Why Athletes are More Than Just Entertainers

 

“Stick to sports”. “Sports are an escape from everyday life”. “Can’t mix sports and politics”. 

These very real quotes make no sense, yet they keep coming up. Why should athletes stick to sports? Do you? I work in advertising full-time, yet I don’t stick to advertising. I talk sports, I talk politics, I talk whatever I want! Because I can. Everyone can! 

Politicians talk sports all the time. How many politicians have cancelled the NBA this year? How many people have claimed they are never watching the NBA again, only to keep commenting on the NBA? Point being, politicians do talk sports. Many politicians celebrate when their local teams win. Each league’s champion goes to the White House every year to celebrate. So this idea that sports and politics aren’t intertwined is simply incorrect. 

I always hear people say “sports are an escape for me”. Well, that may be true, but it’s time to face realities that sports are more than a distraction and a form of entertainment. Athletes are more than entertainers, they are people living in this world, trying to make it a better place.

Many athletes have now began to use their massive platform in hopes to raise awareness of social issues to make the world a better place. We as fans should listen because we can’t just escape these real issues facing our society. How has this become a controversial issue?

I have recently seen another frustrating quote about how NBA players took the night off on Thursday. “I wish I could just take the night off and get paid. ” Although, the players did not play basketball that night, they by no means took the night off”. They instead worked their butts off, collaborating with each other and several politicians and influences to discuss ways to take action and make progress on important social issues such as access to voting and police reform. 

Social media plays a big role in the problems we have. People hide behind fake avatars with nameless and empty profiles to spew racist and hateful tweets. Are they serious? Or are they just having fun trying to get a rise out of people. Either way, these hurtful tweets are part of the issue and lead to constant bickering. For example, “Black Lives Matter” is not political. It’s an idea that quite literally means black lives need to matter more than they currently do. Again, why is this such a controversial issue?

The media is also killing America. While I don’t think the media is the reason why certain schools cancelled their 2020 college football seasons (contrary to popular belief), I do believe the media can influence certain events since the Media controls the narrative. They will only report the part of the story which has the most shock value in order to earn higher ratings. They will report in a way that may skew actual events and influence your thinking to benefit their own agenda. What happened to journalism? Not reporting the full story in a non bias fashion, has only lead to panic and division.  

Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said earlier this week “It’s not the NBA’s job to solve the world, it’s the NBA’s job to be part of the world.” But yet, here we are. Lebron James, Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala, the entire Milwaukee Bucks team and all of these guys looking to utilize their influence for positive and productive change. Doc’s right, this is literally the jobs of politicians, but god forbid they do something that might piss off their voters…

As Kobe Bryant and Chadwick Boseman, among others, have recently taught us, life is too short. Before America can see change, we need to stop the hate, stop the fighting and respect those around us. I hope that everything that is happening now around the country, leads to positive change to the benefit of everyone.

I stand, or kneel, with those in favor of change!

Significance of New York Knicks and Number 8

 

The #8 has a lot of significance throughout history for the New York Knicks.

For example, in 2021 the Knicks made the playoffs for the first time in 8 years.

NBA Finals

In 1999, the Knicks became the first 8 seed to ever make the NBA Finals (to this day, are still the only one). They lost the series 4-1, but the only game they won (game 3), they won by 8 (89-81).

The 1999 Finals were the Knicks 8th all-time Finals appearance.

Knicks lost to the Rockets in 7 games in 1994 Finals. John Starks shot just 2-18 and was held to 8 points (averaged 17.7 ppg in series).

In 1973, Knicks beat the Lakers in 5 games to win the championship. In game 5, Walt Frazier (18 points) and Earl Monroe (23 points) each hit 8 shots.

In 1970, Knicks beat the Lakers to win their first ever NBA title. Bill Bradley (17 points) and Dave DeBusschere (18 points) each hit 8 shots in the game 7 victory.

Madison Square Garden

Knicks have 8 different player jerseys hanging in the rafters (10, 12, 15, 15, 19, 22, 24, 33).

History of 8th Pick

The most notable #8 pick was Willis Reed. Hopefully the 2020 pick has his own “Here comes Willis” moment!

In 2020, Knicks drafted former College Player of the Year, Obi Toppin with the #8 pick.

Prior to that, in 2017, Frank Ntilikina was drafted #8.

Jordan Hill was the 8th pick in 2009 and was used to acquire Tracy McGrady, and ultimately the cap space used to sign Amare Stoudemire.

Channing Frye was the 8th pick in 2005 and traded a year later, along with Steve Francis, for Zach Randolph.

Jersey #8

Kemba Walker signed with the Knicks in 2021, and the former All Star will wear #8 as he returns home.

JR Smith wore #8 as a Knick and won Sixth Man of the Year in 2013. He played 80 games that season.

Danilo Gallinari was the Knicks first round pick in 2008 and wore #8 for 2.5 seasons before being traded for Carmelo Anthony.

Latrell Sprewell was a major part of the Knicks’ great teams 20 years ago, starting with their run to the NBA Finals as an 8 seed in 1999.

