The 2018-19 NBA season ended in June with unexpected results. The 2019 NBA Draft, also in June, provided little drama because there was a clear top pick. The 2019 NBA Summer League came and went with a short appearance from the player everyone came to see. And in spite of the scheduled July 1st start date, several of the most anticipated free agency decisions had already been made public on the last day of June. With no NBA games to focus on during the off months of July through September, there are still basketball discussions going on regarding summer tournaments, the WNBA, etc. And the sports debate in general drives much of the programming we see and hear nowadays. Like the other major sports the NBA’s back-and-forth, instigated by some of this programming, continues well into its off-season. The Michael Jordan versus Lebron James dispute will continue in its heated fashion forever. Out of the many other heated conversations to be had, here are three NBA basketball debates to avoid in order to maintain one’s sanity.
1) AVOID THE “GREATEST EVER” DEBATE WITH ANYONE UNDER 85 YEARS OLD
The television was in its infancy when the NBA came into being, and not every home was equipped with one. The only way to see those early games was to be in the arena. And on the assumption that those early game attendees still watch today’s version, we’re still talking about a limited number of individuals who can really speak on the topic based on personal experience. Even if an individual was 10 years old kid when the NBA first came into existence in the late 1940s, that person is in his mid-eighties now.
There’s no settling this argument because there’s no clear way to settle the argument. Every participant brings his own criteria to the battle and there are too many variables to consider. You can generally tell the approximate age of a person involved in this debate anonymously (i.e. on the internet) based on their “greatest ever” selections or their all-time Top Five.
So whether we’re talking about the greatest player, team, shooter, scorer, defender, coach, etc., this type of argument ending with the word “ever” is subjective and will never be resolved. Friendships become strained, fistfights happen (yes, they do), insults fly (“You moron!”) and feelings get hurt in the process of engaging in an argument that cannot be won.
Regardless of age, any “Greatest Player Ever” debate that includes Michael Jordan and Lebron James as the only candidates should be immediately dismissed.
2) AVOID THE “MY BASKETBALL ERA WAS BETTER THAN YOURS” DEBATE
In the early days of the sport, the game of basketball was different and it looked different. The rhythm was different. The movements were different. The rules were different. The attire was different. The media coverage was different. The travel was different. The salaries were very different. The game from its inception through the 1970s wouldn’t pass the eye test now. Even though the off-the-ball player movements appear to be crisper, we’ve all seen the vintage footage of players dribbling a basketball with their right hand while moving to their right, then changing directions to go left while still dribbling with their right hand. We’ve seen the video of guys taking a one-step layup, a hook shot, a one-handed set shot or an underhanded free throw.
Attempting any of those moves in the 21st century gets you laughed off your neighborhood basketball court.
Era bias notwithstanding, those pioneers were really starting from scratch. They had no film to watch because they WERE the film, had few players to copy because they were the originals, and they weren’t making any money. While they were on the court scoring 30 points after several hours on a bus and playing their third game in three nights, they faced the very real possibility of getting called away for military duty the next day while wearing basketball uniforms that wouldn’t allow them to breathe.
Even the more contemporary 1990s basketball had a physical defense, isolation-offense style considered mostly an eyesore then and now. And decades from now we’ll look back at the current wide-open, three-pointer dependent style devoid of post play and wonder how we got through it. The cool maneuvers like the euro-step and the three-step layup will look primitive. It’s just the natural evolution of this or any sport.
Each era—regardless of how anyone chooses to define it—really deserves to be recognized on its own merits with consideration given to what was going on off the court. The challenges players had to endure vary from era to era. The players from the 1950s, for example, probably lamented the lack of media coverage they got, but probably wouldn’t appreciate having their every word or movement scrutinized on cable programs, talk shows and social media, either.
Of course, had the salaries been comparable, they’d have figured out a way to deal with it.
3) AVOID THE “THE KNICKS ARE BEING DISRESPECTED BY THE MEDIA” DEBATE
Because they aren’t.
The Knicks haven’t accomplished much in nearly two decades, struck out on their free agent targets this summer once again, then denied they were interested and ended up using the bulk of their cap space to sign four guys to short-term deals who play the same position, plus others. They won 17 games during the 2018-19 campaign and when the season predictions come out, even a projected 100% improvement means 34 wins and a return to the lottery.
To be fair, they have not been as eager to toss first-round picks around in recent years but they’ll get no pat on the back from the media for that. And still have to develop the young players they select instead of hauling in journeymen players to take minutes from them. Let the young guys play, then keep them. Don’t develop them and have some other team reap the benefits.
It’s not difficult to find yourself in the middle of this argument in New York City, especially after the crosstown Nets’ signing of the free agents the Knicks coveted. So the Nets will get rated higher than the Knicks by the prognosticators for the 2019-20 season once again and some of their fans will cite media bias, presumably because the Knicks added new players. But the Knicks will get earn “respect” from the media once they figure out how they need to build the team and accept it.
And it doesn’t involve signing top free agents. They aren’t coming.
“C’MON, PUT ‘EM UP!”
Bulging eyes. Veins popping out of the neck. Crease lines in the forehead. Volume goes up. Finger-pointing. Physical threats. Boxing gloves.
For what?
We’re here getting ourselves all worked up during the summer months while the players are vacationing on an island somewhere or getting themselves mentally and physically prepared for at least another eight-month grind. They might hop on social media to dispute a player ranking or video game ratings, but they’re young.
There are way more than three NBA Basketball debates to avoid and in every one each participant can present valid arguments to support their points, though we may not want to hear the other side. But at day’s end, it’s still just basketball.
Photo by MARK ADRIANE on Unsplash
