NBA not lacking for positive stories

[SpursFanFirst]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ks-goodguys102807&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

By Kenny Smith, Yahoo! Sports
October 29, 2007

I was sitting at home doing a telephone interview with a very reputable reporter, who was asking me my thoughts about the upcoming NBA season. As he asked each question it became apparent that he really wasn't a fan of NBA basketball. Maybe he was a fan of the game but not the players or personalities within the game.

His first question seemed harmless. He wanted to know my view of Kobe Bryant. It made sense: Kobe has been in the news and I just wrote an article last week about his trade demands.

Next question was about the NBA referees. Made sense again: The season is about to start and this summer Tim Donaghy made us all re-examine the game we love.

Next, Isiah Thomas and the New York Knicks – Zeke and the Knicks have a lot of clean-up work to do.

Then it got bizarre. Is Kobe a snitch? Is Ron Artest still a thug? Is marijuana prevalent in the NBA?

Finally, after not answering the ridiculous, I asked him, "What is your agenda? What's the real story you're looking for?"

His answer was he didn't see how anyone could trust a league that had so many issues. I stopped and thought a minute. Is he right? Is the league a bunch of rags-to-riches, spoiled, overpaid, lazy, selfish, pampered, rap-listening, womanizing, good-for-nothings?

Then I deliberated again and told him it's easy to find and highlight the negatives of any sport, business or culture, for that matter. But you have an obligation to highlight the good guys as well. You have an obligation as a journalist to report on them.

The stories about the guys who make a difference are the heartbeat of the league. However, most of those stories won't sell newspapers. He laughed and agreed they won't sell papers.

Well, here is a story about the Good Guys. The guys who are not the negative stereotype. The real thing about this article is I didn't search the web for previous stories or call any team PR person. This came straight off the top of the dome – an NBA rap freestyle of good guys that I thought of in just five minutes.

It won't matter how big it is or small the story as long as it's a good one. I'm going to shout out the good guys.

Kevin Garnett: For, among other things, giving crazy loot and building homes for Katrina victims. Thanks for giving your time and playing in my benefit game in Houston two years ago. Matter of fact, shout out to the 40 players who played in the game and helped raise more than $3 million in cash and services.

Ray Allen: For always being a class act.

Rip Hamilton: For having a summer league back in his hometown where the kids only pay $1 to participate. Also, good job on the Rip Hamilton Weekend where you basically fed the whole city.

Ben Gordon: Way to rep Mount Vernon.

Udonis Haslem: I love the way you went overseas before landing in Miami and now you are the picture of working hard.

Antawn Jamison: Keep being a pros' pro.

T.J. Ford: I know when you go to charity events you offer to pay your own way.

Jameer Nelson: For showing good leadership. For the second consecutive summer, you invited all your teammates to Philadelphia – at your expense – to build team unity.


Rashard Lewis: You do have a heart as big as Texas like you said on draft night nine years ago. Keep helping those kids in Houston.

Michael Redd: Don't stop knowing where your blessings come from.

Juan Dixon: I know you're going to be a good pops! Congrats.

Matt Carroll: I don't know how you find the time during the season to visit the 11-year-old who has muscular dystrophy.

Emeka Okafor: You should start the first NBA book club as much as you read. Secondly, keep helping your native land with your Safe Blood for Africa crusade. Oh yeah, tell your dad good job for raising you right!

Spurs: The model franchise. Sorry more articles aren't written about your dynasty.

Steve Nash: How's the pediatric ward you built in Paraguay, your wife's home country, doing?

Dikembe Mutombo: Is the hospital you built in Africa finished?

Shane Battier: Are you really going into politics when you're done?

Chris Paul: For your charity weekend in Greensboro, N.C.

Bobby Jackson: For giving away all those free shoes to kids who have none at all.

Derek Fisher: Way to put family first.

Alonzo Mourning: Your Summer Groove is the standard which charity events should be measured against.


