As much as I love football and baseball, there’s just something about basketball. On a practical level, you can always find a game somewhere in the neighborhood. If you can’t, you can shoot hoops by yourself. Football? It’s doable but not as fun. Baseball? Not unless you’re the Flash.
The flow is so much better in hoops, although time outs and free throws muck it up. That’s one thing I really appreciate with soccer. The flow is just fabulous in that game. Like a dance. Anyways, as long as the game is being played, there’s usually constant movement. Usually being the key word there, as there are some definite black holes in the game which can freeze time and space.
The combination of movement and creativity is second-to-none. Barry Sanders made my jaw drop on the football field, but there’s only so much one can with the football. A stiff arm here and there, but mostly it’s hold the ball high and tight. Baseball? Uh, yeah. Some of the players in the NBA move like Sanders while dribbling a basketball at the same time.
Ultimately, though, I think what makes basketball great is the depth of interaction that each player has with his opponent. In baseball, it’s primarily a battle between pitcher vs hitter. In football, it’s the offense vs defense. In basketball, players have to play both ends of the floor. As a result, trash talking means more because…well, they actually talk to each other.
If a player dunks on someone, the embarassed player theoretically has the opportunity to come back and return the favor. Now, there are questions of whether that player can dunk at all, but that’s a little thing we call semantics.
In baseball, if a pitcher hits a batter, the plunked can either walk to first or charge the mound and fight. He cannot pick up the ball and have the plunker bat so he can be the plunkee. In football, if a cornerback intercepts a pass thrown by a quarterback, the quarterback will never have an opportunity to return the favor.
The great thing about the NBA is that they take full advantage. They market their stars and personalities. Breaking ankles, not literally of course, and dunking on heads is celebrated. Rivalries and rifts are milked. There’s a reason Spike Lee was utilized for MyCareer in NBA 2K16. The fact that mode was terrible is irrelevant. The NBA and social media are a match made in heaven.
I don’t care who you are a fan of. That’s some funny ass shit.
Anyways, Nate Jones @JonesOnTheNBA put it best…
Kyrie+Bron will eventually make up/be cool w/ each other. Now more than ever, the NBA is a big fraternity. And they had big moments together
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) July 30, 2017
These dudes are living elite lifestyles. They want to win and be the best, etc. But in the grand scheme of things, they aren’t stressing
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) July 30, 2017
Now, compare this with the No Fun League. Penalties for celebrating a touchdown? Are you kidding me? The Chad Johnson putting is my favorite.
It’s an “unwritten” rule that a player can’t flip the bat after hitting a home run in baseball? So dumb. Who doesn’t like seeing these?
The players are humans, not robots, and should be able to express their emotion and personality when they do something that 99% of the population can not. At the end of the day, though, all sports are just a game and should be celebrated and enjoyed on every level. The NBA does the best job of doing that.
