How long you reckon the NBA can gatekeep The Cultja?

[FultzNationRISE]

As the game has grown in popularity internationally, the NBA has to accept great international players, many of whom are displacing the Lance Stephensons and Tyreke Evans of the world.

In fact the idea players from the hood have some kind of inherent advantage in basketball is proving to be a pretty obvious misnomer. Likely stemming from when the league was expanding in popularity and scope in the late 60s through the 80s, and needed to expand the talent pool to keep up. With no cell phones, no private planes, no huge scouting departments or youth camps for prospects, they looked for talent wherever people were concentrated. The easiest place to look was the inner city. So there was a huge influx of african americans in professional basketball, and it fostered this idea there's some inherent advantage there. When in reality, it seems more likely that was just who was available.

Then when MJ came along with his jaw dropping athletic feats captivating a global audience and turning basketball WILDLY profitable, the NBA doubled down on combing the ghettos for every Tyreke Evans, Lance Stephenson, Darius Miles, John Wall, Anthony Bennett, Kenyon Martin, Rashad McCants, Carmelo Anthony, etc. These guys were taken with TOP draft picks, and were completely unfit to carry the leadership responsibility of being a professional basketball franchise's leading player. And it was WELL KNOWN they had maturity issues when they were drafted, but teams simply wanted that next billion king with the hops and the swag to be a SuPAsTar. (Of course MJ himself, despite being a hero in the hood, was an educated, hard working professional.) And the product in the 00's was an embarrassment as a result. Fights in the stands, gun duels in the locker room, shit shows of terrible basketball on the court. They league brought in players from the least mature, professional quarters of society, and got exactly what youd expect.

But my point is... Most of the best players going forward do not fit the "this is OUR game, this game is for da CULTJA" mantra that Lebron and Stephen A and a lot of the NBA mouthpieces like to purvey it as.

Jokic, Embiid, Giannis, Luka, now Wemby and Chet, Cooper Flagg... these guys arent hood and theyre probably not gonna be woke Democratic puppets the way the old guard is.

The NBA the last couple decades has used a ton of its sway as the gatekeepers of young kangz to influence them politically. And it works, a lot of regular young folk like SdotThaDon and whoever respond exactly as theyre supposed to. They dont have a particularly savvy background on complex topics, and they buy the whole "the NBA gets me" thing and pretty easily get dogwalked into parroting whatever political narratives the NBA wants to push on behalf of wealthy white people.

And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Society needs leaders and followers to function with any sort of stability frankly.

I'm just curious how that dynamic is going to evolve with the NBA in particular over the coming years. Im not sure as many players will buy into being chess pieces that way.

[Im Still Ballin]

You heard wrong, OP. The Hood imbues young athletes with special powers that allow them to succeed on the court and field. It's called Street Hunger. And it's not something that can be replicated by no house N-word like Donovan McNabb. That's just a sun tan. Only real N-words like Bernard Hopkins are blessed with The Juice.

[FultzNationRISE]

Even guys like Westbrook and Harden, who arent necessarily the most egregiously unprofessional compared to some past knuckleheads, but are just low IQ players… Im not sure how much longer the window is to market those guys as superstars.

Theres so much money and international exposure in the game now. Youre going to get the best of the best from around the world striving to be in the NBA. It’s gonna push a lot of The Cultja out of pro basketball.

[Xiao Yao You]

You heard wrong, OP. The Hood imbues young athletes with special powers that allow them to succeed on the court and field. It's called Street Hunger. And it's not something that can be replicated by no house N-word like Donovan McNabb. That's just a sun tan. Only real N-words like Bernard Hopkins are blessed with The Juice.

Many of the international players come from poor backgrounds, are athletic and hungry as well

[FultzNationRISE]

And the thing is, I dont know how it will affect the popularity of the game. Smart things are not always the most popular. The best players may not be the most appealing ones.

We know Gobb’s gonna still want his Iversons and Steve Francises over players who impact the game in more subtle ways. Maybe a lot of people will.

What will teams do? They win more when Morant doesnt play, but a lot of people like Morant and buy his sneakers.

Whats the decision?

[FultzNationRISE]

Many of the international players come from poor backgrounds, are athletic and hungry as well

Yeah but generally in those cultures, moving up is a value.

In Da Cultja, not giving a shit is seen as the flex.

[Xiao Yao You]

And the thing is, I dont know how it will affect the popularity of the game. Smart things are not always the most popular. The best players may not be the most appealing ones.

We know Gobb’s gonna still want his Iversons and Steve Francises over players who impact the game in more subtle ways. Maybe a lot of people will.

What will teams do? They win more when Morant doesnt play, but a lot of people like Morant and buy his sneakers.

Whats the decision?

that's sure to get Kblaze in here!

[FultzNationRISE]

that's sure to get Kblaze in here!

Relax bro, Toody is still an average to slightly above average starter and nothing more :lol

But I agree with you about players like “The Bum” having no business as featured players on any team ever.

