Many sports fans around the world call basketball one of the greatest sports on earth, and the NBA is where that sport is taken to pinnacle heights. No other sporting league around the world brings what the NBA does season in and season out. The greatest dunks, crossovers, final shots and passion for the game are reasons why the fans keep coming back. Just like any other type of event the NBA has its fair share of fans and culture. The cultures that I want to cover would be the culture on court, the culture of court and the culture that has evolved beyond the sport of basketball. Through this paper the reader will recognize the history, and the culture of Professional basketball.
Professional basketball has kept its popularity with different styles of plays and players which has kept the game fresh with variety. For example, the league was changed to a guard dominant style in the 80s whereas the 70s were big man dominated, and moving forward to modern day the game is dominated by the three-point ball. Throughout the years players like Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Micheal Jordan, Tim Duncan have kept the game alive and evolving. These key players contain their own individual styles, and these dynamic players would usually define their generation by their unique talents.
The culture of how players play would usually be affected by what’s dominating the league currently, for example referring to my point above when the league was dominated by big men teams are more likely to draft tall and strong players as opposed to weaker smaller players. But as things evolved for example when Jordan entered the league it became more focused on a one man show. CBS sports article wrote “A one-man show that defined basketball and all it meant around an individual star, around being Like Mike, not Like Some Big Man” {CBS sports article: How Stephen Curry ushered NBA’s greatest shooting era and changed the perception of championship teams}, this shows how the culture on court can sway with generational changes.
Not only are the playing styles a culture, so are the narratives in the league itself. A player may be judged a villain if they decide to abandon their team to join a better team, or a player can be considered a hero or greater than someone who has similar performance if they make a heroic run throughout the season. “So highlights, winning, team success, personality—all these things contribute to a narrative about players. Make no mistake: narratives are what make sports go. We support underdogs, root for players who are coming back from trauma or injury, and fight against the evil tyrants taking over the NBA” {SB nations actical :The Power of Narrative in the NBA}. We can see how narratives and stories are also a big part of the culture on court.
Not only are the impacts of NBA culture prevalent on court some may argue and say that the culture of court is even greater than on court. For example, Allen Iverson who was one of the most influential athletes of all time made impacts in both the NBA and other sport leagues. “Once Iverson got to the league in ‘96, his influence blossomed from just motivation to impacting mainstream culture at a national level. From the shoe deal with Reebok to his cornrows and tattoos to his way of dressing, he was pushing the boundaries for a league that had historically been on the conservative side of the spectrum. His impact was so powerful that the NBA commissioner at the time, David Stern, implemented a dress code to counteract the influence the ball player was having across the league, as players were showing up to games wearing chains, baggy clothes, etc. Iverson’s display of self-expression was empowering to many not just in the NBA, but in all sports.”{Black History Month: celebrating the impact & influence of Allen Iverson by Marcus Blackwell }. Not only was Allen Iverson influential to other sporting leagues and athletes he was also very influential to the African American community. First time in sports history did an athlete like Allen Iverson display black culture so proudly and unapologetically. Black culture was not the only thing influenced by Iverson, he also influenced the next generation of basketball players. Basketball is often thought of as a tall person’s sport but Iverson who stood at 5 foot 11 (height of an average north American man but way shorter than the NBAs average of 6foot 6) was dominating the league. This gave hope to young shorter basketball players giving them a role model to look up to. Iverson was also very influential to cultures like fashion and music too. This perfectly displays the NBA culture is not only present on court but is also very present off court and intertwined with other cultures too.
Speaking of other cultures brings me to my last point of NBA culture evolving into other subcultures that move away from basketball in general. Two of these cultures that have been greatly impacted by NBA culture is music culture (especially popular music) and fashion culture (shoes culture specifically).
Starting with music culture a lot of NBA athletes have dabbled in music, for example players like Shaquill O’neal and Damiain Lillard have both had their own songs produced, and it also works vice versa as some musicians have tried to play professional basketball throughout their lives. Not only are the people of each occupation involved, the music itself sometimes draws inspiration from basketball. “Basketball has always had a strong connection to the hip hop community, beginning all the way back in 1979, when Big Bank Hank of the Sugarhill Gang bragged about watching the New York Knicks on his colour TV in “Rapper’s Delight.” {Hip hop and basketball go hand-in-hand by Bryn Coates-Davies }. But hip hop and music is not the only culture that is intertwined with basketball so is the fashion and sneaker culture.
With many people being fans of NBA basketball as well as fashion and sneakers the culture comes together naturally. Many fans would like to represent their favorite players by wearing their jersey and signature shoe not only on the basketball court but off court too as a lifestyle item and a statement to both fashion and their passion for basketball. This trend really took off in the 90s with Nike launching signature shoes like Micheal Jordan’s Jordan brand and other similar signature shoe lines. “Since Nike launched Michael Jordan’s signature sneaker line, NBA athletes have represented the pinnacle of athletic pitchmen and, thanks to the importance and prevalence of sneakers in streetwear and fashion, basketball-playing ambassadors have become cultural figures.”{The cultural phenomenon that is the NBA by Marc Richardson }. Now some athletes become cultural icons and people who may not even enjoy basketball would know them. This shows how the NBA culture has moved from on court to off court and now even moves into territories that are completely separated from basketball in general.
Referencing
- https://theundefeated.com/features/without-allen-iverson-there-would-be-no-lebron-james/
- Team turnarounds [electronic resource] : a playbook for transforming underperforming teams / Joe Frontiera, Daniel Leidl.
- Basketball in America : from the playgrounds to Jordan’s game and beyond / Bob Batchelor, editor.
- Leonard, D., 2012. After Artest : The NBA and the Assault on Blackness. Albany: SUNY Press.
- Coates Davies, B., 2018. Hip hop and basketball go hand-in-hand. The Concordian,.
- Black History Month: Celebrating the impact & influence of Allen Iverson
- Flom, R., 2016. The Power of Narrative in the NBA.
- Reiter, B., 2020. How Stephen Curry ushered NBA’s greatest shooting era and changed the perception of championship teams. CBSsports,.
- Richardson, M., n.d. The cultural phenomenon that is the NBA. Frank and Oak,.
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