As I've been looking through recent issues of periodicals, the "decade in review" seems to be as unavoidable as when news broke out of Michael Jackson's death - which made top ten lists for something or another. Although, I feel that what's just as important as reflecting upon the last ten years, is pondering the next decade. Obviously, there's no accurate method of predicting what is to come for the NBA. However, using the 2000s as a "decade in review" definitely helps.
Who will become the face of the league in the next ten years? Often times, it is the best player, the most-talented individual who fans would mention if they had to associate the league with a sole star. Presently, that would be Kobe Bryant. At the Beijing Olympics his greeting was practically as loud as the roar the native Yao Ming received. Nonetheless, for some time now, zealous Lebron fans have claimed James is the league's best. At the least, we can admit that LBJ is on track to surpass Kobe in the very near future - possibly by next year. In the next few years, Lebron James, and maybe even Dwyane Wade, will become the two most popular ambassadors of the NBA.
Then, there's the thought of how the league's other promising players will end up. As of late, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, and even Omri Casspi have been making some noise. Last season, Derrick Rose, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and O.J. Mayo blossomed into stars, while some, like Jason Thompson, are shining and still full of potential. Channing Frye is showing he can score in Phoenix. Not to be forgotten is Monta Ellis, who has no trouble surpassing the thirty-point barrier. Ultimately, it's these players who will inherit the next puppet battles from LBJ and KB.
This also gives a small sense of what direction the league is headed in, in terms of players. The relevance of the big man is all but gone, as basketball is being monopolized by the guards. As a result, big men are sure to be more highly-coveted. Players like Mareese Speights and Bynum, oh, and Greg Odom - legitimate post threats - are an endangered species. Post play is no longer what it used to be. I'm not suggesting that all thirty NBA teams will resort to :07 seconds or less offense or arrange their line-ups for "Nellie ball", because, ultimately, if we don't produce enough homegrown big men, there's another stream.
The other source for 7-footers may end up having been originated overseas. The other day, I was watching a Euroleague game with FC Barcelona on NBA TV, and there is such a large talent pool to choose from. With that said, the Euroleague, as well as other emerging basketball leagues around the globe, house a wide variety of players - not just big men, as we saw with Ricky Rubio and not as directly, Brandon Jennings. For a long time, the NBA was the only place to observe basketball how it was meant to be played. That's no longer true. The Euroleague has offered new prospects, and for those who have watched Euroleague play, has become a decent alternative to the NBA.
What's yet to be seen is whether or not the NBA will continue its reign as the top league in the world or will co-rule with the Euroleague. Personally, I'd like to see more European action be made available to viewers here in the U.S. On the other hand, that would cause it to compete with the NBA. And the moment when fans opt for the Maccabi Tel Aviv match instead of the Toronto Raptors game (also somewhat foreign since based in Canada), that's when David Stern has an issue. What would be even better than being able to watch foreign squads through a television set, though, would be to watch them battle it out live in an arena. If NBA teams can play in foreign arenas during the preseason, why shouldn't foreign teams be able to do the same? After all, the offseason is more or less the same for pro basketball leagues around the world.
Another thing to watch is the relevance of NCAA basketball and the D-League. Right now, for some, going to college to qualify for NBA play has become a joke. As Phil Jackson admitted earlier this week, many college players make an effort during the first semester to be academically eligible for basketball, only to tank second semester and treat class as a joke before they leave for the NBA. College should be a place where players can actually improve their game and develop a multi-faceted skill set so draftees 1-60 can make an immediate impact upon their arrival in the NBA. The NCAA shouldn't be taken lightly as a series of games to pad stats and count down the days 'til it's over.
