NBey #2: Shut Up and Dribble
The NBA may be the only sport that rivals, or surpasses, in some instances, baseball in terms of its analytics usage. As the recent MIT Sloan Analytics Conference demonstrates, teams are getting more and more comfortable and attuned to the possibilities and usefulness of analytics in drafting, trading, coaching, tanking, and beyond. In every facet of the sport, analytics are now ingrained.
Despite the complexities of Adjusted +/-, Player Efficiency Ratings, and True Shooting Percentages, the game has been able to reach a broader and more diverse audience than ever before. Casual fans not only know the star players, but also the lingo, the trends, and the subplots. A recurring role for Keenan Thompson as walking penis-enlargement commercial, Lavar Ball, on SNL reinforces the notion that not only does the NBA appeal to the stats nerds who understand shot probabilities based on first dribble direction, but also the drama-loving fan interested in peak performing athletes indulging in cultural memes.
The NBA has found its sweetspot.
But the diverse levels of interests also breeds malcontent and a serious lack of concerted effort in analyzing the game, the players, the league and the surrounding culture. Case in point: Laura Ingraham. A brief recap: Ingraham responded to comments made by Lebron James and Kevin Durant about Trump, telling them to "shut up and dribble." Rather than getting into all that is wrong with her politics or focusing on the brand of activism that has ignited the NBA and turned it into a pillar of outspokenness in the sporting world, which can be further read about here, I want to devote this NBey column to the evolution of NBA players as humans.
That fact may seem obvious or asinine or trite, but acknowledging the highs and lows of the NBA season signifies a real shift in the way we treat and look at celebrities, athletes, stars, and people. Stats nerds may seem players as numbers in a spreadsheet. Casual fans may see them as shareable content you can bet on and drink beers in front of. Talking heads may see them purely as entertainment sources with no right to contribute to society or the larger conversation (whatever racist connotations that entails). But taken all together - the entertainment, the athleticism, the politics, the conversation, the culture - the NBA and in particular the players are starting to provide us with a new perspective and appreciation for the role and life of athletes and public figures. For the first time in professional sport, everyone from the commissioner to the stars to the role players has an important and fully fleshed out part to play.
You may argue that they're all rich and they already are stars and we don't need a more accurate representation of celebrity in this country. Maybe so, but look at the impact of Black Panther of the past two weeks and tell me that the messages we project throughout culture and sport are not important.
For this NBey, I want to mix the goofiness and the weird (gotta keep the weird), with important stories of players going above and beyond for the game, their communities, and the culture.
Before getting all high-minded and waxing poetic on the virtue of NBA players, I think we're due for some pettiness. As I stated above, they are human.
NBA players are like the rest of us. They tweet. They kick shoes. They have side hustles.
Besides the opportunity to team up with the two greatest shooters on the planet, one of the reasons for Kevin Durant's decision to join the Golden State Warriors was the proximity to Silicon Valley. KD has a noted interest in tech and VC investing, a major selling point of the Bay Area (and the best burritos in the country). Last week, Durant took that passion one step further, promising to invest $10million in kid's tech programs and startups in his hometown outside of DC. This investment promises to give kids the connections and opportunities he wished he'd had growing up.
How much has Laura Ingraham donated to future of this nation? So much for shut up and dribble.
https://www.reddit.com/r/warriors/comments/58k94i/hey_rwarriors_my_names_kevin/
Steven Adams is a gift to this column and to the NBA as a whole. An Aussie's sense of humor is internationally lauded and it seems like the big man has found a great outlet for his quirky, self-deprecating humor.
For those not interested in watching the entire video, when asked about writing an forthcoming autobiography, Adams replies, "I can barely read mate." Cheers to that.
The horrific tragedy in Parkland, Florida changed the mood and conversation around the country. Many league voices have weighed in, but no story was more revealing about the importance of these players as this one. The future leaders of the country and the brave individuals who survived the tragedy have grown up looking to politicians and celebrities to dictate the conversation. Given the response of the survivors, it looks like they picked the right leaders.
If you don't think these players have a voice and their decisions and choices don't matter, just look at this kid and the touching, reciprocal impact he had on Dwayne Wade
Javale McGee is not a good jumpshooter. He just gave Jon Stewart flashbacks of the Bush years.
LeBron James has stepped up and shaped the conversation around athletes and politics innumerable times during his career. To be thrust into the spotlight at such a young age and to have carried himself with this much dignity, never once even approaching scandal (The Decision doesn't count), is beyond reproach. He has found a willing and able partner in Nike, a company that has found its political voice more and more in the past few years. Coopting of political movement for consumerist gains aside, allowing LeBron to use his platform and infuse it into the brand is a deft move for a company that understands the broad swathe of their audience pretty well. Considering the syncronous, and often times interconnected, rises of both NBA and sneaker culture, this seems like a natural projection of the cultural movements.
If you don't think these players and their opinions matter at this point well then....
