I can't watch the NBA. Seriously. Don't get me wrong, you do have to have some talent to play in the NBA. That is definitely true. Unfortunately, that talent is given to you at birth. Are you really tall? Great. Can you shoot a basketball? No? Well, you can learn how to do that. Or, you can just push people out of your way and dunk every time.
Case in point: Shaq. This guy is ancient at this point and still has a job in the NBA. The guy can barely walk down the court, but teams still want this guy on their team. Why? Well, partly because people like him and he probably makes the team a decent amount in jersey sales... But also because he's massive. All he has to do is stand in the way on defense and dunk on offense. No one can do anything except avoid him and hope he misses layups. (You can also foul him and laugh as he tries to shoot free-throws. But you can only do that so many times before you pile up fouls.)
Do some of these guys have a good amount of talent? Sure. Guards generally need talent in order to do anything because they are significantly smaller and can't just push people around. They have to have a great jump-shot and good ball-handling skills to get around defenders or make good passes.
The worst part, however, is that the most popular players are the ones with the least talent. If I asked basketball fans who their top 10 players of all time were, they'd probably answer with 9 big dudes who push people around and Michael Jordan. (Although even he pushed people around a lot... But I would never say that MJ didn't have a lot of talent. Anyone who thinks that should be shot immediately for believing in something so ludicrous.) You think John Stockton would be on that list for most people? Maybe for some people... But he was probably one of the most talented ever to play the game. I guess Allen Iverson might make the list for some people... But a lot of people would pick Shaq, LeBron, Kobe, Chamberlain, Russell, Pippin, Malone, Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. J, etc. Again, these guys aren't talentless... But it seems the biggest reason they're "talented" is because they are huge.
Who's getting all of the spotlight this year, despite being on a horrible team? Blake Griffin. Fun to watch? Sure. Talented? Meh. He's big and can jump really high. I wouldn't call that extremely talented, just athletic.
For all of the NBA fans out there, try to guess the top 10 3-point shooters of all time. I know this is really an opinion, but let's just see how many of the most talented players people know... I'll wait...
Keep in mind the 3-point line didn't exist until the 79-80 season...
Ready? Alright, here's a list compiled by BleacherReport.com:
10- Eddie Jones
9- Glen Rice
8- Jason Terry
7- Rashard Lewis
6- Chauncey Billups
5- Peja Stojakovic
4- Dale Ellis
3- Jason Kidd
2- Reggie Miller
1- Ray Allen
How many did you get? Probably 2-4 for the average fan. Maybe 6 or 7 for the hardcore NBA fans, right?
Now, I will admit a couple of those guys were 3-point specialists, but even so, they all gathered minimal fame compared to the likes of the list of big guys I mentioned earlier. Certainly Ray Allen and Reggie Miller are fan favorites. Kidd gets a decent amount of fame as well. But the others? I'm sure their names are recognizable, but considering how good they were, they certainly are underrated.
Yes, your height and weight matters in most physical sports. But this is 90% of the NBA. Huge freaks that push each other around. I simply can't watch it. It's boring. I would rather watch tennis.
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