As for the NBA's developmental league, I don't know how many people are aware it even exists. The average fan probably has never heard of it. Things were going in the right direction when Rod Benson, a D-League player, began blogging for Yahoo Sports's Ball Don't Lie. However, after a workout with the Pacers, he was forced to abruptly end his blog, and the NBADL hasn't gotten much publicity since. The D-League doesn't have a simple marketing issue; it has unrecognized talent that at the least, deserves to be seen. As the Developmental League is an NBA enterprise, it could market itself by putting D-League games on NBA TV or make it a free ad-on to League Pass. I don't have league pass, but I'm sure there's slots of D-League and Euroleague play on NBA TV because the only major programs are All-Access with Ahmad Rashad and the one game on each day. Maybe the D-League could use an All-Star weekened, if they don't already have something similiar that I'm not aware of.
Lastly, the next decade will surely have differnt contenders. With this summer's upcoming, blockbuster free agent market, the balance of power will change. Not to come off as a homer, but it's hard to imagine the Lakers as a non-threat with Bynum's contract being extended, Pau Gasol extension all but done, and a new contract for KB already in the works. Other than that, the rest is fair game. I'm not ready to declare that whichever team has Lebron will be a contender as that hasn't been the case in Cleveland, but if there's a team with Lebron and D-Wade, which has been rumored, though very unlikely, that could be a successful team.
If I were to begin predicting actual teams right now, I'd have to start with the teams of the future stars. As Brandon Jennings continues to become a better player, Milwaukee can only become a better team. The other players in Wisconsin ain't bad, themselves. The Turkish native, Ersan Ilyasova, can be a decisive X-factor and Bogut is capable of producing double figures. Philadelphia, though not performing very well this season, is a team looks to be on the rise. With a young nucleus of Iguadola, Williams, and Speights, along with promising talent in Green and Holiday, Philly is at liberty to succeed as it pleases. I would suggest Golden State, but there must be better coaching in place in order to succeed. EDIT: Also, the young guys with Oklahoma City seem to have a bright future.
Overall, the next decade will be very different, to say the least. New players will emerge as those born prior to '80s begin to filter out of the league. The day Steve Nash and Kobe retire will be a sad one, but when the leaders of the new era prove that they can prosper in the same endevours, there will certainly be few regrets. In short, we should welcome the new decade as we have with each one before it: with open arms and high hopes.
First of all, to muster fifty-five points in a NBA game is a historic feat for any player in the league. Even Kobe and Lebron have fans buzzing for a few days when the points in a box score has a 5 in the tens' column. Jennings' performance bares no comparison in the last forty-one years, as the last time a rookie put up a higher point total was Earl Monroe (source: The Baseline). The fact that Jennings doesn't share the accomplishment with numerous stars, like Jordan, Bird, and others - athletes who dominated at an unprecedented level - says something by itself.
The rest of the hype around this game likely spurred from the fact that, unfortunately, the bar was set lower. Some may argue that expectations were higher because he was relatively unproven, yet still drafted at #10. Nevertheless, it's the very fact that he lacked a particularly ostentatious reputation - and the fact that he plays for Milwaukee - that many disregarded him. He gained plenty of haters from his decision to skip college, those who called him out declaring he wouldn't succeed by taking a shortcut.
Truthfully, there was reason to believe he wouldn't make it in the NBA. He didn't play enough minutes to validate stardom. In Italian League play - surely easier than Euroleague competition - he had mostly low averages across the board: 5.5 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals in 17 minutes per game. What's worse was the fact that he was a guard, which put an even greater emphasis on his dismal assist number. In Euroleague play he didn't fare much better. The only bright spot was his field-goal percentage: 47.9% in Italian league play and 45.7% in Euroleague competition. But even that was offset by his poor perimeter shooting, in which he averaged 23.75% between Euroleague and Italian league play.
Needless to say, it was evident he belonged in the association from his debut, in which he nearly recorded a triple-double. Believe it or not, his 55-point game was practically inevitable. As a starter, he finally earned the minutes he deserved with the Bucks. With Michael Redd out, his production was bound to soar. When a team's starting lineup consists of Andrew Bogut, Kurt Thomas, Carlos Delfino, and Charlie Bell, it can't be that difficult to maintain impressive stats.
