Thank you KG for being the last of a breed, the last baller still resembling something close to what we old heads grew up with. Hopefully in the years to come Rajon Rondo will continue to carry to the torch for us and remind us of a time when “bromance” was not a damned word. The new breed of baller colludes with their besties at fashion shows and glamorous locales; while wearing glasses with no lenses so they can never see the domesticated kittens they’ve become. LeBron James is a masterful Hoop genius and we celebrate him, but a certain segment of the “market” was brought up in the 80’s when Basketball was “nasty” and we’re tired of explaining it to the children. KG is old enough to have caught the Bad Boy Pistons, and he developed as a phenom when having a nasty edge was just as important as getting your ankles taped. KG’s treatment of Ray Allen (who should know better) wasn’t out of bounds to cats of a certain age; the outrage was Allen even approaching him. Horace Grant is the obscured “Bull” because he ran over to Shaq and Penny; he didn’t dare try to put MJ and Scottie on front street by trying to “make nice” on camera. He knew it was war, defected because he didn’t like Mike and didn’t look back-and he had MORE than one ring! In fact, losing to Orlando and Grant of all people in the play-offs in 95’ was the impetus for the 72 win Chicago Bulls team of 96’… it was a hatred fueled season. The Celtics were within 48 minutes of beating the Miami Heat last year, Ray Allen’s decision to take less money from them was the worst thing you could do to men you set out to win “championships” with. Ray Allen’s nice guy act won him entry into Miami’s party but certain players like Rodman needed Scottie Pippen’s approval to join the Bulls. Because the Bad Boys went HARD! And Pippen still didn’t speak to “the worm” when he came on board. The Children may call KG’s attitude “Hatin” but grown folks who grew up a certain way call it “Representin” so it’s all semantics. Watch the ESPN “30 for 30” Documentary “Benji” detailing the life of 80’s Chicago Prep Legend Ben Wilson, he learned his craft and evolved though heated neighborhood rivalries. That is how most of us “old heads” grew up; our understanding of sports is tribal, territorial whether it was certain streets, blocks, housing developments or hoods. Our world wasn’t shrunken by technology and the best among us weren’t traveling the country making friends as early as 14 years old. KG is the emotional standard bearer in Boston, he was so loyal he stayed in Minnesota too long so when he joined Ray and Paul he meant it for the long haul. KG never envisioned one of them would leave unless forced out, and certainly not for less money- how the hell was he supposed to react? As I grow older I find myself rooting for older players, listening to older music and feeling less inclined to play along with trending #stupidity. I also feel less inclined to apologize, and I certainly won’t apologize for coming of age when the NBA was at its zenith. Back then there was a movie called “Wall Street” in which Michael Douglass (Gordon Gecko) first uttered the “Greed is good” line, it was the 80’s and it was OK. The NBA is poised to rise to the same levels as it was back then, we have our transcendent star (LeBron James) and strong teams in big markets. But if they want to even come close (to the 1980’s) they need rivalries, and rivalries mean “hatred” unfiltered, unapologetic, and uncompromising. Isiah Thomas would have never bullied the greatest player ever, nor beaten Magic Johnson or Larry Bird without it. And nobody will challenge the Heat with peace and love in their hearts either, they’re too good to step to like that- just ask Kevin Durant how that worked out. So yes, I like a league where cats have genuine dislike for one another and if you knew anything about memorable basketball you’d realize that hatred is good for me, you and the NBA.
