NBA BEAT - NBA ALL STAR WEEKEND - IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE in the 21st Century - February 2007

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

It's SOS (Same Old $#!t) as the game since it began in 1951 is pitting the Eastern Conference All-stars playing the West. With International players being major stars in the league it is time for a change to be more in step with the 21st century.

Friday February 16, 2006

NBA ALL STAR WEEKEND - IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE in the 21st Century for an International All-star Game

The NBA is holding its annual party known as the All-Star weekend in the gambeling capitol of the world Las Vegas, Nevada USA this year. It's SOS (Same Old $#!t) as the game since it began in 1951 is pitting the Eastern Conference All-stars playing the West.

In the past the game had a serious tone to it as the players played as if they wanted to win and took the game seriously. In it current state the event is getting more boring and boring and boring. It has lost its purpose as a competition and has turned into a party. The pride in winning the game is a thing of the past. It has turned into a dunking, hi five event.

The event has reached the point where some players that are voted into the game year after year don't want to compete. Subsequently they became injured or simply state that they want to rest and be with their family.

In the mid eighties the league took a giant step forward when NBA commissioner David Stern and CNN founder Ted Turner came to an agreement for Turners nationally satellite delivered station TBS would televise NBA games across the USA. At the time Tuner was the owner of the Atlanta Hawks franchise.

That was a small step for mankind but a GIANT STEP for the NBA.

The agreement empowered the NBA and helped build a national audience and appreciation of the league. At that time selected games were televised mostly on a local level thus limiting NBA exposure.

Now 30 years after the league has changed drastically with the addition of a volume of International players that have had a major impact on the league. When you consider what Yao Ming means in terms of pride to China the most populace country in the world that in itself is significant to the future growth of the league in its effort to expand their international appeal.

Ming has been voted to appear in the All-Star game every year since he came into the league for the 2002-03 season. With other International players being major stars in the NBA it is time for a change to be more in step with the 21st century.

The league needs a new model, it needs an International All-Star team verses and USA All-Star team via 1st team selections selected by International fans and the balance of the team selected by players and coaches. This match up would have more meaning and be more interesting.

The players would have more of a will to win because they truly represent something and not just an NBA conference. What the game represents today is a leftover from the old ABA (American Basketball Association) that had the first slam dunk competition. That influence has crept into the regular NBA games whereas players today are more concerned about how pretty they look when they take a shot and not focusing on the game itself.

International players represent and play the game as it was intended to be played. They play a more fundamental type game and are not focused o flash and dash. With their TRUE BASKETBALL STYLE in the tradition of the game, it would be interesting to see of a fundamentally sound team can beat a team focused on being show time.

Almost 20 year ago when I first started interviewing NBA players and former coaches about the skills of International players and their ability to compete in the NBA the usual response was (after looking at me in a cross-eyed manner as if thinking what is this guy talking about) that International players at that time could play offense well but lacked defensive skills.

Those interviews were with Bob Cousy, Tommy Heinshon, Robert Parrish, Lenny Wilkens, Elgin Baylor, Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bill Walton, Jack Ramsey, Dominique Wilkins, Don Nelson, Larry Brown, Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and many others.

Think about what Dirk Nowitski means to Germany, Tony Parker and Boris Diaw to France, Manu Ginobili and Andes Nocioni to Argentina, Yao Ming to China, Leandro Barbosa to Brazil, Dikembe Mutombo to the Congo, Steve Nash to Canada, Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Lithuania, Predrag "Peja' Stjakovic to Serbia and Montenegro, Paul Glasol to Spain, Luol Deng to Sudan, Hidayet "Hedo" Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur to Turkey and the list goes on and on and on.

I'm not a betting man but I'd take the Internationals in this game any day. How about you?

Yes, yes, yes… its time for the NBA to get up to speed with the evolution and the integration of International players in their league and International fans around the WORLD for a new All-Star game that would have meaning the International's vs. the USA… THE WORLD CUP or SUPER BOWL of BASKETBALL. Remember… you heard it here first.

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