COLUMN: Stop whining, NBA, start hitting jump shots
I was picked on as a child and I blame the NBA.
Think about it. Whenever something tragic happens in this country, it affects national sentiment for at least a decade or so. Sept. 11 elevated a sense of bigotry against Muslims, the Cold War made Joe McCarthy go crazy, and since Watergate, the law profession has had a bad reputation.
So is the case with the NBA. After giving it much thought, I’m almost positive that my childhood woes were because of the NBA.
It all started with the retirement of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Remember him? Now there was a class act if I ever saw one. The only time I didn’t like him was when he tormented the Jazz with his turnaround skyhooks and towering blocks.
I was nearing the end of second grade when he called it quits, and if I remember correctly, that was the year I would often start crying in class for no apparent reason. Classmates teased me mercilessly. Only now do I realize that I was in mourning.
Follow that up with the AIDS diagnosis of Magic Johnson and the departure of Larry Bird two years later. My best friend ditched me, and I started acting out in class so much that my parents took me to counseling.
Then in 1992, my family made the big move from West Jordan to South Jordan and I had a terrible time making friends.
Thanks a lot, Michael. Are you sure you have enough rings yet?
In all seriousness, the NBA is not the same as it used to be. I remember watching games with my grandfather when I was little. It was fun to see the Lakers and Celtics go at it year after year, from what I remember of it. With Abdul-Jabbar and Johnson putting on a show every game, and Bird and McHale humbly carrying their team to Eastern Conference dominance, we could always expect a competitive, yet mature, game of basketball between the two best teams in the world. I also loved watching Isaiah Thomas turn the Pistons from just another dirty team into a dominant dirty team.
Nowadays it makes my stomach hurt to see what’s going on in the NBA. Few players want to pass anymore, and almost everybody is trying to score from downtown. Some of these players are about as accurate from beyond the arc as Dennis Rodman was. Also, the jump shot has been abandoned because hundreds of players are trying to be the next Air Jordan.
The scene off the court isn’t pretty either. When I was growing up, the legal troubles NBA players got into were nothing compared to what we see today. The worst instance I can recall is when Magic Johnson’s AIDS diagnosis sparked rumors of promiscuity throughout the tabloid circuit. The legends of yesteryear are probably rolling their eyes at Kobe Bryant’s antics. I doubt he would have been welcome on Magic’s team.
These days though, as long as you’re scoring 20 points a game, fans will still worship the ground you walk on. In the past, nobody making $17 million a year complained about being exploited by the league, and the Lakers were winners because Pat Riley made them that way, not because several veterans chose to sell out and move to the coast. It certainly wasn’t perfect back then, but the players of the past were players we could count on. It seems the only thing we can count on anymore is for the Clippers to keep on losing.
Here’s what I think, and I realize the target audience probably won’t read this: There should be no tolerance for convicted felons in the NBA, and even those on trial shouldn’t be treated like heroes.
The basic attitude among players and coaches needs to change as well. No more complaints about being exploited and players need to realize that very few of them have a chance of filling Jordan’s shoes. Those who do have a chance still know the value of the jump shot. Indeed, the NBA is in a pit and must dig itself out, for the sake of its popularity and my self-esteem. Maybe then I won’t have such an ugly mug next to my column.
Matthew Andersen is a junior majoring in technical writing. Comments can be sent to mattandersen@cc.usu.edu.