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I can’t believe I have to say this, but no, Michael Jordan is the God of basketball

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8 months ago

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I must admit that at the beginning I was furious when I saw the wave “We’re done with 90s TikToks. This is currently one of the hottest trends in the app. These are young Gen Z men who make entire videos arguing that Michael Jordan wasn’t actually very good at basketball. (It’s really hard for me to even write that sentence.) They show clips of Michael Jordan missing a goal or losing the ball and say, “See, he’s actually trash.” It took me a minute to understand what was really happening.

I now see it as intergenerational psychological warfare. Young boys are rejecting the God of basketball that Generation X anointed long before they were born. That’s like saying: Fuck you old heads, get off our lawn. They over-troll the older generation and get clicks through rage bait.

It can also be generational pride and the assumption that human progress implies that the whole lot is best now than it was years ago.

It’s also about elevating LeBron over Jordan. This is the true subtext of claiming Jordan is trash. This means LeBron is the GOAT. For a long time, Gen Xers and Millennials have argued over Jordan and LeBron, comparing numbers and nuances to give you arguments about who’s the best of all time. Gen Z has entered this debate like Bill Laimbeer attacking Jordan flying down the road. Just like Laimbeer deserved a technical foul, Gen Z deserves a technician for this bullshit opinion. But I understand and support their subcutaneous intentions.

The kids definitely knew Gen X could be furious about this. According to athletes, Jordan is a form of god. Watch these delicious clips of Jordan and scream, “Garbage!” when he misses a shot, it’s painful. I watched Jordan’s entire profession, from his winning shot at UNC to his winning shot within the championship in Utah. (The whole Wizards thing didn’t occur). When he played, Jordan was the most well-liked athlete within the country and was considered the epitome of getting all of it as an athlete – physically gifted, mentally strong and the toughest employee on the team. If you played any sport, Jordan was supposed to be your role model.

I could spend tons of of words listing Jordan’s accolades, but no, I’ll just indicate one thing: In 1992, when the U.S. Olympic Basketball team, also referred to as the Dream Team, went to Barcelona and trial runs took place, consisting of the longer term farmers’ hall – one of the best players on the earth on the time – it was clear to these players that one of the best of one of the best was Jordan. It was unanimous.

But now we have kids who barely saw Jordan say no. All your memories are flawed. He was actually offended and played against the plumbers. Wow. The lack of respect is disgusting. Certainly, today’s NBA players are, on average, more expert than players from a long time ago. But while the common NBA player today is best than the common NBA player of the Nineteen Nineties, the truly elite players of the Nineteen Nineties – Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird – would still be stars of today’s game. Truly elite players will shine in any era.

If prime Jordan was within the NBA right away, do you actually think Devin Booker or Donovan Mitchell could slow him down? He was the one who would cover it. In Boston, he would probably draw Jrue Holiday, which many insiders believe he’s one of the best defender within the NBA. But Holiday, like Alex Caruso, Desmond Bane and Dillon Brooks, couldn’t stop him.

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The game has definitely evolved – most players today are higher at handling the ball and shooting than they were a long time ago. They are also fitter and stronger. Moreover, the sport itself has modified – within the Nineteen Nineties, there have been still centers who played with their backs to the basket and wingers who liked to shoot from the middle and even closer to the basket. These days, it’s all about shooting from beyond the arc, even should you’re a middle. There’s not as much physical play as we used to have. It’s more of a finesse game. In the Nineteen Nineties that they had to play man-to-man defense, but now teams can play zone. Anti-Jordan Gen Zers conveniently keep in mind that the league is made up of higher players, but they ignore the proven fact that the principles have also modified things to create more offense.

Many people repel and the claim that “We Done With the ’90s” is totally flawed. Among them is JJ Reddick, who actually played within the NBA (unlike anyone who pumps out the “Jordan is garbage” narrative). He is currently the lead NBA analyst for ESPN. In a recent episode on his podcast “The Old Man and the Three,” he said“We often speak about what an awesome figure from the NBA’s past would appear like in today’s modern NBA. I think it’s no secret that Michael Jordan, with all of the space that the three-point revolution and analytics and all that stuff has created, would absolutely destroy him in today’s NBA. Did you hear that, kids? Destroy.

So the essential argument that Jordan wasn’t actually a great player or that he would not make it in the trendy NBA is, yes, bullshit. But the true thing these young individuals are doing is validating themselves and their generation. They say we can’t accept the opinions of the older guys. We will remake the world in our image. While I cringe on the ahistorical nature of their bizarre anti-Jordan argument, I understand that every generation has to prove itself, and that sometimes means rejecting the bullshit of the previous generation.

