If you’ve spent any amount of time on NBA Twitter/Instagram over the last couple of weeks, you’ve surely heard something about the hit the league is taking in the ratings department.

On December 11, Outkick founder Clay Travis came out with a report that, “NBA ratings are down 48% since 2012. Down 28% this year alone on ESPN.”

Since then, a great debate has been sparked about the current product being put out by the NBA and how that may be contributing the significant decline in viewership over the last decade plus.

Most of these discussions are overly nostalgic and devoid of some key context. However, the controversy has inspired some key figures in the pop culture realm to share their thoughts on the state of the union.

One of those people is stand-up comedian and host of the “This Past Weekend” podcast, Theo Von. Von, whose podcast guest list ranges from athletes like Jameis Winston to politicians like the soon-to-be incumbent president, Donald Trump, admitted that he hardly watches the NBA these days.

“Like a lot of people, I don’t really watch the NBA anymore,” Von told me in an exclusive interview for Forbes.

“I just don’t watch it because it seems like you can’t relate to the players anymore. It used to feel like you could relate to them,” Von explained.

He didn’t expand on this take any further. However, my assumption is that Von is referring to the great deal of skill that is present in today’s game. To many people, NBA players are so talented that defenses can hardly do anything to keep them contained. This turns some games into an absurd shot-making competition, which, in turn, makes it hard for fans like Von to truly connect with the players on the court.

With that in mind, Von doesn’t think the product itself is so much to blame for the ratings crisis as is all the competition that exists in today’s world of endless content at your fingertips.

“It just didn’t keep me. But also, I’m a fan of all sports, and you can only watch so many things.” Von told me. “I like the NBA, but I just don’t love it. Maybe I should give it another try, though.”

Despite not being a diehard NBA fan (a stark deviation from his most recent guest Timothee Chalamet), Von is a fan of quite a few current players. Tyrese Haliburton, Luka Doncic, Mac McClung, and Trey Murphy III were the first ones that came to mind. He also loves watching Caitlin Clark dominate in the WNBA.

Growing up in Louisiana and going to Louisiana State University (LSU), Von is, naturally, a fan of the New Orleans Pelicans. This could be contributing to his lack of interest in the current NBA, as the Pelicans’ poor injury luck this season makes them borderline unwatchable (they are currently 5-22).

“As a New Orleans Pelicans fan, I’d like watching the NBA more if Zion Williamson would play more.* I’ll tell you that,” Von joked. “I’ll buy him a Raising Cane’s basket if that’ll help.”

(*Sidebar: Williamson has only appeared in six of the Pelicans’ 27 games thus far.)

Speaking of the Raising Cane’s, on Tuesday, Von was on-site to support the restaurant chain in their annual charity bike giveaway. Cane’s partnered with a number of athletes (including Patrick Surtain II and Jayden Daniels) and Von to provide kids across the country with Raising Cane’s branded bikes in their local areas (in Von’s case, that would be Nashville, Tennessee).

“I’m a friend of Todd Graves, who founded Raising Cane’s and started this bike giveaway inspired by his fond memories of getting a bike on Christmas as a kid,” Von said. “I used to have a bike that I loved, too, so it’s a blessing to get to be here today. Everyone needs a bike. Chicken Fingers, bikes, we’re hooking it up today. On behalf of Raising Cane’s, I just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Remember to keep the Christmas Spirit in your heart. It’s about giving, and it’s about lifting people up.”