All The Way With The NBA

By Alasdair McClintock on May 24, 2016 in Other

If you haven’t noticed, the NBA is fashionable again. Not since the 1990s, when every second teenager wasted their parents’ money, or their own hard-earned, on Upper Deck and Fleer trading cards, has American basketball been so prevalent in Australia’s sporting psyche. I’m not just talking about those ubiquitous snapback caps and hideously coloured jerseys either; people are actually watching it.

With the playoffs now in full swing, you might even catch yourself casting an eye over it at your local when the conversation begins to stagnate and you need something to engage your interest. The first thing you’ll probably observe is the outrageousness of some of the haircuts; the second, just how freakishly athletic most of the guys are. Us mere mortals struggle to throw a scrunched up piece of paper into a bin three feet away. These blokes are nailing 30 foot bombs on the fly with a seven-foot lunatic, known for bringing guns into the changing room, breathing down their neck – I’m sorry, but I don’t think Darryl from accounts has quite the same presence on your jump shot.

I myself got caught up in last year’s finals series. Like many of us, I was dining out on Matthew Dellavedova’s serving of ‘cold Curry’ and got lost in the romance of LeBron James returning to his hometown of Cleveland, and trying valiantly to deliver them a championship. It didn’t work out that way, but it was nevertheless intriguing.

This year the only real intrigue lies in just how many records Golden State and Steph Curry can break on their way to going back-to-back. Because, let’s face it, it’s going to happen.

I’m not a huge Curry fan. Mainly because his style of swagger annoys me. It’s not that I don’t like swagger itself – it would be near impossible to watch any American sports if that was the case – but Curry doesn’t look like swagger comes naturally to him. It feels forced and I can’t abide it. Maybe his sponsors have told him to play it up more? I don’t know.

Maybe he’s just a dickhead.

Andrew Bogut, on the other hand, must be one of my favourite athletes. His swagger I buy. It’s more of a cheeky cockiness and willingness to call a spade a spade, and I really find it quite endearing. The fact that he and Dellavedova look more like guys you’d expect to find smashing bongs in a suburban lounge room only adds to the charm.

Will this popularity flow on to the local competition? It’s hard to say. I certainly haven’t seen anyone strutting the streets of Bondi in a Sydney Kings jersey just yet. In truth, I only know one guy who claims to watch the NBL, and I’m pretty sure he’s lying to me. But having live NBA games only a click away is both a blessing and curse for the local game.

Would you dance with Danni if you could go home with Kylie? I didn’t think so.