The NBA has a ratings problem. Or it doesn’t. It sort of depends on who you ask. Heading into the holiday week, the narrative was that ratings were down, but after putting up huge numbers across five games on Christmas—including a Warriors-Lakers match-up that was the most-watched regular season game in five years—people are largely feeling a bit better about the state of the sport.

Television viewership is down from this time a year ago. This matters to Kevin Durant, a 14-time All-Star who's seen what the NBA can do.

It’s a weird dialogue around the league and viewership and I see a lot of people blaming the players for it. Something that big, it’s not just one component on why