The White Guy Bias Part 5

Today 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.