[Xiao Yao You]

Relax bro, Toody is still an average to slightly above average starter and nothing more :lol

But I agree with you about players like “The Bum” having no business as featured players on any team ever.

average all NBA player that is on track to becoming the first 4 time DPOTY

[FultzNationRISE]

average all NBA player that is on track to becoming the first 4 time DPOTY


Cant quit me!

[Xiao Yao You]

Cant quit me!

haven't tried

[ralph_i_el]

I bet growing up in the Balkans produces a lot of the same stressors as growing up in the hood.

[fourkicks44]

Super interested in why OP thinks Luka and Jokic are Republicans?

Is it beacuase Jokic rides horses?

[beasted]

This forum has quickly become extremely trash with all beta cucks blaming politicians for all of their problems.

Yeah, sure, with the right president, governor, and congress in place you'll no longer have male pattern baldness, a demeaning $60k or less job, opiod addiction with poor hygiene and social skills and will finally gain the confidence to approach that eternal 4 you've been friend-zoned by so you can move out of that efficiency to a double wide trailer and be a big happy family paying all of her and her 3 kids by 3 different dude's bills.

All will be swell in the world overnight if everyone just voted <Republican/Democrat>.

[FultzNationRISE]

Super interested in why OP thinks Luka and Jokic are Republicans?

Is it beacuase Jokic rides horses?


What?

You seem to have misunderstood.

I dont know anything about their political affiliations. And I'm sure that's no coincidence. If they wanted to push divisive political narratives publicly like Kyrie or Jalen Brown, I'm sure they would have done so. But by and large they dont. I think Toody did push back a little bit on vaccines and OMB, which probably made Xiao's head explode. But other than that they're pretty quiet.

Foreign/suburban stars I dont think are going to feel as compelled to just bleet whatever line they think they're supposed to say when pressured to be social/political leaders, despite their only qualification being they play basketball.

And beyond that, I dont know that the Young Kings out there in the fanbase will even be willing to watch stars who dont rep the hood. We all know what type of way Joker makes guys like bdonovan and co feel. It's gonna be awkward having to watch public personalities like Stephen A praise Cooper Flagg and Maxime Raynaud through gritted teeth. We all know Spike Lee isnt gonna be seen at many Knicks games if they end up with a foreign superstar who isnt tryin to raise his fist for George Floyd. And btw I'm not at all speaking about black people as a collective, so please dont be simple minded and misconstrue me. I'm talking specifically about the people who get real defensive about white/foreign players succeeding in basketball.

So I'm just saying, it's kind of an awkward time in the NBA. There's clearly a change of image taking place, and it'll be interesting to see how it evolves.

[Xiao Yao You]

What?

You seem to have misunderstood.

I dont know anything about their political affiliations. And I'm sure that's no coincidence. If they wanted to push divisive political narratives publicly like Kyrie or Jalen Brown, I'm sure they would have done so. But by and large they dont. I think Toody did push back a little bit on vaccines and OMB, which probably made Xiao's head explode. But other than that they're pretty quiet.

Foreign/suburban stars I dont think are going to feel as compelled to just bleet whatever line they think they're supposed to say when pressured to be social/political leaders, despite their only qualification being they play basketball.

And beyond that, I dont know that the Young Kings out there in the fanbase will even be willing to watch stars who dont rep the hood. We all know what type of way Joker makes guys like bdonovan and co feel. It's gonna be awkward having to watch public personalities like Stephen A praise guys like Cooper Flagg and Maxime Raynaud through gritted teeth. We all know Spike Lee isnt gonna be seen at many Knicks games if they end up with a foreign superstar who isnt tryin to raise his fist for George Floyd.

So I'm just saying, it's kind of an awkward time in the NBA. There's clearly a change of image taking place, and it'll be interesting to see how it evolves.

Don't think Gobert said anything about vaccines? He joked about covid when most of us didn't really know much about it.

[90sgoat]

I bet growing up in the Balkans produces a lot of the same stressors as growing up in the hood.

It's been 15-20 years since the Balkans were rough, maybe Albania still is in parts, but Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia are middle class countries that have been booming.

There was a lot of crime in the early 2000s though, particularly from Serbia and Albania. The Serb mafia was known to be absolutely lethal and brutal. They controlled a lot of the international drug trade in Europe (import and distribution), but those guys got old and the younger generations are like younger people anywhere. Soft and genderfluid.

[90sgoat]

Basketball is a solidly middle class sport in Europe, while in the US it is mostly the opposite. This has always been an interesting clash.

[fourkicks44]

What?

You seem to have misunderstood.

I dont know anything about their political affiliations. And I'm sure that's no coincidence. If they wanted to push divisive political narratives publicly like Kyrie or Jalen Brown, I'm sure they would have done so. But by and large they dont. I think Toody did push back a little bit on vaccines and OMB, which probably made Xiao's head explode. But other than that they're pretty quiet.

