The White Guy Bias Part 3

As promised (and no doubt eagerly anticipated by everyone in the blogging world), I now return to my comments on the Outside the Lines piece concerning the lack of American born white players in the NBA.

My first two observations were: a) that everyone in the piece agreed that there is a general preconception or bias that white basketball players must overcome and b) that that preconception forms an obstacle that is probably bigger than many people think. I then followed those observations with a lengthier discussion of point b.

Today I offer this:

To explain the greater presence and ability of white International players in the NBA solely on the basis of hard work (this was obviously implied by a few interviewees, including one I highly respect, Jerry West–he was big in my having an NBA opportunity) is very limited….in my humble, strong opinion, of course.

Now I know that my tone in that paragraph might sound like a bitter American white guy who wants to go after the International players, but I assure you that that is by no means the case. I am addressing those insinuations not because I am one of those American white guys who have to overcome the preconceptions, but because I believe that such statements reveal a lack in thorough thinking on the subject.

I admit that I am now moving into the realm of opinion rather than observation, but it was going to come sooner or later, so now is as good a time as any. So why then do I believe we see more and more International players in the NBA? My answer is simple. I present it in three parts.

1) Because for years, no one really knew how good International players really were or they weren’t that good and got better.

I don’t think this point will be disputed. Few NBA teams looked outside the States for basketball talent. And, more times than not, they did not do so because the talent wasn’t good enough to justify the cost of checking it out. After all, America’s college players used to routinely win the gold medal against every other country’s professional ones. That has changed over the last twenty years, of course, as International players have certainly turned up their game. The world championships and Olympics over the last ten years are obvious evidence of that.

This leads to the second part of my answer.

2) NBA teams found a few very good International players and plenty of others who are solid in their own right.

This is also indisputable fact. The OTL piece makes that plain.

3) Because the NBA is obviously a ‘copycat’ league, NBA teams are being very careful not to miss International basketball talent….and yes, oftentimes, overcareful.

This is the key point of opinion. Not the ‘copycat’ part. After all, even the average fans knows that most teams run the same set offenses and hold the same defensive principles. Not to mention the moment a few great high school players were drafted high and performed well, every team and their brother started drafting 18 year olds (Take note how many actually worked out well). As is the case in any business, when someone finds something good, the competitors want to make sure they don’t miss out. Such is the case with International players.

Now, this is not to say that International players are not high-level players. I haven’t said that. Because many certainly are. What I will say, however, is that it is my opinion that right now, at this point in basketball evolution, International players (especially, young European players) aren’t as good as many NBA execs think they are. Because we are in the midst of an International wave in the NBA, many scouts and decision-makers see things that just aren’t there. At the very least, there is little to no difference between them and many of the American players they are being chosen over.

What this means for the American white player is that he needs to show he is even that much better than his International counterparts. Actually, it should be stated that this proves true not only for the white American player, but also for the black American player. After all, there are plenty of black American basketball players that aren’t in the NBA now, while International players that may not be as good as them are in the NBA. Look at the number of high-level black American players playing overseas (oftentimes as the best players on their team), and support for that statement is plain. White or black doesn’t matter. International players are being chosen over both black and white American players in the NBA.

To make it plain: I believe that there is no reason to believe that there is a significant difference between the top International players and the white (or black) American players they are being chosen over. There are exceptions, of course. Dirk Nowitzki and a handful of others are obviously great players no matter where they are from. But the fact is that most International players that are chosen don’t make it. They are drafted young, don’t pan out, and end up making a career in Europe.

In the end, what this means is simply that the talent pool has been enlarged, particularly from players that are not in the top tier of world-class basketball talent. Not only has it been enlarged, but right now, there is a tendency in the NBA to think that International talent is better than it actually is. The presence of Americans in International leagues (particularly as they are often the best or central players on their team) supports such an assertion.

It’s odd. You have the NBA execs saying one thing about the high-level of International players, while International basketball clubs continue to recruit Americans to play a big role for their teams. And more times than not, these Americans (black or white) are the ones the NBA has passed over in favor of an International player. I have seen this time and again, and have even experienced it myself.

It’s not the entire story, I know, but I think it is a big piece that was not mentioned in the OTL piece. It also leads me to another thought that I plan on sharing tomorrow.