#Middlebury #ASportingView
By Mark Vasto
So my cousin Mike comes up to me at a funeral and says to me, “Yo, cousin Mark … am I right about this? Tell me Jordan wasn’t the greatest of all-time? That the NBA is boring now.”
Now, he asked in a New Jersey dialect, you must understand. He wasn’t asking me to tell him Michael Jordan wasn’t the greatest. He was seeking vindication for an argument and telling me in a passive-aggressive way to confirm the fact that Jordan was the greatest. I chose to go the opposite route. “Jordan wasn’t the greatest of all-time.” I took him at his word.
That player, to me, will always be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But it wasn’t easy being Kareem; even he was swept out of the finals twice. The Jordan argument is always a valid one, and he is always on my first team, NBA Mount Rushmore.
But this year’s Golden State Warriors team made me rethink the NBA. The ’80s and ’90s era was a glorious time for the NBA. Every single team had a poster-ready superstar, and the NBC games of the week – punctuated by Marv Albert’s “Yes!” – were must-see TV. But the game was played differently. Basically, Jordan got the ball, wagged his tongue, broke somebody’s ankles, jumped in the air, flew about 20 feet and simply put the ball in the basket because he was right there. Then came the Kobe and hack-a-Shaq era, and people started to tune out. The NCAA became king.
Well, this season has had people talking about the Golden State Warriors. They’re a superteam of superstars, and they play in a way that boggles the mind. I just don’t understand why people are complaining. These guys don’t do the Jordan thing … they just sink the ball from anywhere on the court. It’s truly amazing to see.
Steph Curry isn’t the greatest of all time … but he’s one of the greatest shooters of all time. Yeah, he pinned a clown suit on LeBron James and acted like a real villain lying on the side of the court, but there was no denying that he was fantastic, as was Kevin Durant. They went 16-1 in the playoffs – paring LeBron the shame of sharing Kareem’s sweep record – and established themselves as being one of the greatest teams to ever take the court.
Oakland drops the ball with this team. I get that you have to call them Golden State to appease the San Francisco market, but to me you have a city desperate to improve its reputation, and probably half the kids in America watching haven’t a clue where Golden State is. Even the Kings admit to being from Sacramento. Then again, they might want to tamp down on the riots before making a name change.
Can people in America stop rioting over sports? In other countries, people riot over things like not getting enough food off the back of a U.N. truck. Here, some guy sinks 39 points, holds up a trophy and people go berserk all night. Why does a championship mean you have to destroy cars and light couches on fire? Enough with the couch fires, America.
So sorry, Mike … Jordan may not be the best ever, but the lack of parity in the NBA shouldn’t overwhelm the fact that there’s great basketball being played. So enjoy. Just don’t riot.
Mark Vasto is a veteran sportswriter who lives in New Jersey.
(c) 2017 King Features Synd. Inc.