Foreign/suburban stars I dont think are going to feel as compelled to just bleet whatever line they think they're supposed to say when pressured to be social/political leaders, despite their only qualification being they play basketball.

And beyond that, I dont know that the Young Kings out there in the fanbase will even be willing to watch stars who dont rep the hood. We all know what type of way Joker makes guys like bdonovan and co feel. It's gonna be awkward having to watch public personalities like Stephen A praise Cooper Flagg and Maxime Raynaud through gritted teeth. We all know Spike Lee isnt gonna be seen at many Knicks games if they end up with a foreign superstar who isnt tryin to raise his fist for George Floyd. And btw I'm not at all speaking about black people as a collective, so please dont be simple minded and misconstrue me. I'm talking specifically about the people who get real defensive about white/foreign players succeeding in basketball.

So I'm just saying, it's kind of an awkward time in the NBA. There's clearly a change of image taking place, and it'll be interesting to see how it evolves.

I was just confused about the "woke Democratic puppets" line.

I'm assuming you are meaning they are not puppets for Democrats as opposed to not being puppets that are Democrats .

[FultzNationRISE]

I was just confused about the "woke Democratic puppets" line.

I'm assuming you are meaning they are not puppets for Democrats as opposed to not being puppets that are Democrats .

Well public figures in general are much less likely to be republican, since it’s a less popular position with the consumer public. It’s no secret the NBA openly pushes Democratic policies and affiliation. Lebron campaigned for Hillary and so on. It’s not that players couldnt or wouldnt be Republican puppets in theory, but in practice it’s just not a common thing.

But my main point is just theres a widespread and well known belief that basketball belongs to “the hood” and that it’s a game for the bruthas. The NBA has absolutely leaned into that idea in recent years in order to sell 300 dollar sneakers to kids who have to steal the money just to pay for them, AND to push political issues it finds useful.

But I think the increasingly obvious reality (Jokic back to back MVPs, Germany winning Fiba championship, Wemby, Chet and Flagg top young prospects) is that flashy ballaz who are more concerned with creating a diamond replica of their face to stick on a chain (hi marquise daniels) do not make the best professional basketball players, despite whatever Spike Lee and Stephen A might wish. When this much money is on the line, it’s going to be the teams with the smartest hardest working players, black, white, or otherwise who rise to the top and succeed. I think teams are finally realizing Gerald Green jumping to the rafters doesnt make him a good basketball player. “Hops” arent a reason to draft a guy in the top 10. It took 25 years but it seems like teams realize that now, and thats really gonna diminish the prospects of a lot of playground ballers who were getting drafted in the lottery in recent decades.

Basketball would seem to be getting a lot less hood going forward. I wonder if the NBA is concerned about that for social, political, or economic reasons.

[FultzNationRISE]

Anyway I thought of this when I saw a promo for some TNT round table discussion featuring rappers and ballers about the connection between basketball and hip hop, and in the promo it was like “without hip hop, there IS no basketball.”

Im not even kidding, thats the actual quote :lol

And ofc in February the players all wear shirts that say “Built by black history” etc.

Which Im not saying is a big deal if it were actually true, and I have no problem with a diverse league. Obviously I root for a lot of players who are black, as well as a lot of players of other races. But the NBA clearly leans into this narrative that African Americans somehow have first priority status when it comes to basketball.

But with talent scouting being continuously refined and other markets continuing to open up, it looks less and less like theres any basis for that narrative. I dont see how youre gonna sell the NBA as some urban cultural institution when none of the top players reflect that anymore. Once Lebron and KD are gone who will be left of the Black Power generation?

You know it has guys like Draymond and Perkins and co. feelin some type of way.

[90sgoat]

I don't even think it's the playstyle of the hood, but more the mentality of the hood "get money".


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8rG_2ed1wg

Zion is the best example of this. He's a glorified Anthony Bennet, doesn't really like basketball, has no visible motivation in life higher than eating, whoring and "getting money".

To be fair, those pursuits are fine, but you will get tired of that soon enough. For someone like Zion, he's a very rich and hungry horny man. He can eat and whore until his heart gives out (sooner if he had the vaxx) and not have to play a single game more. And he might just be satisfied with that.

[SATAN]

Obvious bdonovan bait thread lol

[FultzNationRISE]

I don't even think it's the playstyle of the hood, but more the mentality of the hood "get money".


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8rG_2ed1wg

Zion is the best example of this. He's a glorified Anthony Bennet, doesn't really like basketball, has no visible motivation in life higher than eating, whoring and "getting money".

To be fair, those pursuits are fine, but you will get tired of that soon enough. For someone like Zion, he's a very rich and hungry horny man. He can eat and whore until his heart gives out (sooner if he had the vaxx) and not have to play a single game more. And he might just be satisfied with that.


I dunno. Zion I feel like is a good dude who’s just a lil mixed up right now and isnt getting very good guidance. I dont think he lacks the aptitude or character to be great. Just needs a lil time to “find himself.”

Im a believer in Mount Zion. (How is this not his nickname already??)