Today I would like to share an opinion. This is an opinion article. There is concrete evidence that what I say could very well be fact, and I have done a bit of research, but I have decided to forgo the scientific approach and just speak from the heart.
My opinion is that the NBA is in shambles. The way things work in this league is swiftly approaching WWE status. "Brett, aren't you exaggerating a little bit? I mean, WWE? It can't possibly be that bad, could it?", you say. Well, maybe I am exaggerating a little bit. Maybe I am a little crazy. But the truth is, I believe, that the game that I once loved more than any other has abandoned me.
Did you hear about the game tonight? What game, you ask? well the Miami - Milwaukee game, of course. LeBron James, 26 points. Chris Bosh with a bunch of rebounds. Dwayne Wade is still sexy. Excitement to the max! But don't confuse it with last week, when the Heat beat some other team by 15. LeBron James, 26 points. Chris Bosh with a bunch of rebounds. Dwayne Wade was still sexy, but was also out with a slight groin pull.
Exciting? Not really. Boring? Predictable? Arrogant? Cocky? Pretty much.
My skepticism started a few years ago when I bought Slam Magazine for the first time since High School. I had remembered this magazine being full of interesting interviews, articles and photos of the game's top players, coaches, and full of interesting input from fans, journalists and the like.
The issue I had then been holding in my hands was very different. First of all, the main article in that particular issue was an interview with P Diddy. The photos were of NBA stars wearing designer clothes, posing with golden watches glimmering off of the pages. The rest of the articles were apparently written by DJ Scratch, MC Monkey Dance, and Rapper L.L. Delight. I make up these names but the fact that these articles read like rap lyrics showed that the basketball world was zeroing in on a market that did not include me.
Beyond that, lets talk about the game. The NBA is a league of 30 teams. These teams all have a revolving door for all of the players to stroll in and out of. Gone are the days when Magic, Bird, and Jordan would battle year after year for their respected teams. Now we have LeBron's "Decision" prime time TV special, Disgruntled Carmelo Anthony, Expensive players being bought out and shopped around like trading cards. Other than Kobe, every player seems to be on a league wide national tour.
My biggest complaint is the league's seemingly narrow minded plan to focus on their 2 superstars, LeBron and Kobe, and leave everyone else in the dark. The main topics of discussion have turned to when will "The King" win a title? How many titles will Kobe win? Who is leading the all-star voting?
Is anyone else sick of LeBron James? Arrogantly deciding to abandon Cleveland for "South Beach", recently raising the idea of changing the Miami Heat's name to the "Heatles". The racket that this guy and his 2 friends have created in Miami reminds me of those friends some of us had when we were younger. Go to their house on Winter break and they have been sitting inside the whole time with their Super Nintendo playing NBA Jam.
"Hey Billy, what have you been up to?"
"Check it out! I'm the Bulls. I have Jordan, Shaq, and Mark Price on the same team. Shaq just grabbed 50 rebounds! I rule!"
That kind of stuff is fun for kids, and video games, but when, in real life, the 3 hottest young stars in the league decided years in advance that if things aren't working out later in their careers then they can just all play together to win this thing, it seems a little fishy.
Basketball is all about flashy. Who is the latest "high flier"? Did you see that dunk last night when that guy bounced it off of the backboard and did a double pump windmill ally oop?
Whatever happened to the guys that would lay the ball into the hoop? Or, dunk it like they've done it before without trying to get a shoe deal out of it? Whatever happened to players like John Stockton?
This image sums up my feelings:
I like teamwork. I like it when baseball players congratulate their teammates after watching them hit a home run or make a nice catch. I like it when hockey players gather around to celebrate a goal.
NBA players, and soccer players for that matter, love to have the spotlight on themselves. Look at me! Look what I can do! I am an animal! I can pull my shirt off, slide down on my knees and lift my gaze to the sky! I swear that these guys think that they can get it done on their own. And though they have a right to act the way that they do, and people actually pay them to act the way that they do, I don't like it. That is my opinion. The NBA has lost me. I am done with it.
3 comments:
Though, I must say, that the composition of that photo is pleasant.
I just watched a college game while I was in Chicago (on tv, not live), and they were showing a slow motion replay of a player because they were looking at his feet to see if the shot he just made was a 3pt or 2pt shot. It took a couple minutes and in the end, everyone decided that it was a 3pt shot. I, on the other hand, decided quite quickly, that in fact the player travelled before he took the shot at all, and that it shouldn't have counted as either 2pts or 3pts. I think college b-ball is great to watch, don't get me wrong. My example only happens to be college and not NBA. I no longer enjoy the NBA for 2 reasons. No teamwork, and lots and lots of traveling.
I agree Brett. The NBA lost me when Seattle lost the Sonics. It is a joke now.
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