"The Golden Age" of basketball is said to be the 1980s when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson raised the NBA to a national stage, and this is when basketball really started to become popular in America. Now they handed the baton off to Michael Jordan and he took the game further than it has ever gone before. Jordan's departure from the game left many with a void in their basketball watching experience. The league really was dealt a painful blow when Michael first retired in 1999. His retirement along with a lockout being the owners and the player's association over a new collective bargaining agreement (the NFL is currently having the same CBA problems) is was led many people to stop watching basketball.
Basketball was in a recession from that point on but with the amount of talent the NBA has today, it looks like we are digging out of that recession.The NBA is finally rising in revenue instead of dropping, more viewers are watching as well as TV ratings are up. NBA basketball is returning towards being one of the top entertainment choices in America. A lot of the resurgence can be attributed to the amount of star power the league has today. With so many nationally recognizable players the NBA has more star power than any other sport does. Players like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, Rajon Rondo, John Wall, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire, Derrick Rose, and Brandon Jennings to name a few all have nationally televised commercials for their individual endorsements. This all attributes more recognition to the NBA and it makes these star players more attractive to watch. Another huge reason why the NBA is popular again is because the game is faster and more athletic than ever before. This brings more excitement and energy to NBA games, which is what many people want to see. I don't think we are at another "Golden Age" of basketball yet, but a "Silver Age" may be closer than you think.
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