Magic Johnson drills NBA players for not 'hating' each other

The depleting viewership over the last decade or so has become a serious concern for the NBA. Over the past few weeks, many theories have emerged about the potential reason behind it.

Some say that the league's playing style has become boring, while others claim there is no young star good enough to make fans glued to their screens.

Keeping that in mind, Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson recently shared his unfiltered opinion on the same.

Johnson blames the lack of rivalries in the modern-era for a reason behind the steep decline in NBA viewership. He also gave an example of how he used to "hate" his longtime rival Larry Bird.

"They don’t hate each other. I hated Larry and every Celtic," Johnson said. "I really don't like you but you're my little brother. Now I love you because you're out of that green & white. That’s what it was. The Celtics and Lakers hated each other. It made for great TV and people tuned in."

.@MagicJohnson breaks down why we no longer have rivalries in the NBA today

"They don't hate each other. I hated Larry [Bird] and every Celtic. I really don't like you [Paul Pierce] but you my little brother. Now I love you because you're out of that green & white." 😂 pic.twitter.com/yJyum6dxGH
— Speak (@SpeakOnFS1) December 19, 2024

Johnson urged the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant to lead the way for the younger generation. He wants the aforementioned stars to hate each other when they are on the court.

Another issue that Magic highlighted was load management. He mentioned that players from his generation "took pride" in playing as many games as possible. This pride is missing from current NBA stars.