National Basketball Association

===Warriors' dynasties and recent years (2014–present)===
[[File:LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant (24848589252).jpg|thumb|[[Kobe Bryant]] defending [[LeBron James]] in a February 2016 game between the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] and the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]]]]
After four seasons with the Miami Heat, [[LeBron James]] returned to the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] for the 2014–15 season. He led the team to their second Finals appearance with the help of [[Kyrie Irving]] and [[Kevin Love]]. The [[Golden State Warriors]] defeated the Cavaliers in six games, led by the "[[Splash Brothers]]" [[Stephen Curry]] and [[Klay Thompson]]. The Cavaliers and the Warriors faced each other in the Finals a record [[Cavaliers–Warriors rivalry|four consecutive times]]. In the 2015–16 season, the Warriors finished the season 73–9, the [[List of NBA teams by single season win percentage|best season record in NBA history]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Top Moments: Warriors set record with 73-win season |url=https://www.nba.com/history/top-moments/golden-state-warriors-win-73-games |publisher=National Basketball Association |access-date=April 6, 2020}}</ref> However, the Cavaliers overcame a 3–1 deficit in the Finals to win [[2016 NBA Finals|their first championship]] that season.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maloney |first1=Jack |title=A timeline of LeBron James' eight consecutive NBA Finals appearances |url=https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/a-timeline-of-lebron-james-eight-consecutive-nba-finals-appearances/ |website=CBSSports.com |access-date=April 6, 2020 |date=June 10, 2018}}</ref> In the 2016–17 season, the Warriors recruited free agent [[Kevin Durant]] and went on to win the [[2017 NBA Finals|2017]] and [[2018 NBA Finals|2018]] Finals against the Cavaliers.

After the departure of James in free agency in 2018, the Cavaliers' streak of playoff and Finals appearances ended. The Warriors returned for a fifth consecutive Finals appearance in [[2019 NBA Finals|2019]] but lost to the Toronto Raptors, who won their first championship after acquiring [[Kawhi Leonard]] in a trade.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Alex |title=Toronto Raptors beat Golden State Warriors for first NBA title |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/toronto-raptors-beat-golden-state-warriors-first-nba-title-n1017461 |publisher=NBC News |access-date=April 7, 2020 |date=June 13, 2019}}</ref>

The 2019–20 season was [[Suspension of the 2020 NBA regular season|suspended indefinitely]] on March 11, 2020, due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], after Utah Jazz center [[Rudy Gobert]] tested positive for the coronavirus.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reynolds |first1=Tim |title=NBA suspends season after Utah Jazz player tests positive for COVID-19 |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/nba-suspends-season-after-utah-jazz-player-tests-positive-for-covid-19-1.4849502 |website=CTVNews |access-date=March 12, 2020 |date=March 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cacciola |first1=Scott |last2=Deb |first2=Sopan |title=N.B.A. Suspends Season After Player Tests Positive for Coronavirus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/sports/basketball/nba-season-postponed-coronavirus.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200312015004/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/sports/basketball/nba-season-postponed-coronavirus.html |archive-date=2020-03-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |website=The New York Times |access-date=March 12, 2020 |date=March 11, 2020}}</ref> On June 4, 2020, the NBA Board of Governors voted to resume the season in a 22-team format with 8 seeding games per team and a regular playoffs format, with all games played in a "[[2020 NBA Bubble|bubble]]" in [[Walt Disney World]] without any fans present.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/article/2020/06/04/board-of-governors-approves-nba-return-official-release|title=NBA Board of Governors approves competitive format to restart 2019–20 season with 22 teams returning to play|first=Official|last=release|publisher=National Basketball Association}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/nba/2020/07/21/nba-bubble-unique-experience-disney|title=Free From Quarantine: The NBA Bubble Is A Unique Experience|first=Chris|last=Mannix|magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/07/nba-bubble-coronavirus-orlando-life.html|title=The Bizarre Stories of Everyday Life Within the NBA Bubble|first=Mary|last=Harris|date=July 22, 2020|website=Slate}}</ref>

This era also saw the continuous near year-over-year decline in NBA viewership. Between 2012 and 2019, the league lost 40 to 45 percent of its viewership. While some of it can be attributed to "cable-cutting", other professional leagues, like the NFL and MLB have retained stable viewership demographics. The opening game of the 2020 Finals between the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] and [[Miami Heat]] brought in only 7.41&nbsp;million viewers to ABC, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That is reportedly the lowest viewership seen for the Finals since at least 1994, when total viewers began to be regularly recorded and is a 45 percent decline from game one between the [[Golden State Warriors]] and [[Toronto Raptors]], which had 13.51&nbsp;million viewers a year earlier. Some attribute this decline to the political stances the league and its players are taking, while others consider load management, the uneven talent distribution between the conferences and the cord-cutting of younger viewers as the main reason for the decline.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/game-1-nba-finals-lakers-heat-ratings-low-abc-225636681.html|title=Game 1 of NBA Finals sees lowest viewership in recorded ratings history|date=October 2020 |publisher=Yahoo! Sport}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://itsgame7.com/nba-ratings-drop-new-poll-reveals-main-reason-why/|title=NBA Ratings Drop: New Poll Reveals Main Reason Why|date=September 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/nba/cavaliers/nba-amico/tv-ratings-historic-lows-caveats|title=Insider: NBA's historic TV ratings lows come with 'obvious caveats'|magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/nba/cavaliers/nba-amico/basketball-playoffs-television-ratings|title=NBA first-round ratings drop 27 percent, 40 percent since 2017–18|magazine=Sports Illustrated|last=Amico|first=Sam|access-date=January 6, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/259193/NBA-On-ABC-Ratings-Down-45-Percent-Compared-To-11-12-Season|title=NBA On ABC Ratings Down 45 Percent Compared To 11–12 Season|website=basketball.realgm.com}}</ref>

During the [[2020–21 NBA season|2020–21]] and [[2021–22 NBA season|2021–22]] seasons, the [[Milwaukee Bucks]] would defeat the [[Phoenix Suns]] in the [[2021 NBA Finals]], securing their second NBA championship since 1971, and the [[Golden State Warriors]] made their sixth appearance in the finals defeating the [[Boston Celtics]] in the [[2022 NBA Finals]], their fourth championship in eight years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/sports/basketball/milwaukee-bucks-nba-finals-championship.html|title=The Milwaukee Bucks Win the N.B.A. Championship|last=Deb|first=Sopan|date=July 20, 2021|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=December 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://theathletic.com/4175114/2022/06/17/nba-finals-warriors-win-2022-championship-defeat-celtics-in-6-games/|title=NBA Finals: Warriors win 2022 championship, defeat Celtics in 6 games|last=Vardon|first=Joe|date=June 17, 2022|website=[[The Athletic]]|access-date=December 8, 2023}}</ref>

The [[2022–23 NBA season|2022–23 season]] saw the [[Denver Nuggets]], led by center [[Nikola Jokić]], make the franchise's first [[2023 NBA Finals|NBA Finals]] appearance and defeat the Miami Heat in five games to win their first NBA championship.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Almasy |first1=Steve |last2=De la Fuente |first2=Homero |title=Denver Nuggets win first NBA championship title in Game 5 victory over Miami Heat |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/12/sport/denver-nuggets-nba-championship-spt-intl/index.html |website=CNN |access-date=January 22, 2024 |date=June 13, 2024}}</ref>