Archive for Sports
Valuing Perseverance
Posted by: | CommentsI enjoy the Olympics. Though I am not sure I would watch any of the Olympic sports at any other time, I thoroughly enjoy them every four years.
One of the things that comes with every Olympics is personal stories of perseverance. It is inevitable and, it seems, constant, during the Olympic broadcasts. Every athlete has a story. And many of the athletes have a particular setback that they were able to overcome or endure in order to make it to the Olympics. An injury, a death in the family, failure four years ago, etc.
While watching one of these stories the other day, it hit me…I thoroughly enjoy these stories of perseverance, yet I don’t really want to be one of those folks who have to persevere and endure such difficult things.
That goes for most of it doesn’t it? We are inspired by tales of overcoming difficult obstacles, yet we tend to despise the obstacles in our own lives, the very things that can make us people of perseverance. We seem to simply want little more than everything coming easy. We are content with being inspired, when we could become inspiring.
According to Scripture, God is jealous to make His people people of perseverance. We are even told that Christians should count various kinds of trials joy because they are used by God to make us people of maturity and perseverance (James 1:2-4). While watching the Olympics, I am wise to use the plethora of perseverance stories to remind myself that I should not despise the means God ordains to making me a man that, just maybe, can inspire others and not just be inspired. Maybe you can watch and be reminded of the same.
The White Guy Bias - Concluding Remarks
Posted by: | CommentsI return to blogging today by concluding my month long series on the so-called White Guy Bias in the NBA. How I have managed to make a six-part series take a month, I will not comment upon. To remind you, I have already said that,
1) Everyone agrees that there is a white-guy bias in basketball. It is a running joke and oftentimes, true.
2) Our biases are much more powerful than we realize. Part 1 and Part 2.
3) The evaluation of International talent is not as cut-and-dry as it might sound. International players may even have an inevitable advantage in their ability to reach largely untouched markets for the NBA. A sound business strategy no doubt.
4) Athleticism is sometimes an over-valued trait in the NBA. The best teams are the most diverse (though usually they have players who are both great athletes and highly skilled).
So what have I learned from all of this? Well, I don’t think I have learned anything new, but I have been reminded of something I have known for quite some time.
It is this: who ends up playing or not playing in the NBA, white or black, American or International, is a very complicated matter and one that no one, except the Lord, can fully comprehend. There are just no easy answers when it comes to this question of who makes it and who doesn’t. There are social factors, business factors, talent and team factors, all sorts of factors at work.
I have known and heard of countless players who have NBA talent, but who have ended up on the streets. I have also played against many a player who has never made the NBA, who might even have gotten cut from summer league, but who is fully capable of performing there. I have even been that one guy (and would certainly like to be him again!) who has played in the NBA and has no doubt had other players at home saying about him, ‘I could outplay him right now!’ And you know, they may have been right. But all the various things lined up for me to play in the NBA. And so it is, or is not, for many others.
The reality is that in the basketball world that are players that are truly head and shoulders above the rest. You know who they are. Most times, they just cannot help but rise above the rest. They are so good that their talent paves the way for their own ideal playing situations. Then there are the second-tier individuals who are very, very good, obviously good, but just not as great as the best. They usually make it and if things line up perfectly for them, they can become top-tier stars.
In another group, the final and fullest group, there are players from all over the world who are fully capable of playing in the NBA, sometimes at a very high level, but who just need the perfect opportunity to make it happen. The right team, the right timing, the role, etc. And the reality is, they have very little to do with whether or not they ever get that opportunity. Numerous things have to line up in order for their dream to be realized. And to be maintained.
I count myself among that group. And I count it a tremendous blessing from God to have had the opportunity to play in the NBA. As I have mentioned, I would certainly enjoy playing there again, but I realize that the fact that I have played there doesn’t mean that I am better than everyone else who has not. That’s just not true. As is the case in any business, who makes it and who doesn’t is not defined solely on the basis of talent. Numerous other factors are at work. We have taken a look at a few of those factors, but though this series has lasted a month, you can be sure that we have only scratched the surface.
In the end, I still believe the NBA is the best basketball in the world. But I also believe it can still be better. I doubt any NBA executives will be knocking down my door for advice because of these posts, but at the very least, I hope they serve any who read them by giving insight into how they view and understand the NBA game and most importantly, life itself.
The White Guy Bias Part 5
Posted by: | CommentsToday I finally return to my series regarding the Outside the Lines video on the lack of white American players in the NBA. I believe this is my second to last post.
So far I have said that four specific things. First, there is clearly a stigma or preconception that white American players must overcome in order to play in today’s NBA. Everyone in the basketball world agrees about this. Second, that preconception or bias probably plays a much bigger role in the evaluation of talent than most basketball people think. I enlisted the help of Malcolm Gladwell to highlight why that is. Third, there is a definite possibility that NBA executives and scouts are over-estimating how good International talent actually is (over against both the white and black American players, because they are replacing both). And fourth, I believe that athleticism is valued to too great a degree in much of today’s current NBA.
