Recently, the NBA has been losing traction with regard to viewership and also public sentiment. According to Front Office Sports, nine of the top ten most viewed NBA Finals matchups occurred in the 1980s or 1990s. The only exception to this figure is the 2017 matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. Aside from the culminating series, most fans will tell you that the game has become less exciting to watch. Some stars of the 2010s, such as Russell Westbrook and Kawhi Leonard, have barely made an impact recently. LeBron James and Stephen Curry are playing at a high level, but are in line for a soon retirement.

So, what could shift the ratings of the league? The 2025 trade deadline, which lasted until February 6th, produced a frenzy of trades that sent the NBA world into shock. The headliner was possibly the most surprising trade in NBA history. The Dallas Mavericks sent star point guard Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick. Doncic is undoubtedly one of the top players in the league, while Davis is a heavily injury-prone star. Besides this blockbuster, many other great players ended up elsewhere after the deadline. Jimmy Butler, who had been suspended by the Miami Heat, finally got traded after weeks of demanding just that. Butler joined his fifth team, the Golden State Warriors, in exchange for Andrew Wiggins and others. Butler now teams up with Curry and Draymond Green in hopes of making a late playoff  run. Vedaant Vasandani ‘26 says, “This trade deadline was the best in history. After the Luka Doncic trade went through, I knew anything was possible, and that turned out to be true. We saw superstars like De’aaron Fox, Zach Lavine, Anthony Davis, Brandon Ingram, and my personal favorite Jimmy Butler. It’s safe to say that that week was one of the best of my life.”

Additionally, longtime Milwaukee Buck Khris Middleton was sent to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kyle Kuzma. Brandon Ingram, a former New Orleans Pelican, was traded to the Toronto Raptors. The Cleveland Cavaliers, one of the league’s top teams, got De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks. The Lakers were also supposed to receive center Mark Williams, but his physical failed before the Charlotte Hornets could process the trade. The Lakers would have given up promising rookie Dalton Knecht in the deal. There are countless other trades that went down at the deadline, and will contribute to a very exciting second half of the NBA season. No matter if your team was hurt or helped by all of these trades, there is no denying that the 2025 deadline shook up the league. The final stretch of this season will be fascinating to watch leading up to the playoffs. Will LeBron win his fifth title alongside Luka Doncic? How will the Warriors respond to their new lineup? All of these questions remain to be answered, and fans are excited to see what happens next. Charlie Quinn ‘27 says, ”I think it shows the greed and disrespect for the fans more than ever. The Lakers practically have a monopoly on the best players in the league. I think that it very clearly shows the greater trend of a shift to players following the money, not the fans or the sport.”