From Rick Mahorn To KD, How Did We Get Here?
In 1989 the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Rick Mahorn with the 2nd pick of the draft. Mahorn was not a rookie, rather he was one of the emotional leaders of the only Bad Boy Piston team who was forced to leave because of expansion rules. After Mahorn’s forced exodus, Isaiah Thomas exclaimed they were “no longer the Bad Boys” because they lost one of the bands primary members. It was a bone crushing moment for the Pistons that lives on in ESPN's 30 for 30 “The Bad Boys”. That Piston team cared about each other, their was a foxhole mentality that existed among teammates that no opponent could break, a sense of loyalty, and kinship that does not exist in today's game. It gave the game substance and provided a real emotional connection to the fans and to the identity of the city. This foxhole mentality eternalized by that Piston team, was produced through countless postseason losses and heartache until the finally broke through the Lakers in their 1989 NBA Finals rematch to clinch their first NBA title. The Pistons understood that winning a title together with their Bad Boy brothers would be far more rewarding than joining up with other teams to create super-squads. In a-lot of ways this makes sense, I think that anyone whose played any organized sport has enjoyed the challenge of representing their school or city with their teammates, it adds another element to the game that takes competition to the next level.
Which brings us to Kevin Durant, the anti-Mahorn. Durant chose to leave his teammates and band up with the Golden State Warriors and create a “superteam”, which proves that not only does he not care about his legacy, he does not care about the connections he made in the locker room and the community. He is the poster boy for the NBA’s new self interest over pride and loyalty agenda. What does the NBA stand to gain from this move? Everything, from new jersey sales, to a better relationship with all of Durant's many endorsers, now that he is all but guaranteed more relevance and more TV time as the Warriors should cruise the Western Conference Finals.
What the Heck Happened?
The value of NBA the brand has overtaken the NBA as a competition.The results of the games are not as important as the fact that the games are played, payed for, and profited from. While of course its great for the NBA to have closer games and longer playoff series’s. The reality is that win or lose the NBA always comes out on top. This attitude is now being fostered in the NBA’s roots in AAU programs and college ball. Players no longer view opponents as rivals, but as friends who they would prefer to play with than beat. Because of this movement the game has become homogenous. If you put two average teams on the floor and turned the jerseys blank you would not be able to tell which team is which.This kinship has also ruined the physicality of the game, the days of Rileyball and the Bad Boy Pistons are done unless of course you think Draymond Green is similar in any way to Dennis Rodman, wich is utterly ridiculous.By killing individualism and promoting star players brands over teams. The NBA has destroyed its most sacred ideal, loyalty to the jersey.In other words the NBA wins and we the viewers lose,and our only way to fight back is not to burn our jerseys, as this will only cause us to buy new ones when “our players”eventually return, but to buy jerseys with blank names in the first place.
