The skill level overall is actually better than its ever been. But the league markets its stars who run the show. Those players arent great at marketing themselves. They demand trades, sit when they aren t injured and arent relatable. You got a league embracing a cancer like Draymond, allowing guys like Kawai play half the time and the best players are foreigners

Compare that to the NFL. Its a league of teams, the contracts arent guaranteed and the league just does a very good job of running as close to political neutral as anything.