NBA is responsible for 'me first' at ude

[jmard5]

Long article but nevertheless a good read. Special mention to the Spurs and Pistons. Read on...

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Randy Hill / Special to FOXSports.com

Critics bashing NBA miss the point

The NBA is not thug-tastic ... it only seems that way.

This misconception has rallied since it was revealed that the NBA All-Star Weekend turned Las Vegas into spring break with an ordnance upgrade. After at least three moments of contemplation, I've decided credit for propelling this misconception should be lobbed at the NBA.

Do not interpret this as an indictment of the league's rank-and-file. With the exception of a former Indiana Pacer who thinks the best way to break up a fight outside a strip joint on the second night of training camp is to fire a gun in the air, the league is rife with good citizens.

But an aspiring criminal element reportedly is attracted to the NBA, especially its All-Star jamboree. How did this happen? Well, it may have something to do with the NBA's decision to market the individual ahead of the team.

Oh, the strategy worked. In its struggle to compete with the NFL, March Madness and Major League Baseball, the NBA did what it had to do to generate interest. It promoted such entertainment as Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers, Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls and Charles Barkley with his Phoenix Suns.

Those were dynamite and entertaining teams, but until the arrival of the aforementioned stars, NBA action often was judged as fantastic on tape delay.

Maybe this nod toward individuality is why the hip-hip and/or gangsta generation has gravitated toward pro basketball. I hesitate to characterize it as a culture, since -- like yogurt -- any keen knowledge of what cons utes culture is beyond my purview. I also lack the evidentiary cred to slap the tag of thug on anyone. Anyway, this individual vs. team concept has parallels in basketball and music. Current co-stars representing the former are Dwyane Wade and Jay-Z, while old school group effort offered the Celtics and the Temptations.

While bouncing this ball of confusion, I also noticed the NBA has evolved into something akin to NASCAR. Instead of celebrating the team, we have LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and their pit crews.

But the league's constant struggle for attention has yet to attain the traction currently enjoyed by the NFL. That's ironic because professional football also has been infiltrated by an aspiring criminal element. I'm referring, of course, to some of the players, not the fans.

It's also ironic because an NFL cornerback -- Adam "Pacman" Jones -- turned out to be the headliner for that All-Star Weekend of tribulation in Vegas.

But despite the Cincinnati Bengals' battle for supremacy with "The Sopranos," the American sports hype machine seems more concerned with its perception of a criminal element in the NBA.

Maybe it's because braids and tattoos aren't obscured by helmets and shoulder pads. It certainly shouldn't be blamed on what happens when the game is played.

Even though Bryant, Allen Iverson and some of their cronies are accused of provoking that me-first at ude in basketball, true selfishness has been in basketball for years.

I suppose some of you have forgotten one-man college gangs known as Pete Maravich, Calvin Murphy, Austin Carr, Rick Mount, Bo Lamar, Ray Lewis, Bird Averitt and Fly Williams. Imagine how crazy things would have been if those guys went gunning with a 3-point line.

In those days, the NBA wasn't exactly riddled with team play (Bird's Celtics and Magic's Lakers excluded), especially on defense, which often failed to exist.

Some contemporary hoop scholars are hoping the generous Phoenix Suns can rise to a le, prolonging the resurrection of up-tempo basketball and rampant teamwork throughout the sport. But team-oriented basketball was working before Mike D'Antoni and Steve Nash showed up in the desert.

The San Antonio Spurs have been golden with tough defense and a relatively boring (and triumphantly efficient) Hall of Famer in the middle (Tim Duncan). The championship edition of the Detroit Pistons went on season-long lockdown while offering Coach Larry Brown as their most interesting employee.

So, while the pull toward team play continues (check Kobe's shots-per-game average compared to last season's), keen observers of the NBA insist the league is doomed.

Yeah, the All-Star Weekend maintains a violent hum, although thousands of top-40-preferring customers still flock to arenas for regular-season and playoff games. It's also true that hip-hop money has been poured into league ownership.

But it remains to be seen if the NBA is better served by Nellie or Nelly.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6515502

[samikeyp]

Sad but true. Not the NBA itself but a lot of its players. What is sad is that the NBA is filled with players who are good off and on the court but we usually here more about the ups. There are plenty of other franchises that have upstanding citizens and great players. Say what you want about the Mavs but you don't hear about their players on the police blotter, same with the Suns.

[lefty]

Yup...because of that I'm watching NBA old school on Youtube ; right now, it's 1984 Celts-Lakers game 7 highlights