THE NBA IMAGE By Mark Fishbein (10-1-99) We've all heard it, over and over again. "The NBA has an image problem". We hear about Latrell Sprewell attacking his coach. We hear that Allen Iverson is a "thug" because of that hairdo, tattoos, independent streak, and the "crowd he runs with". We hear about a Charles Barkley barroom brawl, a Chris Webber weed arrest, or we just hear Shaquille O'Neal. Oh yeah, the NBA has an image problem. Or does it? Well, this is who the NBA promotes and who your newspapers and television talking heads report about. Very selective reporting and no different than trash TV, trash movies, and trash magazines. Those who promote the NBA and report the NBA take the same "sex sells" mentality. They insult us, the sports watching public, with an air of condescension something to the effect that we are too stupid to appreciate plain old basketball. Instead, they feel they must feed us "spice". I hear the Bulls just signed Geri Halliwell to a one year deal to keep some cap room for next year. You see, the problem with the NBA isn't it's "image". It's the "image peddlers". A two step process of nonsense takes place. First, they report about the glamorous and/or troubled players, and only about those players. Second, they state as "fact" that the game has an image problem because it is overrun by "punks". It's funny how Kevin Garnett has become a media darling after four years. Until he got that national TV playoff media exposure last spring, you only heard two things about Garnett. That he made a hasty jump to the NBA and that he got an obscene contract that would "ruin the future of sport". None of the pundits told you that Garnett wanted to go to college but couldn't get in. None of the pundits told you what an affable and decent young man he was. None of the pundits praised his incredibly unique basketball skills. None of the pundits told you that Kevin McHale did what any intelligent minded GM would have done and keep Da Kid in Minnesota at any cost. But now, Garnett adorns more magazine covers than Cindy Crawford. Ever hear of a small forward named Shareef Abdur-Rahim? Well, by now you may have. He came out of college after just one year. Nobody would dare tell you that this was a very intelligent young man. You see, he left college after one season and had a hyphenated name ... fat chance you would be told about his intelligence and class, let alone his uncanny professional basketball ability. Now he is one of the top scorers in the league and hasn't missed a single game in two seasons. Why don't we hear more about him? You'll hear that old BS about how "he plays in a small market, and a small remote Canadian market at that". Hmmm, that market is only a hop, skip and a jump away from Seattle where Shawn Kemp's old aerial show never lacked for attention. And all those Vince Carter highlights you saw last year. Isn't Totonto in Canada too? You don't hear about Abdur-Rahim because he is a grounded young man with a rock solid fundamental game. The sports media feels you and I would have no interest any interest in such a dull young man. How many years has Mitch Richmond been in the game? Michael's departure left The Rock as arguably the best two-guard out there. Great defense. Few could play MJ any tougher. Great physical game, great finesse. But, class makes boring news. We heard about Joe Dumars' retirement tour last year, but how many times have you heard his name called in the many years since the Pistons' titles? Tim Duncan had to win it all to get a little credit, even though by the end of his rookie season he left little doubt that he was the best post player in the game. And where did David Robinson's class and honor get him? It got him the label of being "soft". Hakeem Olajuwon's magical footwork and silky smooth game has been a delight for NBA fans for 15 years. Shaquille O'Neal hasn't even earned the right to carry Hakeem's jock. But, how often do you hear about Hakeem these days? What about Shaquille O'Verrated? For the first half of last year, all you heard was how the Lakers "needed a perimeter shooter to draw defenses from Shaq". Blah, blah, blah. What happened was that the Lakers and the sports media completely ignored what was arguably the best thing they had going. You see, the Lakers had a softspoken young assassin named Eddie Jones. Eddie who? We know that Shaq is "the next Wilt" and that Kobe is "the next Michael". Blah, blah, blah. Well, Eddie Jones may be the next champion. The Lakers loss is the Hornets gain. Nobody on the Lakers plays defense like Eddie Jones. Never has, never will. Ask any of the greats and they'll tell you "defense wins championships". Yeah, MJ could score 50 any given night. He was also the best damn non-center defender this game has ever seen, bar none. Mark my words that when the Hornets storm out in the East, the media will begin to tell you with their vintage 20-20 hindsight how foolish the Lakers were to give up Jones. And it will be the same clowns who treated Jones as nonexistent and insignificant in their 1999 clamor that "the Lakers need a perimeter threat". Funny, but when the Fakers got bounced from the playoffs, quite a few folks were beginning to say "the Lakers need defense". Well, no sh!* Sherlock! Ray Allen. big movie star. You hear about him. Michael Finley, who? Nick Van Exel, you hear about him. Darrell Armstrong, who? Glenn "Big Hog" Robinson, you hear about him? Bo Outlaw, who? Isaiah Rider, you hear about him. Steve Smith, who? And one other thing, why must the media-created image become the man? If I were going to war I'd want Allen Iverson in my foxhole and I don't care what his hair or tattoos look like. This guy has talent, drive, dedication, and loyalty, yet is harshly judged by his physical appearance as a punk or a problem. Look a little closer. Before it's all said and done the media will do a 180 degree revisionist history on this guy. So, the next time you hear about the image problem because of the "punks of the league", just sneer and ask why nobody ever talks about the other guys. You know, those guys that do themselves and the league proud. Well, "those guys are boring" is what the league and media will mutter under their breath. They're right, the league does have an image problem. But the problem rests with the image makers, and not with the players.   Previous Article Next Article Copyright © Hoops Klyce 2000 - All Rights Reserved Website Designed by Lelnet Failed to execute script '../cgi-local/ax.cgi': Win32 Error Code = 2