10 Things NBA Fans Think But Are Afraid To Say

Image via Complex Original

A year ago, this thought wouldn’t have crossed our minds. KD was coming off an MVP season that saw him score 32 points per game, while averaging 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals. Ridiculous numbers, to say the least. And that “You’re the real MVP” speech? SO good. We were all looking forward to seeing those kinds of speeches for years to come, as KD seemed poised to rake in multiple MVP trophies just like LeBron James did during his mid-to-late 20s.

But now? We’re not so sure. It’s not that KD can’t play anymore because, well, HE’S STILL KD. We're also not down on him because he's going to be forced to continue to sacrifice some of his stats for the sake of playing alongside fellow MVP candidate Russell Westbrook. And we're even willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that his recent foot issues won’t continue to be a problem for him (even though that very well could be the main reason KD never wins another MVP—fingers crossed that isn’t the case).

But unfortunately for KD, the MVP race looks much different today than it did in 2014 when he won it. Back then, it was basically him vs. LeBron (to put things into the proper perspective, Blake Griffin finished a distant third that season). Today, it’s him vs. Steph Curry. And James Harden. And LeBron. And this guy named Anthony Davis who looks like he might be ready to take home all the awards after next season. So while we wouldn’t put it past KD to find a way to win one more MVP trophy before his career is over, he’s also not the prohibitive favorite anymore. And if guys like Curry, Harden, and Davis have anything to say about it, he’ll never be the favorite again. —Chris Yuscavage (@CYuscavage)

Imagine, if you will, if basketball had always been played in jerseys with sleeves, and all of a sudden there was a push to play in tank tops. How stupid would that seem? Yes, yes, freedom of motion. But baseball players need that too, yet only a few teams have ever played in vests and none with bare arms underneath. Sleeved NBA jerseys have, for the best I can tell, been rejected for five reasons: 1) They’re not traditional, 2) They’ve generally been kind of ugly, 3) They represent the inevitable arrival of advertising on jerseys, 4) They’re made by adidas, 5) LeBron doesn’t like them.

Let us take these on one at a time. The first reason is the biggest, and probably the easiest to overcome. Make sleeved jerseys the norm rather than rarely worn alternates, and teenagers 10 years from now will think of sleeveless NBA jerseys as quaint throwbacks. Making them better looking would help, and once Nike takes over the NBA uniform deal, that takes care of No. 4. LeBron? He is rapidly becoming an Old, and if the next generation of stars embrace sleeved jerseys, guess what? Fans will too.

As for advertising on jerseys, it’s coming whether we like it or not, sleeves or no. Just look at the WNBA for proof of that. This too shall pass. Soccer remains the most popular sport in the known universe despite the best players being billboards for everything from cars to airlines, and people continue to pay real money for their jerseys. The NBA will be no different. And a decade from now, no one will remember what all the fuss was about.

—Russ Bengtson (@russbengtson)

Here's an advanced stat for you: 0.00 percent. That's approximately how likely it is my favorite team—the Philadelphia 76ers—wins an NBA title this year.

I am what you would normally consider a friend of analytics. I once wrote a piece on the NBA's use of SportVu technology, I'm an avid follower of shot charts, and fully support the math-minded brain of Sam Hinkie, General Manager of the Sixers. I've defended the team's strategy to accept losing in the short-term in order to land a superstar and win in the long-term. I'm your typical numbers-focused hoops hipster fan who applauds fast-break three point bricks and yells at any player who shoots a long two. But you know what I've finally realized? Analytics are trash.

TRASSSSH. You know what all this math and hope has gotten me (and millions of other NBA fans of follow the Sixers and other analytics-focused teams)? Losses. TONS of losses. Oh, and THREE talented-yet-flawed centers, one of which rides around on a hoverboard with a possibly broken foot when he's not guzzling pitchers of grenadine. 

"Oh, but look at this chart! Look at how the team is embracing 'space and pace' while taking only mathematically-smart shots!"

Yeah, and look at the loss column. Look at our roster. Look at my face as I watch Sixers head coach Brett Brown choke down rage game after game, using every bit of his strength not to physically assault the people responsible for giving him Isaiah Canaan​ as a starting point guard.