Today I offer this:
Because the NBA is a business in pursuit of profit, the league is driven by market forces just like any other business. So also, the executives and scouts and managers, etc. are driven by the incentives given them, usually that of keeping their job or getting a better one. In short, evaluating talent and putting together a basketball team in the NBA is never as simple as it sounds.
This might seem like a very obvious thing, but from my standpoint, it is one that few people seem to truly consider when they look at the professional game or criticize their hometown team. I understand why. For I, like everyone else, grew up playing a game for the game itself. Usually, we play the game because we enjoy it. And we seek to become the best team we can be in order to simply enjoy accomplishing something together.
Few people really understand what it is like to compete for a living. That is, to play for pay. Or to be involved in any way, shape, or close form in that play for pay. As anyone who does so will tell you, professional sports is far from playing on the playground or playing in High School. It’s just an entirely different world because it has completely different incentives.
This is true not only for the players, but also for everyone else involved. The General Managers, coaches, scouts, league officials. Everyone. The game is not simply a game, because it is inevitably tied to the bottom line. It’s play, but not really. For true play is an end in and of itself. When you really play, you play just for the sake of play. You play to lose yourself in the joy of it. And in professional play, if you fail to make money, your play stops. Or if your team loses, you might well end up losing your job. This changes everything.
I could go on a whole lot more about this from a player’s standpoint, but right now, I want us to consider what that means for the decision makers involved.
First, consider what this means for the league executive or the rules committee for that matter. Are you concerned about the purity of the game and what rule changes or emphases leads to the most beautiful form of basketball? Maybe. But if your ideas don’t lead to people in the seats, your ideas need to change. The 24 second shot clock was not introduced to the professional game because the rule makers thought it would be best for the game. It was introduced because the owners knew they needed more points in order to make more money. Now, I personally love that 24 second shot clock, but let’s be honest enough to admit what drove such a decision. Not basketball, but the bottom line. Not play, but pay. The same holds true for the defensive rules. More dunks makes more revenue, so let’s change the rules to have more dunks. On and on we could go.
Second, think about what this means for our discussion concerning International players. Might they have an advantage simply because they are International, simply because they gather in a fan base largely untouched? I would think so. And I perfectly understand it.
Third, consider what this means for those looking for talent or hiring talent. Are they looking for talent in a bubble? No way. They are responding to forces at work beyond them. They are looking for talent that will fit into the NBA business. Not only that, but they are looking for talent that will protect them. Meaning, if things don’t go well for the players they say are good, they can say, “Hey, we gave you what you wanted, what you were looking for. Maybe it was you who just failed to develop it or use it properly.” Sometimes they are right, but sometimes they are wrong. Most times, they can keep their job.
A good general manager is one who compiles a good mix of talent and a coach that knows how to mix such a concoction best for the good of all. But oftentimes, a general manager starts getting concerned about his job (understandably). So what might he do? Hire the best talent he can find. Or at least a bunch of players that have played well elsewhere. That are proven. So if it doesn’t work, maybe the coach is to blame and he keeps his job. “What more could I give the coach to work with?“ he might say.
Would anyone ever admit to this? Maybe a few, but probably not most. But because the game is a professional game, such things are inevitable. People respond to the incentives given them. Even the rise in players who can dunk great and shoot poorly can be explained by the law of incentives. They watch an NBA game and mold their games to fit what is wanted there. Pretty simple.
Some people might ask me, do I believe that professional sports inevitably corrupts those sports? In a sense, absolutely. Don’t you? Isn’t it obvious? Don’t we all understand this instinctively? When play is tied up in pay, it is impossible to be pure play. This doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done. After all, it is not the money’s fault. An inanimate object cannot be blamed. It just means that we ought to recognize what we are actually doing and do our best to combine the two.
What would such a positive correlation look like for the NBA? Well, as I have stated, I think that some quarters of the NBA have swung to an unhealthy extreme. Fans everywhere still enjoy the NBA game, but many basketball fans are losing taste for the style set before them. Of course, we still want to see great individual performances, but not at the expense of good team basketball. Not at the expense of having a good mix of basketball talent. Do we still want to see great athletes? Absolutely. The great dunks are welcomed. But we also want to see great shooting and passing and spacing and use of screens. In general, good team basketball as well.
The best teams to watch in the NBA are loaded not simply with great athletes, but with a great mix of players. The Orlando Magic went to the finals last year not simply because they had great individual performers, but because they played well as a team and they also shot the basketball as well as any team in the league. Were they athletic? Sure, but not at the expense of other vital skills.
In short, I believe a desire for profit and a desire for great play can and should coexist. But it will take great effort on the part of everyone involved. Will it mean more American white guys in the NBA? Maybe, but maybe not. Black or white, I don’t care. The best basketball is always the goal. And I for one am convinced that the best basketball will also be best long-term for the bottom line.
