Every Team Needs a “Flavor Flav”
In this day and age of basketball, more hype men are needed. Superstars are great, but a good hype man can bring a team together and create much-needed energy.
“Mother**** him and John Wayne!”
— Flavor Flav
That is one of the most memorable lines from one of the greatest songs in Hip-Hop history, but it didn’t come from “Public Enemy” rapper “Chuck D”. This line came from the greatest hype man ever in “Flavor Flav”. Public Enemy was more than a “duo” — they were a collective that acted as their own NBA team. Chuck being the superstar player that controlled the rock, while “Terminator X” pulled the strings behind the scene.
But with every NBA team, there’s that one player that brings everything together and is beloved by fans. That “player”, was Flavor Flav. Flav provided PE with unmatched energy that made every song, every performance, that much sweeter as a fan.
When you look at the landscape of today’s NBA, “hype men” aren’t as common as they once were. Players like Udonis Haslem and Rasheed Wallace were known for being the guys who weren’t afraid to send a message with their play or bring their respective teams together with high-level energy. In today’s game, we have guys that fit that mold like Draymond Green, Patrick Beverley, and Milwaukee Bucks Forward, Bobby Portis.
If you’ve been watching the NBA Playoffs, then you know just how important Portis has been to Milwaukee. He immediately makes an impact every time he checks in off the bench, and for a Bucks team that can sometimes be inconsistent, his “yells” and “roars”, whenever he dives for a loose ball or knocks down a corner three, can quickly change the energy of the entire team.
Players like him are important, and every team should have one. Having superstars are great, but those “glue guys” or in this case “Flavor Flav’s” are what makes teams special. Last year’s playoffs being in the bubble left all teams to create their own energy without fans, and you saw some teams that just didn’t have it. The Lakers were able to thrive off of the constant noise from players like JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard and rode that along with great play from their superstars to a championship.
“Sometimes you need a guy that’s gonna scream and yell to get you going.”
— Khris Middleton
This came during media availability just a day before Khris dropped a playoff career-high 40 points in a crucial game four win that tied the series at two apiece. Of course, we can’t give all of the credit to Bobby as Khris was and is an excellent offensive player, but when you have a guy like Bobby on your team, the team’s energy is always a plus.
Whether it’s Haslem’s eight points that tied the Pacers-Heat series at two after taking an elbow that left him bleeding. Or one of many Rasheed Wallace technical fouls, high energy guys that are willing to do the “dirty work” for their respective teams are a plus for NBA franchises, and in my opinion, are good for the league.
“I’ll tell you one thing you can’t do: you can’t put your shoes on, then your socks on.”
— Flavor Flav
