retired.

Jerry West

NBA Legend Jerry West Dies

Death

Los Angeles Lakers

Major figures from the sports and political world remembered <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nba" target="_blank" rel="noopener">basketball</a> legend Bill Walton on Monday after news broke that he had passed away following a battle with cancer. He was 71 years old.
Walton was selected No. 1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA draft after finishing his college career under legendary coach John Wooden at UCLA, where he helped push the Bruins to a remarkable 88-game winning streak and two national championships. The 6-foot-11 center won an NBA championship with the Trail Blazers in 1977 and was also awarded the Finals MVP. Nine years later, Walton won another NBA championship with the Boston Celtics.
After he retired from the NBA, Walton became a basketball commentator for multiple networks, beginning with CBS in 1990 before moving to ABC/ESPN, where he worked as an NBA analyst until stepping away for a short time in 2009. Walton got back behind the microphone in 2012 as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and the Pac-12 Conference, calling games through the 2023-2024 season. The American Sportscasters Association named Walton one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all time in 2009.
Former NBA star Julius Erving, commonly known as Dr J., said: &#8220;I am sad today hearing that my comrade &amp; one of the sports worlds most beloved champions &amp; characters has passed. Bill Walton enjoyed life in every way. To compete against him &amp; to work with him was a blessing in my life. Sorry for your loss Walton family. We’ll miss him too. Doc.&#8221;
Magic Johnson posted on X: &#8220;Rest in peace to a friend, 2X NBA Champion, Hall of Famer, and one of the most skilled centers we’ve ever seen Bill Walton! His NCAA Championship performance as a UCLA Bruin against Memphis is by far the most dominate NCAA Championship performance ever &#8211; he shot 21 for 22 and had us all mesmerized! That’s when I first fell in love with his basketball game.&#8221;
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&#8220;They talk about Jokic being the most skilled center but Bill Walton was first!&#8221; Johnson added. &#8220;From shooting jump shots to making incredible passes, he was one of the smartest basketball players to ever live. Bill was a great ambassador for college basketball and the NBA, and he will be sorely missed. Cookie and I send our condolences and prayers to his wife Lori, kids Luke, Nathan, Chris, and Adam, and all of his loved ones.&#8221;
Former President Barack Obama added: &#8220;Bill Walton was one of the greatest basketball players of all time – a champion at every level and the embodiment of unselfish team play. He was also a wonderful spirit full of curiosity, humor and kindness. We are poorer for his passing, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family.&#8221;
NBA commissioner Adam Silver <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nba-hall-of-famer-bill-walton-dead-at-71">said</a> in a statement that Walton was &#8220;truly one of a kind.&#8221;
“As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams,” he said. “Bill then translated his infectious enthusiasm and love for the game to broadcasting, where he delivered insightful and colorful commentary which entertained generations of basketball fans. But what I will remember most about him was his zest for life. He was a regular presence at league events – always upbeat, smiling ear to ear and looking to share his wisdom and warmth. I treasured our close friendship, envied his boundless energy and admired the time he took with every person he encountered.”

Celebrities At The Los Angeles Clippers Game

Tributes Pour In For Basketball Legend Bill Walton: ‘One Of The Greatest Basketball Players Of All Time’

Basketball

General

Bill Walton, a Hall of Fame NBA center who won two league championships, died of cancer, the NBA announced on Monday. He was 71 years old.
Walton was selected No. 1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA draft after finishing his college career under legendary coach John Wooden at UCLA, where he helped push the Bruins to a remarkable 88-game winning streak and two national championships. The 6-foot-11 center won an NBA championship with the Trail Blazers in 1977 and was also awarded the Finals MVP. Nine years later, Walton won another NBA championship with the Boston Celtics.
After he retired from the NBA, Walton became a basketball commentator for multiple networks, beginning with CBS in 1990 before moving to ABC/ESPN, where he worked as an NBA analyst until stepping away for a short time in 2009. Walton got back behind the microphone in 2012 as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and the Pac-12 Conference, calling games through the 2023-2024 season. The American Sportscasters Association named Walton one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all time in 2009.
&#8220;Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,&#8221; NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement, according to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40229031/nba-champion-hall-famer-bill-walton-dies-71" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN</a>. &#8220;As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to an NBA regular-season and Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA&#8217;s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams.&#8221;
&#8220;Bill then translated his infectious enthusiasm and love for the game to broadcasting, where he delivered insightful and colorful commentary which entertained generations of basketball fans,&#8221; Silver added. &#8220;But what I will remember most about him was his zest for life. He was a regular presence at league events &#8211; always upbeat, smiling ear to ear and looking to share his wisdom and warmth. I treasured our close friendship, envied his boundless energy and admired the time he took with every person he encountered.&#8221;