Kenny Smith is the NBA analyst for Yahoo! Sports. Check out "The Jet" at http://kennythejet.com and "Inside the NBA" on Thursdays on TNT. Send Kenny a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

[SpursFanFirst]

I thought it was nice to see someone point out the positives of the NBA.

He also mentioned the most charitable: Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Jalen Rose, Shaquille O'Neal, Baron Davis and Paul Pierce.

[SAtown]

Great stuff. It sheds a better light on the people we pay to see perform. I love the mention of "Spurs" as an entire team

[Holt's Cat]

It's true. The NFL is F'd up just as much if not moreso but to this point football has not been decreed a 'black sport' so it's clean and pure.

As for baseball, the American pasttime. If you were wondering what "pasttime" means it means where white men can break the rules and get away with it. The teflon league.

The media loves to dump on the NBA because white corn bread mash America loves to dump on it. It gets to the heart of the racial politics in this country which we'd like to pretend does not exist, but it does. Baseball is pure Americana, of the Norman Rockwell variety. Only that Jose and Hector are much better than Johnny and Mike. Anyways, the myth of the MLB is entertwined with 19th century history. So it's pure.

Football is America's past time circa today. It's a place where whites, blacks, yellows, and greens can all find common ground. The NFL has done a good job with its brand. It's the place where we can all pretend that we're all one.

But the NBA, the NBA. A league that is both black and foreign. A sport unlike football or baseball which in many communities was the 3rd or 4th most popular, if that. America has loved baseball and football, but has only tolerated basketball.

So it's not surprising that reporters habitually look for the bad in the NBA.

[SAtown]

It's a place where whites, blacks, yellows, and greens can all find common ground.

Excuse my ignorance, but what's a "green?" :lol

[Holt's Cat]

A representative of the other 4/5ths of the Earth's population, most likely.

[dknights411]

Excuse my ignorance, but what's a "green?" :lol

Irish of course! :drunk

[easjer]

Something I really enjoyed last Wednesday right before the Grizzlies/Spurs game was just before tipoff, all the players hugged each other, chatted, shook hands with genuine friendliness and camraderie. I'd like to see more of that.

I'd also like to see a lot more of the NBA cares commercials, but you know, not the same 4 all season long. That would be nice.

I've also long advocated for the NBA to put together a video of good sportsmanslike behavior to show kids, and air that instead of the crazy dunks and moves and other shit they show all the time. I like watching other people help each other up, and other teams checking to see if someone is ok (as happened during the Suns series, at least at the beginning). I like to see the end of games, where players are congratulating the winning team and hugging and being friendly. I love it that Timmy stays on the court during a blow out to encourage the scrubs and give them praise instead of heading back to locker room early.

Let's see more of that.

[SpursFanFirst]

Something I really enjoyed last Wednesday right before the Grizzlies/Spurs game was just before tipoff, all the players hugged each other, chatted, shook hands with genuine friendliness and camraderie. I'd like to see more of that.

I'd also like to see a lot more of the NBA cares commercials, but you know, not the same 4 all season long. That would be nice.

I've also long advocated for the NBA to put together a video of good sportsmanslike behavior to show kids, and air that instead of the crazy dunks and moves and other shit they show all the time. I like watching other people help each other up, and other teams checking to see if someone is ok (as happened during the Suns series, at least at the beginning). I like to see the end of games, where players are congratulating the winning team and hugging and being friendly. I love it that Timmy stays on the court during a blow out to encourage the scrubs and give them praise instead of heading back to locker room early.

Let's see more of that.

:tu to all of that! The NBA needs to focus more on good sportmanship than slick dunks and whatnot. I understand the dunking is impressive, and certainly has its place...but he NBA needs to change its image, and this would be a good start.

[FromWayDowntown]

It's hard, I guess, to identify all of the good guys, but another one of the really good guys who didn't get a mention on Kenny's list is Adonal Foyle.