When I was a child, hip-hop got here out and scared lots of boomers. It was an inherent rejection of the music they loved. While R&B was all about singing, melody and love, hip-hop was all about rapping and rhythm and the way hard life was in New York where there was broken glass in every single place. I remember the older generation telling us that hip-hop shouldn’t be music. I remember them complaining that while their groups had aspirational names like The Supremes, our groups had nihilistic names like NWA. Hip-hop was such a revolutionary approach to music that it took many oldies years to catch up.

In early hip-hop, we showed the center finger to the whole lot the boomers cared about musically. This is what young boys are doing with us now. Part of growing up is standing up to the older generation. All right. I respect this. But a part of being an adult is realizing that Michael Jordan continues to be the GOAT.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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In 2025, the Basketball Africa League play-offs will move to South Africa

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2 hours ago

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November 22, 2024

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The 2025 Basketball Africa League season will feature a brand new venue for the finals and playoffs and will also start at a brand new location.

The BAL 2025 Playoffs and Finals, scheduled for June 14, 2025, will happen at the recent home in Pretoria, South Africa. This will be the first time the BAL playoffs and finals haven’t been held in Kigali, Rwanda. The BAL 2025 season will also debut in a brand new location in Rabat, Morocco on April 5, 2025. During the BAL 2025 season, 12 of the best club teams from 12 African countries will play 48 matches in Rabat, Kigali and Dakar, Senegal, before traveling to Pretoria for play- offs.

“Over the first four seasons of BAL, we have seen tremendous growth in on-court competition, attendance and engagement from fans and partners in Africa and around the world,” BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall said in a press release. “Our groundbreaking fifth season will build on this momentum and continue to showcase the level of talent and passion for basketball in Africa, including through the first BAL games in Morocco and the first BAL Finals in South Africa.”

The 12 teams will be divided again into three conferences of 4 teams each. The group stage of the Kalahari Conference will happen from April 5 to 13, 2025 in Rabat. The group stage of the Sahara Conference will be held in Dakar from April 26 to May 4, 2025. The group stage of the Nile Conference will be held in Kigali from May 17 to 25, 2025. Eight teams from the three conferences will qualify for the play-offs in Pretoria, which will start on June 6 and end with the BAL 2025 finals.

“The Kalahari conference marks another expansion of BAL into a new country on our continent and we are more than satisfied,” FIBA ​​Africa president Anibal Manave said in a press release. “The competition continues to grow each year, providing greater exposure for our sport and helping to raise the level of basketball in Africa, making the league increasingly competitive.”

National champions from Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia routinely qualify for the BAL. The remaining five teams are from FIBA ​​Africa’s Road to the BAL qualifying tournaments.

In the 2024 BAL season, Petro de Luanda of Angola became the first team from Sub-Saharan Africa to win the championship. According to BAL, the 2024 BAL season reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages, set an attendance record of greater than 120,000 fans in the 4 host countries and generated greater than 1.2 billion views across the NBA and BAL social media channels.

Marc J. Spears is Andscape’s senior NBA author. He used to have the option to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been able to do it for years and his knees still hurt.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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NFL star Terrell Owens signs a contract with Michael Strahan’s talent agency

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15 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Terrell Owens, NFL, Football

NFL Hall of Fame receiver and podcast host Terrell Owens has signed with a talent agency to further strengthen his claims within the entertainment game.

According to , Owens was signed by SMAC Entertainment, headed by host and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and his business partner Constance Schwartz-Morini.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz has also joined SMAC Entertainment.

“We are excited to add TO and Jordan to the SMAC family. They are both at the top of their game and set the standard in their industry,” Schwartz-Morini said in a written statement. “TO and Jordan have already brought an infectious energy to our team, and we are excited to help them realize their vision for careers in media, business and branding.”

A five-time first-team All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. In 2018, he was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A member of the 2000 NFL All-Decade Team, Owens finished his profession with 1,078 catches for 15,934 yards, 14.8 yards per catch and 153 touchdowns, rating third all-time in receiving yards and touchdowns.

Since retiring from skilled soccer in 2012, Owens has already made several moves. He has appeared in several movies and tv shows, including “,” and in addition had his own reality show, “, on VH1.

He currently co-hosts the podcast with former NFL player and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe.