Stats and stuff

The following players spent 8 seasons with the Knicks – Bill Cartwright, Richie Guerin, John Starks, Kurt Thomas, Dick McGuire.

Walt Frazier and Bill Bradley both made the playoffs 8 times as Knicks

Mark Jackson averaged 8.0 assists per game in his career with the Knicks.

Patrick Ewing averaged 8.0 defensive rebounds per game in his playoffs career.

Knicks have had 8 head coaches since 2010. 

 

 

 

Internet’s Best and Most Accurate 2020 NBA Mock Draft

 

Now that the 2020 Draft Lottery is complete, we know what the full draft order will be.

The good news is, we already know who each team will take based on history. This is not your typical mock draft.

1. Wolves	2 point guards, who the team believes will be better than Steph Curry
2. Warriors	Someone who can shoot threes off the bench and pass to Curry and Klay Thompson
3. Hornets	Previous NCAA All-American and/or NCAA Champion
4. Bulls	Will be traded for #7 pick, joining Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr and Coby White as 4 straight #7 picks on the Bulls.
5. Cavs	Expected to receive a nice note from his boss, written in Comic Sans when he departs via free agency in 5 years
6. Hawks	Good passing skills to compliment Trae Young’s shooting
7. Pistons	Random player you’ll never hear from in three years
8. Knicks	Bust, who will be traded for nothing in 2 years
9. Wizards	Future replacement for Bradley Beal
10. Suns	Hybrid between Devin Booker and Dragan Bender
11. Spurs	Most fundamentally sound and boring player in the draft
12. Kings	Someone to help extend the team’s playoff drought to 15 years and beyond
13. Pelicans	Most physically fit player to help train Zion Williamson and get him into shape
14. Celtics	Average role player who will make Danny Ainge regret not trading this pick 3 years ago when it had maximum value
15. Magic	Player with the longest wingspan
16. Blazers	Responsible for wearing a watch and calling out when Dame Time is
17. Wolves	Will never play on national TV
18. Mavs	Best foreigner available
19. Nets	Physics major to help validate Kyrie Irving’s claims that Earth is flat
20. Heat	Good player, with a crazy story of how he got to the NBA, who doesn’t mind Jimmy Butler cursing at him in practice
21. 76ers	Will debut in 2021-22 after sitting out rookie season with an injury
22. Nuggets	Will be traded to Jazz on draft night (like Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert were)
23. Jazz	Major upgrade over Emmanuel Mudiay
24. Bucks	Won’t play with Giannis Antetokounmpo beyond 2021
25. Thunder	Raw, talented player
26. Celtics	Tacko Fall’s G-League teammate in 2021
27. Knicks	Will be traded for nothing in 2 years
28. Lakers	Trade for a future pick that becomes Bronny James
29. Raptors	Masai Ujiri will trade him to the Knicks in three years for 4 first round picks (Ujiri fleeced Knicks in Carmelo and Bargnani trades)
30. Celtics	Foreigner who never plays in NBA

NBA Did Phoenix Suns Dirty By Inviting Them to Bubble

 

On Thursday, the Phoenix Suns won again to improve to 8-0 inside the NBA bubble. However, because the Blazers and Grizzlies also won, those two teams will play in this weekend’s play-in game(s) and the Suns season is over. 

Is that fair? Yes and no.

Coming into the NBA restart, the Suns were 13th place in the West, ahead of only the Wolves and Warriors and trailed the 8th seed by 6 games and 4 other teams. 

Entering the restart, it seemed like an impossible task to think the Suns could make the playoffs. It turns out, it was an impossible task. And the NBA is the only one to blame here. 

Back in June, Damian Lillard was quoted as saying he and the Blazers only want to partake in the restart if they have a chance to make the playoffs. That should have been the whole point of including the teams below the 8th place line in the standings. If the Suns never had a chance, they never should have been included in these plans.

Sure, you can blame the Suns, who obviously didn’t win enough games between November and March. But the NBA teased them with false hope. 
It’s crazy to think a team could go 8-0 and not make the playoffs, but here we are.

The only reason the Suns got the invite is because the teams in the West were all so close together in the battle for the 8 seed and the NBA rightfully wanted to give teams like the Blazers, Pelicans and Spurs a fair chance. However, because they did it for the West, they had to do it for the East. The problem with that, is the Wizards were terrible and had no business being in Orlando. The Suns and Kings both had a better record than the Wizards, which obviously meant if the Wizards have to be part of these plans, so do the Suns and Kings.

In hindsight, the NBA never should have invited the Wizards though, who finished 1-7 with their only win coming against the G-League Celtics on Thursday. They played all 8 games without Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans, who both opted out prior to the restart. 

Back to the Suns – good for them for going 8-0! Monty Williams is an excellent coach, Devin Booker is a superstar, and there is finally reason for optimism in the desert. Bubble served a valuable purpose from a developmental and positive momentum standpoint.

But despite all of the excitement, the NBA did them dirty by teasing this idea that they were invited to the Orlando restart and had a fair chance to make the playoffs. Next time a pandemic derails the NBA season, they should do a round-robin style battle with 3-4 teams, at most, and give them a shot at the 8 seed.