Bill Walton

NBA Hall Of Famer Bill Walton Dead At 71

College basketball

The WNBA draft happened last month. According to the latest numbers I read, the event usually averages about 14 total viewers. 
This year, however, the WNBA draft won record ratings, nearly doubling its normal viewership. That added audience is largely thanks to Caitlin Clark, who went number one overall to something called the Indiana Fever. Which sounds like a disease you might contract from a hooker in Fort Wayne, but is apparently the name of a women’s basketball team. Clark, for her part, is easily the most famous women’s basketball star of all time. She’s so famous that I know her name —though I don’t know anything else about her.
If you are in the very small fraternity of people who qualify as WNBA fans, this sudden increased interest in the league — even if it still amounts to basically no interest— should be cause for celebration and gratitude. But we don’t do celebration very well in this culture, and we don’t do gratitude at all, really. So instead people found reasons to whine. And that whining led to what is, surely, the dumbest discourse of the year 2024 so far. I don’t expect it to retain that title until January, but for now it easily lays claim to it. Since the draft, the Left has been complaining bitterly that WNBA salaries are too low. 
It started on social media, with posts like this one from someone named Alyssa Leader, who identifies herself as a public defender. She also has, needless to say, pronouns in her bio. She tweeted this:
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Decided to google WNBA salaries before the draft and I actually want to die what the hell. <a href="https://t.co/PNMgiMrm9c">pic.twitter.com/PNMgiMrm9c</a>
&mdash; Alyssa Leader (@alittleleader) <a href="https://twitter.com/alittleleader/status/1780006620459594081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The salaries that have apparently zapped her will to live are $76,000 a year for the top four picks in the draft and $70,000 for the rest of the round one selections. 
In subsequent tweets, Alyssa tells us that the average starting salary for first round NBA draft picks is $10 million by comparison. She says this contrast is “honestly devastating.” There were many other tweets like this from similarly outraged, devastated, and apparently suicidal feminists. Soon the media jumped onto the bandwagon. NBC News had this headline: “Gap between Caitlin Clark&#8217;s WNBA salary and her male counterparts&#8217; draws outrage.” Today.com <a href="https://www.today.com/news/sports/caitlin-clark-salary-rcna147977?search=WNBA" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added this</a>: “Caitlin Clark went No. 1 in the WNBA draft. Some fans are outraged at her salary.”
The outrage made its way up to the White House, where Joe Biden tweeted at 5:00 p.m., right before bed, that:
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Women in sports continue to push new boundaries and inspire us all.
But right now we&#39;re seeing that even if you&#39;re the best, women are not paid their fair share.
It’s time that we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and ensure women are paid what they deserve.
&mdash; President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1780354983457644819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Now, we’ll get back to that “fair share” idea in a moment. First, let’s go to the ABC News report on this controversy, which inadvertently revealed the fundamental confusion at work here:
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&quot;These women have been underpaid now, for several decades. &#8230; for a generation, people have ignored the WNBA.&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/cbrennansports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@cbrennansports</a> says the &quot;nation is going to wake up&quot; as WNBA draft top-pick Caitlin Clark&#39;s salary sparks a national conversation. <a href="https://t.co/ZhDRoNQxcB">pic.twitter.com/ZhDRoNQxcB</a>