SMAC Entertainment is home to stars similar to rapper and actor Common, Wiz Khalifa, Strahan, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and current NFL players similar to Stefon Diggs and DK Metcalf.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker brings an NBA championship desire with his Olympic experience

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1 day ago

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November 21, 2024

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The gold medal went to the USA Basketball team. Mission completed on the 2024 Paris Games. U.S. men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr just answered his final query during his final news conference on Aug. 10 after his team defeated France within the gold medal game.

However, before leaving the stage of the press conference in Paris, Kerr stopped to deliver an unsolicited message to media around the globe.

“Devin Booker is an amazing basketball player. Nobody asked about him. He was our unsung MVP. I just desired to say that,” Kerr said.

The “underrated MVP” compliment meant so much to the Phoenix Suns guard.

“It meant everything. No one really asked him,” Booker recently told Andscape. “That was probably something that was weighing on his mind throughout the entire process. A 12 months ago I said what I desired to do for this team and what we desired to do for the country.

“It was a lot larger than all of us. Survival was something we’d discuss for the remainder of our lives.

The USA Basketball team was centered around NBA star icons LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. There has also been some discussion amongst media and fans in regards to the lack of playing time for Jayson Tatum and, to a lesser extent, Tyrese Haliburton. Lost within the shuffle was the all-around, unselfish play of sharpshooter Booker wearing the armband.

Guard Devin Booker throughout the final men’s basketball game between France and the United States on the Olympic Games on Aug. 10 at Bercy Arena in Paris.

Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images

Booker was fourth in scoring for the U.S., averaging 11.7 points, 3.3 assists and a couple of.2 three-pointers made early in all six Olympics, and likewise had the perfect plus/minus (plus-130) for an American. Kerr was impressed with Booker’s deal with a difficult defense, regardless that he is thought for his offense, ball movement and the way he has adjusted to not being one in every of the highest options on offense.

“I just understood what was at stake,” Booker said. “I’m proud to be from this country. I’m happy with playing basketball. Even though it wasn’t invented in America, we dominated for a very long time. Obviously the world is incredibly talented and the sport is growing, however it was just one other message to allow them to know who we’re.

Booker said he also learned in regards to the preparations from his all-star team, watching the preparations on and off the court. The 28-year-old added that he gained lifelong friendships.

“It’s cool to see that everyone has their own issues,” Booker said. “In my 10 years in the NBA, I’ve learned that you have to choose what you can use for yourself. But the level of detail, the attention to detail, the intensity – it’s all consistent across the board.”

As for Durant, Booker said the bond between the 2 Sun stars “is close and grows stronger every day.” They live about five minutes from one another within the Phoenix area and commonly spend time at home and on the road. Most recently, Booker had to steer the Suns without Durant, who was sidelined with an injury.

The amazing Durant averaged 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and three.4 assists, which were tops for the Suns. However, the 14-time NBA All-Star has been sidelined since November 8 with a left calf strain. Suns players Bradley Beal (calf) and Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) were also sidelined. The Suns are 1-5 without Durant, which incorporates 4 straight losses.

Booker and Suns sans Durant’s next rivals shall be the New York Knicks on Wednesday evening (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET). Over the last six games, Booker is averaging 24.1 points, shooting 43.2% from the sphere and making 16 of 43 three-pointers. Suns guard Tyus Jones said there was numerous pressure on Booker offensively due to the injury.

“We’re asking a lot of Book,” Jones said after Monday’s 109-99 loss to the visiting Orlando Magic. “It’s numerous pressure for him. We are very focused on it. They are physical with him, holding him and grabbing him, throwing two or three bodies at him all night long. So he’s got so much on his plate and we just need to proceed to seek out ways to get him open within the moments we will and proceed to assist him when other players are taking shots and making plays.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (left) with Suns forward Kevin Durant (right) during a game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Oct. 31 on the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.

Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Booker currently has two Olympic gold medals, 4 NBA All-Star appearances and one NBA Finals appearance. The only thing missing from the Suns’ second-leading all-time scorer is an NBA championship. Since the Suns joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1968, they’ve yet to win a title.

After experiencing the joys of winning a gold medal, Booker as an NBA champion wants the gold Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy much more.

“Most of the guys that were there did it,” Booker said of his Olympic teammates who were NBA champions. “They were champions. This is standard for them. Anything lower than that, they need nothing to do with it. It’s contagious…

“That’s all I want. That’s all I want.”

Marc J. Spears is Andscape’s senior NBA author. He used to have the ability to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been capable of do it for years and his knees still hurt.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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