Although, it's worth wondering if the 55-point game could commence future pandemonium among the Bucks' squad. When Michael Redd comes back from injury, Jennings, or his stats for that matter, will likely start to drift back to Earth. Will this game affect his ego in the long-term and potentially cause a clash between him and Redd or, worse yet, Head Coach Scott Skiles, a former guard himself? The answer is quite simple: probably not. Subsequently after his remarkable game, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports! published an article about Jennings' unknown work ethic. In the article, he writes:
Three years ago, Jennings had come to New York as a high school junior to
play in the Elite 24 all-star game that Stone had started, and he won the MVP
over players like Michael Beasley and Kevin Love. The next
morning, it was Stone’s job to drive over to the Westin Hotel in Times Square
and make sure the kids were awake by 8 a.m. on the way to LaGuardia for flights
home. So, Stone walked into the hotel lobby at 6, the elevator doors opened and
there was a vision that brought him back to his days growing up in the Bay Area.
“And here comes Brandon walking out with a basketball under his arm, a
T-shirt and shorts,” Stone said. “He had just achieved his greatest
accomplishment as a high school player, and he’s running out the door to go work
out with Ben Gordon
As I was listening to sports radio the other day, I heard one of the guests mention how humorous it is to see the widespread panic & shock among the teams that passed up on him. As far as his status for Rookie of the Year, for now, it's almost certain that he will receive the award. None of the prospects selected before him have come remotely close to his success, with the exception of Tyreke Evans of Sacramento, who is among the benefactors of Kevin Martin's injury. It also helps that Ricky Rubio, another EuroLeague prospect who was the cause of much hype, decided not to play in the NBA.
Overall, the Jennings' 55-point game remains a legendary achievement and won't be forgotten. He definitely has All-Star potential. Heck, who knows, we may even see him facing off with the likes of the league's best next year. Down the road, there's no stopping him from joining the U.S. Olympic roster. For now, though, Brandon Jennings will continue to create and justify hype with each passing game.
In Israel , at times, it’s almost like the entire country stops to watch Maccabi Tel Aviv, by far the most popular team in the country, play a basketball game. In fact, while my mother was working in Israel , she recalls her boss, like many others that day, dismissing her from work early to watch Maccabi play in the 1988 European Finals. Imagine if you could take the evening off from work simply because your hometown team made the NBA Finals? It’s amazing how a finals match-up has the magnitude of Super Bowl overseas, whereas in America, you’re pretty much unaffected by the NBA Finals unless you’re an NBA fan or you’re hometown team is competing.
However, like the MLS, the Israeli Super League, natively known as Ligat Haal, as a whole, still battles for an audience. An Israeli friend recently said that outside of Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Jerusalem, in some professional basketball games you may find just a few hundred fans in the stands. In fact, he noted that some second and third division soccer games can draw in a larger crowd than a Super League basketball game. This likely stems from a couple of reasons. Despite the fact that Israel is a very small country – approximately the size of New Jersey to be exact – the Israeli Super League only has twelve teams in total. Secondly, unlike EuroLeague teams like Olympiakos and Maccabi, Israeli professional teams don’t have the money to even negotiate with legitimate talent. As we’ve seen in the last couple of years, decent NBA players have been highly coveted overseas (i.e. Josh Childress, Von Wafer, Linas Kleiza, etc.).
Maccabi has a rather fruitful history. The team has captured a whopping 48 Israeli National Championships, and at one point in franchise history, won the championship for twenty-three consecutive seasons. With all its success, the squad practically represents the Jewish state, with regards to basketball, and is basically considered the national team. Much like the Yankees and possibly the Los Angeles Galaxy, Maccabi is the face of its league, Ligat Haal (not the EuroLeague).
