I am a very big basketball fan, so, of course, I’ve heard the little bits of drama happening around the league. Players not playing, fixing the All-Star game, and as always the referees…
First, let’s talk about Joel Embiid. He recently told ESPN reporter Tom Bontempts, “If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career.” As the star player, his team, the Philadelphia 76ers, has been building around him throughout his decade-long career with the organization. Despite the team’s dependency on his presence, he has played just 6 games in the last two months. Embiid is making around $50 million to sit on the bench and manage this anticipated knee injury while his team is ranked 12th in the Eastern Conference. Without his impact, the 76ers can say goodbye to their hopes of coming anywhere close to the Finals.
Next up is the annual All-Star weekend in February which includes a variety of fun competitions and performances. The most anticipated event is the All-Star game where two teams of the best NBA players go head to head. However, lately, the game has been boring. Rather than making the game competitive and exciting, players put up disappointing shots while simply running back and forth for an hour. For the last six years, the league has made small changes to the game’s format, but they’ve all fallen short. Even NBA commissioner Adam Silver admitted that “everyone was disappointed” in last year’s game, which with the lack of defense, isn’t surprising. To combat this downward spiral, Silver has enlisted the help of Steph Curry. While we won’t know more about the changes they’ve made until later, the pressure is on to ensure delight for the players and the fans.
Finally, the officials, but more importantly their calls. Any basketball player will tell you about horrible refs and any watcher will tell you about screaming at the TV because of a horrible ref. Watching the Warriors’ game on December 15, even the announcers on television talked about the lack of off-ball fouls given to Steph Curry despite their prevalence. In addition to unequal fouls, players are given technicals for cussing or gesturing at opponents. While there is a line to things they can do on the court, basketball is a competitive game and that’s the reason why it is so entertaining. I love watching athletes celebrate their talent and taunt the team they’re playing against, and they shouldn’t be faulted for it if it’s good-natured.
Ultimately, the NBA is undergoing a shift, whether it’s positive or negative, we shall soon see.