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novapsycheThe NBA still needs its stars, still needs its known entities to root for or against.
And at this point they don't need to be white. Sure it would help, but the lack of an American-born white superstar didn't keep 21.8 million people from coming out to the arenas this season, a record for the league.
[Larry] Bird got into trouble this week when he said the league could use more white stars. To some degree, he's right. You can't tell me the affection the Staples Center crowd showed for Luke Walton from the first exhibition game didn't come in part because he's the only white American on the Lakers.
That doesn't make the fans racist. Rooting for your own doesn't mean you're against anyone else. It's like pulling for the woman from your home state in the Miss America pageant. Or African Americans suddenly watching Wimbledon to see the Williams sisters.
The NBA would not have reached the heights it achieved during the 1980s and 1990s without the racial dynamic of Bird vs. Magic Johnson. Johnson, for all of his charisma and dazzling game, couldn't have lifted the NBA on his own without Bird.
Today, while America is far from a color-blind society, we've moved past race as an impediment to popularity. Look at how hip-hop dominates radio and MTV. And look at how many white kids still wear the jersey of Bryant, a black man accused of rape.
No Super Model? (article mostly about the Lakers and Pistons)
And at this point they don't need to be white. Sure it would help, but the lack of an American-born white superstar didn't keep 21.8 million people from coming out to the arenas this season, a record for the league.
[Larry] Bird got into trouble this week when he said the league could use more white stars. To some degree, he's right. You can't tell me the affection the Staples Center crowd showed for Luke Walton from the first exhibition game didn't come in part because he's the only white American on the Lakers.
That doesn't make the fans racist. Rooting for your own doesn't mean you're against anyone else. It's like pulling for the woman from your home state in the Miss America pageant. Or African Americans suddenly watching Wimbledon to see the Williams sisters.
The NBA would not have reached the heights it achieved during the 1980s and 1990s without the racial dynamic of Bird vs. Magic Johnson. Johnson, for all of his charisma and dazzling game, couldn't have lifted the NBA on his own without Bird.
Today, while America is far from a color-blind society, we've moved past race as an impediment to popularity. Look at how hip-hop dominates radio and MTV. And look at how many white kids still wear the jersey of Bryant, a black man accused of rape.
No Super Model? (article mostly about the Lakers and Pistons)