But how did Israel ascend into such prosperity in the first place? At first, the impressive display of native Israeli athleticism is somewhat puzzling. The appreciation for athletics in general may have very well arose from Israel ’s military history. It’s difficult to find another nation that has such a competitive history when it comes to war. The elements of endurance, strategy, and victory are all characteristics that have likely enticed the Israeli crowd. Many citizens are very familiar with training and conditioning, as the Israeli Defense Forces mandates three years of service for males upon the age of eighteen. Additionally, once every year citizens are required to attend Miluim, in which they are reoriented and kept physically fit. The strategy aspect is definitely a key component which appeals to Israelis. After all, if football is compared to two armies going to war, isn't basketball similar to a stealth IDF team going on a mission? An IDF team needs a few experienced generals leading the way, which would be the coaches in a basketball game. Also, as a part of this stealth team, there are generally a couple soldiers running the show, leading, and communicating, which translates into team captains. And those fresh eighteen year olds are the role players and reserves.
Maccabi’s foreign influence was easily noticed in the team's exhibition match-up versus the Clippers on October 20. As I looked around in the stands, it was clear that basketball and Israel in the same context wasn’t just limited to Israeli fans, even though there were plenty of natives in attendance. Different descents of Jews congregated in Staples Center for one basketball game. Local temples and religious schools were represented by their respective student bodies, as seen with the flood of yamakahs. Askenaz and Sepharadic Jews both united to show their support for Maccabi, which in the bigger picture, represents the country of Israel . As you might have imagined, kosher food, was made available to appease this unique array of fans.
Like other popular basketball teams, Maccabi identifies with foreigners as well. Many players on the roster are actually American and have, at some point, developed their game in America , but own a more impressive resumé across the Atlantic . One of the team’s forwards, for example, David Bluthenthal, actually earned the John R. Wooden award as a player at Westchester High School and advanced to the Elite Eight as a member of the USC Trojans. Yet, that reputation and potential wasn’t fully utilized, because it wasn’t put to the test in the States.
In the past, we have seen non-Israeli players who played for Maccabi have an impact in the NBA. Anthony Parker best exemplifies that today. In his five years with the club, he led the team to great heights and numerous championships. Ironically, only ten months after hitting a game-winner with Maccabi in a preseason game against Toronto , he signed with the Raptors. Anthony Parker isn’t the only Maccabi alum to have seen playing time in the NBA, though. EuroLeague point guard, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, of Greece ’s Panathinaikos actually played in seventy-five games with the Indiana Pacers in the ’05-06 season. However, Jasikevičius, like many foreign prospects, migrated back overseas after a disappointing three seasons spent in the association.
Until the drafting of Omri Casspi during the summer, it seemed like “once a star in Israel , always a star - outside of the NBA.” It’s hard to believe that Israelis actually had no history on NBA hardwood, since the closest any Israeli ever got was through the signing of contracts, which resulted in no playing time. Though, Casspi is different from the rest. Despite the fact that Casspi was hesitant about enlisting himself in the draft – he enlisted and subsequently withdrew his name from the ’08 draft because no team had committed to him as their first round pick – chosen #23 overall, he will definitely be in action with the Sacramento Kings this season.
Up ‘til now, Casspi has been dubbed a “Jewish Matt Harpring” for his tough and gritty style of play. Although, Israelis aren’t a fan of his game. Accustomed to the run-and-gun style of the EuroLeague, Israelis seem to have a larger appetite for offense as opposed to the defensive fundamentals that are so highly praised in the NBA. Nonetheless, that doesn’t stop Israelis from supporting him. While at the Maccabi vs Clippers exhibition game, I overheard two natives claiming – well, actually, more fantasizing – that “Casspi will be better than A’mare Stoudemire.” I can’t say that’s credible, but Casspi, if he lasts, will definitely have more historical significance than A’mare.
Basketball will only continue to grow in Israel . When more gems emerge from the Promised Land, Israel ’s influence on the game will become more obvious. As fans, it’s easy to forget the credibility of foreign teams like Maccabi when the final score indicates that they’ve lost to a poor NBA team. However, we should keep in mind how rapidly the sport is developing outside of the United States, especially in Israel . There’s a very bright future ahead for basketball in Israel .
That dude looks exactly like Russel Westbrook.