Numbers are useful in sports and anyone who tells you different is probably an archaic moron. But basing every one of your team's decisions—practices, drafts, trades, offensive sets, defensive schemes, coaching hires, eating habits, sleep schedules, hydration, fucking off-day activities—on numbers and numbers alone? TRASH. —Maurice Peebles (@tallmaurice)

LeBron James will turn 31 on Dec. 30, so let’s all enjoy Prime LeBron while we can. 

Because for all intents and purposes, this very well could be LeBron’s last prime year.

I preface that by saying when you’re an otherworldly athlete, the caliber of LeBron, you tend to defy norms. But generally speaking here, once you reach the wrong side of 30, Father Time starts to creep in and, well, things done changed.  

Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, two safe comparisons for The Chosen One, saw noticeable drops in their production during their age 31 season (granted, Jordan was coming back from retirement No. 1). Numbers don’t lie.

LeBron averaged 25.3 PPG last season, his lowest total since his rookie season. While PPG is a bit of dubious way to judge a player’s worth, when you take a look at his Player Efficiency Rating (ANALYTICS!), a pretty reliable and widely used barometer of a player’s overall value, LeBron had his least efficient and least productive regular season campaign since the ’06-07 season.  

In the case of Bryant, the Black Mamba saw big drops in his PER in his age 31 season. Jordan, on the other hand, rebounded at 32 before things started to decline (relatively speaking for the GOAT) at 33.

Bottom line: There's a lot more grey area in this NBA debate than most. Of course LeBron can still dominate. Of course he’s still the best player in the league. Of course he’s still in his prime. I’m just saying that you should appreciate his prime time while it's here, because it might come to a close quicker than we all realize. —Adam Caparell (@AdamCaparell)

Amongst all major sports, is there a tougher one to officiate than the NBA? Think about it. Football is chaos, but there is a reset after every single play (and half of the time no one seems to know what’s legal and what isn’t anyway). Baseball is mostly a matter of calling balls and strikes, with tough judgment calls few and far between. Basketball, though. It’s a fast-paced game that only stops when the refs stop it, with no time for officials to get together and discuss what they just saw. Call first, talk later. And most of the time they get it right.

Are there problems? Absolutely. Charge/block calls can be toss-ups, replay allows fans to see in slow motion (and from multiple angles) what officials have to call based on game speed and from their single perspective, and of course there’s Joey Crawford. But most of the “problems” are with us, not them. Of course fans think officials are out to get their team, or that the NBA favors one kind of market over another (thanks a lot, Tim Donaghy). Officiating is a tough, mostly thankless job, and if you’re looking for blown calls you can always find them. Are NBA officials perfect? Far from it. But as sports go, they’re as good as it gets. —Russ Bengtson (@russbengtson)

"A lot of players want to go to different teams or contend to win championships. I’m a Laker, man. I’m a Laker for better or worse." 

—Kobe Bryant

There is one thing Kobe Bryant has over Michael Jordan. Actually, two things. No. 1—Kobe's eyeballs are whiter. The yellow-tinted gaze of Michael Jeffrey Jordan as he stares you down while smoking a cigar and wearing complicated denim is well-documented. Kobe passes the eyeball test.

No. 2—Kobe never left L.A.

Michael Jordan has more efficient stats, a better sneaker legacy, and of course an extra ring, but one thing he'll never have over the Mamba is how they decided to leave the game. MJ not only retired more than once, but he also was forced to play for a team that wasn't the Bulls for the last two years of his career. Sure many of us choose to ignore that image of old Jordan in that fugly Wu-Tang Wizards uniform, but it happened. It was reality. And regardless of how well he played in those years (21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists a game!), he still had to do it in DC.

Kobe, on the other hand, gets to go out just as he came in— in a Hornets cap wearing Purple & Gold. He gets the benefit of never having to un-retire. He has the opportunity to leave the game with a Mariano Rivera-style lap around the league, shaking hands and receiving gifts from all of his former competitors. And although it's almost certain Jellybean Jr. will hate this special treatment, it amounts to a much more poetic ending to his storied career than MJ teaming up with Christian Laettner and Kwame Brown to go 37-45 with the Wizards. —Maurice Peebles (@tallmaurice)

Seattle will be without a basketball team for the eighth straight season and that’s not changing any time soon.

