Yao Ming was pretty good as well, but to dominate the all-star vote as he did was ridiculous. As I recall it was not even close.
I'm still convinced (my own conspiracy) that the NBA has to manipulate the Chinese vote. If they didn't, Jeremy Lin would have started the All-Star game for years.
Yeah, that was a reference. It was a famous quote from Dennis Rodman about Larry Bird, which caused a great deal of consternation. I think Doncic is the truth, an amazing talent, especially considering what he's doing at such a young age. I think he's popular because he's great and he's new, and the fact that he comes from a larger media market doesn't hurt.
Not really. I don't think whiteness in basketball plays the kind of role it did in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, where audiences were actively bothered by how "black" the game was. Not only do I think that has faded, white All Stars aren't quite as rare. They're still not super common but over the past decade, you've had guys like Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Love and Luka Doncic, all of them being worthy All Stars. I don't think audiences are searching for the "great white hope."
I don't think they're searching for it. I think subconsciously a really talented white player stands out for some people. Do you think Jason Williams would have stood out as much as he did if he had been black? There were other streetball type players in the league at the time. And more importantly, do you think a fairly subpar player would still be talked about for as long after he was gone from the game if he hadn't been white?
Except Ming is Chinese who was born in Shanghai (Population 24 million) while Lin is a Taiwanese American born in Palo Alto (Population 66,000)
You see his dribbling and passing highlights? Not sure ive ever seen anything like it from anyone else, regardless of color. Though im sure i havent seen them all, from what i have seen Jason Williams was the best dribbler/passer ive ever seen in the nba. Just too inconsistent at times. But some of the things he did I'm not sure anyone else can do.
whhaaaaaattr???? any links. Not that i dont believe you but if true thats serious shit. Players actively told they cant do no look behind the back, between the legs passes?
in college, yes... and it's not surprising. Do you think Larry Brown, Dean Smith, Coach K... are going to say go ahead, streetball it? Unlikely. They try to teach undisciplined 18 year olds some discipline.
ugh. Lame if so. Play to a players strengths. Game probably would have evolved much quicker if not held back by these old schoolers.
I think there is inherent bias not because of some white supremacy bullshit (although who really knows) but because white players are seen by the majority of fans as underdogs. I don't know if Luka is and don't think Dirk was but the media has definitely treated Nash and Love like absolute darlings. They have both been heralded as being better than they actually were. But hey Steph is a person of color and I can't think of a more ridiculous thing than a one way player being the only unanimous MVP ever. Not Jordan, LeBron, Magic, Bird, Kareem, Wilt, The Big O but Steph fucking Curry. So I guess it might not be a skin color thing but the media does love to push some weird narratives and fans sure do buy into them.
Man, you really detest Curry haha. You pretty much take any opportunity to talk about how overrated he is. I don't personally think he's overrated, but there's certainly a large group that thinks like you do.
This has nothing to do with race or market. It's popularity. Luka and Steph are both incredibly popular amongst the youth. Dame is workman like. While we all see the snippets on social with his 40 foot bombs, his game is incredibly reliant on fundamentals. Look at his first step for instance-- no wasted motion. It's not flashy at all. Even his crossovers are super basic (albeit hella effective). He's like the anti-Kyrie with his handle. This doesn't appeal to the masses, nor does his glare after hitting game winners. Compare that to Steph dancing around after every single made shot as if he's God's gift to earth.
That's a good question. I'm certainly not saying race has no effect at all, but I don't think that's a big factor in Doncic's popularity. Doncic caught people's imaginations as a prospect, because he was doing remarkable things in Europe. Euroleague MVP at 17 or 18 or whatever is incredible. And he's lived up to the hype in the NBA...his first couple years were two of the best ever for someone that young. I think that's by and large what's driving his popularity. He's the new hotness. Does being white have any influence whatsoever? Maybe--I wouldn't be shocked if so, but it doesn't seem to me like the main thing. I think if he were black, he'd still be a phenomenon.