With the game of basketball constantly expanding, it's no wonder that as of late, NBA players have engaged in somewhat of a diaspora. Recently, Von Wafer and Linas Kleiza have chosen to stray away from the States in hopes of greener grass, or to equalize the analogy, shinier hardwood. But this continent to continent travel is nothing new, of course. Brandon Jennings defied the NBA's age laws and played in Europe. Last offseason, Josh Childress abandoned Atlanta and made his voyage across the Atlantic. This all causes one to wonder: Are they making a smart decision?
The common catalyst in an athlete's decision to settle down has always been money. It's just what makes the world go 'round. As a friend of mine put it, when teams like the Olympiakos are "throwing money at you" it's difficult to turn down a foreign offer. This all makes more sense when, as Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports pointed out, the term "luxury tax" is unheard of in the EuroLeague. In the NBA, sometimes to keep a player would mean to actually pay double the salary terms on his contract because of the dollar-for-dollar penalties by the association. The luxury tax does good things, too. The funds collected from teams over the limit are then redistributed. In other words, it keeps a constant cash flow. However, at the same time, it's become a factor in why our domestic teams can't restrain the European movement.
Success, though, is a universal concept. When Ronaldinho was the face of global soccer - or just the same, the face in front of Nike stores - you wanted to try on his cleats. Just because he wasn't an American, or much less, didn't play in America, didn't stop soccer fans from purchasing his products. Basketball players are starting to realize that if they perform well, they are performing well - no matter where they are. To rephrase this in a marketing perspective, there's no difference between a consumer buying a jersey or a pair of shoes in the States' as oppose to elsewhere, because in essence, they are still buying the brand. For many players, it's all about establishing themselves - both as an athlete and a brand.
Even though it's tough to think about, basketball is gradually emerging as a global sport. Despite the fact that we invented this game, does not mean it is exclusively ours. With every Olympic games, we in the United States continue to observe how legitmate our foreign competition is. You don't even have to look further than an All-Star game to realize that a commendable percentage of our top talent has been imported. In the (near) future, look to see basketball become more like soccer: the NBA will become one of many competitve leagues around the world. The strange apples to oranges comparison of that statement: the NBA will be to basketball as the FA Premier League is to soccer - probably the top league, but barely edging out others.
The conventional excuse has always been to pad the resume. Professional experience is still professional experience. Playing in Europe still involves a great deal of work, conditioning, effort, and dedication. Maybe just a much as the NBA, except against lesser competition. The problem here is that many have a misconception of the Euro League. People think that an NCAA championship team or a D-League team could undoubtedly crush a Euro League team. That's definitely a lie. The Euro League has it's beasts too, ya' know.
Another misconception that one could have is that a player would get less attention outside of America. Wrong. The presence of an African-American in the Euro League is still daunting, and has heads turning there nearly as much as drivers and passerbys staring at an Italian sportscar here. Plus, playing against weaker talent can come in handy. NBA scouts will surely pay attention when someone is averaging 20 plus points, double figures, or some impressive milestone on a nightly basis. Talent is recognized - everywhere.
How does this European movement affect the NBA? Truthfully, it doesn't. Thank G-d, for the NBA Draft, right? We have Derrick Roses, Russel Westbrooks, and Kevin Durants poured into the pool every year. Big deal, some athletes go to Europe. Is it a smart move? If they're happy, we're happy. A replacement is always looming and with new talent constantly in the mix, the NBA will always be at the height of professional basketball.
In all honesty, the press is completely blowing things out of proportion with their analysis of European transfers - that statement sounds very soccer-ish, doesn't it? There hasn't been any real superstar that has decided to leave the league. Kobe Bryant and Lebron have joked about making the switch before, but the point is that they were joking. Right now, the Euro League is still a joke compared to the NBA, simply because the talent and coverage is not the same. While Ricky Rubio is happy to secure a spot in a Gillete commercial, American athletes await the day when their shoes are on the locals' feet. Ballers in Europe would be pretty satisfied if someone took the time to make a highlight reel of them for YouTube. Here, you can enjoy a bit of praise once your face has been on the cover of SLAM, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN Magazine.
Give it some time, though. The Euro League will soon prove that they, too, "got game."