&mdash; ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABCNewsLive/status/1780266191107309650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 16, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The talking head can’t seem to make up her mind. On the one hand she says it’s capitalism. People aren’t watching or supporting the games, so the women don’t get paid much. On the other hand, she says that the women are “underpaid.” Which is it? Well, if this needs to be explained, I will. It’s very much the former. In fact, WNBA players are not underpaid at all. They are, if anything, vastly overpaid. By all rights, as a simple economic matter, they shouldn’t be getting paid anything at all. Here are some basic facts to flesh this out.
First of all, the WNBA has existed for nearly 30 years and it has never once turned a profit. According to WSN.com, a sports betting site, the WNBA generates about $60 million in revenue. For the record, <a href="https://www.vox.com/24132057/caitlin-clark-wnba-draft-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an article in Vox</a> claims that WNBA revenue is in the $100 to $200 million range, which I find dubious. Either way, the NBA, by contrast, brings in $10 billion of revenue with something like $3 billion in profits. That means the NBA generates considerably more than 150 times the revenue of the WNBA. If you’re going with the I think quite generous $100 million estimate for the WNBA, then the NBA makes only 100 times that amount.
Do the math here, by the way, and you’ll see that pound for pound WNBA rookies actually make about the same as NBA rookies. 70 thousand times 150 is 10.5 million. But even then, they’re still overpaid because although the WNBA generates $60 million in revenue — or even if it’s $100 million, let’s say — it makes no profit at all. These women are getting paid salaries to play for a league that, economically speaking, shouldn’t even exist. You don’t have to be a financial whiz to understand that losing money for 30 years is a recipe for bankruptcy. The only reason the women’s league stays open is that the NBA subsidizes it. Every year, the men’s league hands millions of dollars to the women. The NBA is the WNBA’s sugar daddy. The men keep the women’s league afloat, so that everyone can feel good about the fact that a women’s league exists.
You are probably familiar with those charities where you can metaphorically “Adopt” a child from the third world by sending money to the charity that supposedly goes to the child’s family. Well, that’s what the NBA is to the WNBA. They have adopted it like a third world child.
What does this mean? It means that, again, nobody watches the WNBA. The leftists on Twitter and in the media complaining about WNBA salaries have never watched a game in their lives. They’ve never sat down to watch a women’s game on TV, much less have they purchased tickets to watch at the arena. They’ll support the league by whining on its behalf on social media, but they won’t support it by actually supporting it.
Last year the WNBA had its most watched regular season in 20 years. The average audience for each game was 500,000 viewers.
To put that into perspective, 500,000 is about the viewership of CNN’s weekly 10:00 p.m. show with Charles Barkley and Gayle King. And that show was just canceled after 6 months because the audience was so low that it wasn’t sustainable. 500,000 for a professional sports league that airs on network television is an even more catastrophic embarrassment, and would be even less sustainable — if not for the fact that the WNBA doesn’t have to sustain itself. Which is fortunate for the league, because it would be out of business in a month if it did have to sustain itself.
Joe Biden wants these women to get paid their “fair share.” Well, what’s a fair share of zero dollars in profit? That’s a math problem so easy that even our vegetable of a president should be able to do it. The fair share — the actual fair share — is nothing. Zero.
That’s what you deserve to get paid when you put a product on the airways that nobody cares to watch. That’s the simple reality here.

