Slam dunk root of all evil for NBA players

Tuesday, October 20, 1998

Slam dunk root of all evil for NBA players

COLUMN: Harbinger of sport’s corruption places focus on stars,
not talentNBA action, it’s FANtastic. Yep, and this lockout is
doing wonders for those of us that love the sport.

But I will say this – I am glad that there is no end in sight
for this whole players vs. owners debacle.

You ask me how can I consider myself a true fan and still want
the league to be paralyzed for as long as possible. I tell you that
I am disappointed at the deplorable state of the league today.

What does this have to do with the lockout? Well, the longer
they hold off the season, the less I have to see these athletically
talented "superstars " throw away whatever grasp of the
fundamentals they had for the sake of showing off and garnering
better shoe endorsement contracts.

It makes me sick to watch this wretched league.

You see, I grew up in the ’80s watching Magic and the Showtime
Lakers. I guess I was spoiled because that was real basketball.
They were fast, flashy and exciting. And they got the job done,
winning five titles in the ’80s.

But players now are faster, flashier and more exciting. The game
is better now, right?

Wrong. I’ll tell you the real difference and spare you the
selfish crybaby, spoiled athlete ’90s persona rationale that is
force fed to you by media personnel everywhere.

The number one reason that led to the demise of the National
Basketball Association is the slam dunk. The slam dunk is evil and
should be outlawed.

Maybe that’s going a little too far, but consider this: while
watching SportsCenter or any highlight show, they only focus on the
slam dunk when basketball comes on.

Dr. J, Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, Michael Jordan and
Shaquille O’Neal made the NBA what it is today. Without these
dunkmasters, basketball would not hold any status in the public
eye. So while the dunk is evil, it is a necessary evil.

What the dunk did for the game was great for marketing
directors, athletes seeking endorsements, team attendance,
television ratings and NBA top dogs.

Another thing the dunk did to the game was ruin any purity the
game had left. It moved the focus away from a team aspect to a
personal aspect, in essence promoting the notion that there is an
"I " in team.

I am not placing blame on the pioneers of the dunk. I am not
faulting the players at all. They are doing what gets them famous,
what keeps kids dreaming, what puts them on posters and shoe
commercials.

I am faulting the media. By glamorizing the slam dunk to the
extent it did, it caused fans of the game to only care about that
one aspect.

This is important because for the past 10 years, kids have grown
up trying to emulate their heroes. Unfortunately, the only thing
they get to see is their idols slam dunking. They lose sight of
what is right and how to improve their games. They need to realize
that there is more to basketball than flash and glamour.

Which brings me back to the Showtime Lakers. Magic, "Big Game "
James Worthy, Kareem, Byron Scott, Michael Cooper, A.C. Green,
Mitch Kupchak and even Kurt Rambis provided more excitement than
any team in NBA history. They revolutionized the fast break and
changed the way the game was played.

Yet how many times do you remember Magic finishing the break
with a dunk? How many times did Worthy or Kareem jam it over
somebody? Very few, if any.

Now, the only thing considered highlight-worthy is a dunk. True
superstars such as Mitch Richmond, Tim Hardaway, Steve Smith and
Glen Rice are constantly overlooked as dunk specialists like Shawn
Kemp, Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant get all the kudos from fans and
media.

This translates into a worse overall game. In high school,
college and even the CBA, dunkers are always considered the
premiere players. The basic fundamentals such as passing, defense
and shooting are devalued as long as a kid has athletic
ability.

Long gone is an era of solid basketball. Before I get labeled as
a John Wooden wannabe, yearning for better days, I want to say that
I don’t particularly enjoy under-the-rim basketball.

My point is that dunking has just gotten out of hand, and a
truly great sport is suffering because of it. Before NBA games were
dunk contests, fans could witness the greatest spectacle on
Earth.

Now, the lockout has nothing to do with dunking, nor should it.
The bottom line of the lockout is the almighty dollar sign.

But wait – without the dunk, the lockout would have never
reached this point. Salaries would be lower, basketball wouldn’t be
such a hot commodity and owners would be truly suffering by locking
out their players.

So maybe the dunk is the root of all evil, at least in the
NBA.

What do I suggest? Nothing. I know that fans would suffer the
most with any kind of anti-dunking legislation in the NBA. So I
guess I’ll just rant and rave to myself while my roommates and
coworkers count the days until basketball starts up again.

Lovett is just bitter that he can’t dunk, though he is a
tenacious rebounder. Any comments or jumping tips can be emailed to
him at [email protected] Lovett

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