It’s the arena situation, stupid.

The Sonics played their last game in KeyArena back in 2008 and the city is still trying to figure out what to do with the sorely outdated building that debuted in 1962. A vote on a proposal to build a new arena in a different neighborhood is supposedly scheduled for later this year, but until Seattle has a gym that wasn’t built in the Bronze Age no NBA team will seriously consider it.

Then there’s that kind of important detail about how there are exactly ZERO teams looking to pack up for the Pacific Northwest right now. The Kings bid to move to Seattle was shot down in 2013 and the franchise will debut a new arena next season. Bucks ownership was threatening to relocate if Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin didn’t build them a new arena. Guess what happened there? The rich guys got their way.

So sorry, Seattle fans. You’ll have to make due with the Mariners and Seahawks.  At least for a while. —Adam Caparell (@AdamCaparell)

Why would a 69-year-old take an executive job with a franchise that’s been down way more than it’s been up? Laker owner Jim Buss wanted no parts of his sister’s lover—maybe because of their relationship or maybe because he knew Phil would be the face of the franchise. The Knicks have tried to hire Phil before, whether it be as a coach or an executive, and each time he played with their emotions and eventually decided to fish in Montana. So why would a man with 11 rings want to be the president of a club with an owner who doesn’t know his ass from his elbow in the world’s most unrelenting media market?

Legacy. He will forever be chasing Red Auerbach, and Red found success as a coach and as an executive.

His first year was panned by the fans, the critics, and even Phil himself. However, this offseason has shown that he may actually know a little something about basketball. The Knicks finally tanked and decided to rebuild instead of trying to re-up and reload by signing old, expensive players. They were smart with their money by signing guys that can complement Carmelo Anthony, one of the hardest stars to build around. Phil showed big balls by taking Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 4 pick in the franchise’s most important draft since 1985, when they took Patrick Ewing with the first pick.

So does Phil care more about his legacy than he does the Knickerbockers? Sure, but those two things may actually go hand-in-hand. If he wins, the Knicks will benefit and Phil's legacy will be even greater. If he loses, well, the Knicks will just be the Knicks and Phil can pass the blame to any number of things. Phil is a smart man. —Angel Diaz (@Adiaz456)

It's amazing how in a country that celebrates capitalism and free-market economics as much as we do that our sports could be so damned socialist. Think about salary caps for a second. Imagine the uproar if the United States government put a salary cap on anything. "Sorry Ms. Corporate Attorney, but your company already reached their salary cap. It wouldn't be fair to the other firms if they were allowed to hog all the good lawyers." Shit's absurd.

But let's forget about salary caps for a second. Let's concentrate on the other un-American aspects of our favorite sport—age restrictions and the NBA Draft.

Imagine being very qualified for a job, having a company desperately trying to hire you for said job, yet being forced to wait a year until you can do the job for no logical reason. That's what it's like to be a five-star high school basketball player in America. In 2005, the NBA made a rule that players must be a year removed from high school in order to be drafted, which is, frankly, an unfair hiring regulation. Purists say it's for the betterment of the game, but really it's for the betterment of the NCAA, which is a fraudulent free labor-built institution in itself. Rules preventing qualified workers from doing a highly-specialized (and lucrative) job? Excellent system, comrade.

And the NBA Draft? An event that forces employees to work for (and relocate to the area of) whatever company picks them first? What other field would that even be okay in this country? "Ta-Nehisi Coates—you're a great writer. So great, in fact, that you've been drafted by FoxNews.com. They want you to move to Mississippi to be closer to their target demographic. Enjoy."

Sure, we all recognize the utility of having a draft to prevent everyone from immediately signing with the Heat or Lakers, but there are other ideas out there that don't involve a draft. And even if we don't want to adopt those rules, it's still important to recognize our behavior for what it is: un-American. —Maurice Peebles (@tallmaurice)