Recently ESPN's "Outside The Lines" produced a report about the lack of white American players in the NBA and it hinted that white Americans are important to the NBA's success in some ways.
Well as a white basketball player, I enjoyed the insight the piece gave about the recent turnout of white Americans in the NBA and the reasons why they haven't been getting their chance in the Association. I completely disagree with the fact that they are vital to the league's success for a number of obvious reasons.
First off, during the period when the majority of players in the league were white, the NBA was basically a regional league that was second in popularity to the NCAA—the 1980 NBA Final was shown on tape delay. So the statement that the NBA's most successful days were when the league was dominated by white Americans from Indiana is painfully false.
If you are searching for the peak of the NBA's popularity, you have to look to the '90s, specifically during the second Bulls run before the lockout. The NBA was arguably the most popular of the big four pro leagues and it had classic Finals match-ups between the Bulls and Jazz, probably the b ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by chase ruttig
Sorry, ESPN, White American Players Are Not Vital To the NBA’s Success
December 8th, 2009 by chase ruttig Leave a reply »
Advertisement