Basketball player dribbling ball

WNBA Players Are Actually Being OVERpaid

Matt Walsh

Opinion

WNBA

Women

Daily Wire host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Klavan</a> sat down with political commentator Megyn Kelly on her eponymous <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-megyn-kelly-show/id1532976305" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a> Wednesday to discuss a range of topics, including the recent outrage from the Left over women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark&#8217;s rookie salary.
Clark, who became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA basketball during her senior season at Iowa, was selected No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft earlier this week, and many on social media — all the way up to the White House — took issue with Clark’s contract compared to what rookie NBA stars make. Kelly began the segment by quoting a social media post by President Joe Biden, who <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1780354983457644819" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in part, “Even if you&#8217;re the best, women are not paid their fair share.”
“First of all, who the hell wants to hear from this White House — which is allowing and trying to make it more expansive for boys to play against girls in women’s sports — about fairness, right?” Kelly asked, before describing the controversy over Clark’s four-year $338,000 contract compared to last year’s NBA first-overall draft pick Victor Wembanyama, who <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/gap-caitlin-clarks-wnba-salary-male-counterparts-draws-outrage-rcna148024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a four-year $55 million contract.
“They’re not paying these guys in the NBA that much money because they love throwing their money away; they’re paying it because that’s how much money they’re bringing in,” Klavan said. “That’s how capitalism works. If you’re bringing in the money, you get paid for what you do.”
“And listen, Caitlin Clark is a wonderful athlete,” the Daily Wire host continued. “In fact, her college championship game was watched more than the men’s championship game, and if she can do that in the WNBA, believe me, she’ll be earning that kind of money when she re-negotiates her contract.”
Klavan said that paying Clark similar to what NBA players make wouldn’t work with the economics of the WNBA as the NBA brings in roughly 100x the revenue of the professional women&#8217;s league. The author of “The House of Love and Death” added that the debate over WNBA players’ salaries highlights deep hypocrisy from the Left.
“The Left started out by saying to us, ‘There’s no difference between men and women. We have to treat them exactly equally.’ And now they’re saying there’s so little difference that a man can be a woman, and if you say that a man can’t be a woman and play sports at another level in the women’s game, you’re being somehow bigoted,” Klavan remarked.
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“The entire thing is genuinely an attack on women,” he continued. “It genuinely is a hatred of women. And I really do believe this, by the way: I believe the Left despises women at their core for the simple reason that the things that women do occur in a different moral structure than the things that men do.”
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&nbsp;

Megyn Kelly/Andrew Klavan

Andrew Klavan, Megyn Kelly Call Out Hypocrisy Of Leftists Enraged With Caitlin Clark’s Salary: ‘The Left Despises Women At Their Core’

Andrew Klavan

Media

Megyn Kelly

Women's sports

The NBA announced on Wednesday that it has banned the Toronto Raptors&#8217; Jontay Porter from playing in the league after an investigation found that he allegedly violated rules involving betting.
The 24-year-old center — who was a two-way player, playing for the Raptors and the Raptors&#8217; G League team — played in 26 games this season, averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, according to <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/4278103/jontay-porter">ESPN</a>.
In a <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/jontay-porter-banned-from-nba">statement</a>, the NBA said that the investigation found that &#8220;prior to the Raptors’ March 20 game, Porter disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor.&#8221;
&#8220;Another individual with whom Porter associated and knew to be an NBA bettor subsequently placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet with an online sports book, to win $1.1 million, wagering that Porter would underperform in the March 20 game,&#8221; the NBA said. &#8220;The league’s investigation also found that Porter limited his own game participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets on his performance in at least one Raptors game. In the March 20 game, Porter played only three minutes, claiming that he felt ill. Due to the unusual betting activity and actions of the player, the $80,000 proposition bet was frozen and was not paid out.&#8221;
While playing on the Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate in March, Porter allegedly &#8220;placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s online betting account,&#8221; the statement said. &#8220;These bets ranged in size from $15 to $22,000, for a total of $54,094. The total payout from these bets was $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965. None of the bets involved any game in which Porter played. Three of the bets were multi-game parlay bets that included one Raptors game, in which Porter bet that the Raptors would lose. All three bets lost.&#8221;
The NBA said that licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets were responsible for bringing the suspicious bets to the league&#8217;s attention.
The league said that it has turned over its findings to federal law enforcement officials and will continue to cooperate with authorities.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said: &#8220;There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment.&#8221;
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&#8220;While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.&#8221;

Charlotte Hornets v Detroit Pistons

NBA Bans Player For Alleged Involvement In Betting, Contacts Federal Law Enforcement

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NBA