Does anyone still watch NBA Basketball?

sports.espn.go.com...

Given what happened 2 years ago, and now this, I want to pose a question to the great folks here at ATS.

Does anyone still watch, follow, and or respect the NBA?

I lost respect for these so called "Professional Atheletes" years ago with their attitude, disrespect to each and to their fans.

Overpaid gang members, thugs, and hoodlums is pretty much the thought that comes to my mind when I think of the NBA. PAYDAY is all they are concened with. Need an example, Lebron James or Koybe Bryant are excelent examples. They both went to the NBA straight out of high school. Lebron landed a $100 million plus contract with the Cavaliers (Cleveland). Do you really thnk that he is in it for the "game"?

As always, your honest opinion is the best. I will not be offended by anything anyone post as I am usually offened by professionals.

i myself dont watch sports in general becuase money is the motive.

but to say lebron is in it for the money is a step to far, hes a great kid/guy, imo the next michael jordan. the money business is probly due to his family, but i scinserly believe that hes in the game becuase he loves it.

as for the rest im not so sure, im sure there are some *good* players out there, but yes the majority is full of money makers.

i allways wondered what would happen to the game(any of them really) if all where givin fixed salaries, makeing them middleclass citizens??? i dont think the games would die but they wouldnt have the current problems

i find all sports boring to watch unless there is a good reason to watch the game. hockey playoffs are usually very fun to watch with beer and friends...

basketball is boring. football boring. everything boring...

on any given day, between ?november-July? (NBA Season)
there is a televised game or two or three (free or Pay)
so, yes there are many out there that love & respect the NBA

me? i practice my darts, follow my football fantasy teams, & when March Madness comes...i'm into that, but my passion dies after the college players cross into the NBA....That's a foreign & alien world to me!

i do like that the recent meley got some suspended and fined and each club lost $500,000.oo in fines too!
As for astronomical slaries; They only get paid what the market will pay, so i don't hold that against them
As for he dramas, testy attitudes, prima-donna hubris...thats for them that care about it to fret over, talk about at the water-cooler, spend their paltry paychecks for season-tickets on......

I currently don't watch NBA basketball for two major reasons:

1) College basketball is epically more entertaining.

and

2) I'm a Seattle Supersonics fan.


However, I do have a problem with pointing at an instance like a big fight and then resorting to calling players "overpaid immature thugs who would be in jail if it weren't for professional sports."

First of all, if you've ever played competitive sports, you know that tempers run hot. If they don't, the game isn't really any fun! I watched a 60 year old dude take a swing at a 50 year old dude at the YMCA last week during a basketball game. They ended up calming down and having a good laugh.

They were neither overpaid, immature, thugs or (for those lurkers who are mentally making this dubious connection) black.

More importantly:

If the punishment for taking a full on haymaker at a co-worker was a couple days off work and a $10 fine, with absolutely 0% chance of getting fired...don't you think that would drastically change the landscape of the normal office workplace?

I do.

i have never watched nba the fact of sweaty men running around in short shorts and jerseys that comes down to their kneees dosent really suit me.

I really don't watch basketball or baseball until it gets into the playoffs. While I keep up with how my Dallas Mavericks are doing,I really don't pay much attention until the NBA playoffs get rolling.That's when basketball gets going good. Football is the only sport that I could watch year round.

[edit on 22-12-2006 by SpeakerofTruth]

I'm sorry, what is NBA?

Originally posted by Excitable_Boy
I'm sorry, what is NBA?

I don't know if you are asking that jokingly or in seriousness, but it means National Basketball Association.

There's a National Basketball Association? WOW! Where have I been?

I haven't paid attention to the NBA since the Chicago Bulls lost Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Kerr, etc... They were the best team ever to grace the NBA. Now they are laughable. I loved watching Jordan when I was younger. He was one of the best if not the best players in NBA history. One thing I didn't like about him though was all of his so called retirements.

I still love and play basketball myself.. been an avid basketball player for 14+ years, but haven't payed attention to the NBA for quite some time.

I haven't paid attention to the NBA since the Chicago Bulls lost Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Kerr, etc... They were the best team ever to grace the NBA.

The Bulls? The best team to ever grace the NBA? WRONG!!

The Celtics!! That's the best team the NBA has ever seen!!

I only watch NBA occasionally these days, because a) the Celtics currently suck, and b) the old adage of "watch the last 2 minutes" still applies.

Best team ever? Bird, McHale, Parrish, DJ, and Ainge. Those were the days - the Celts, the Pistons, the Lakers....

Best team ever? Bird, McHale, Parrish, DJ, and Ainge. Those were the days - the Celts, the Pistons, the Lakers....

Amen...those were some fantastic times. I have not watched basketball since and don't think I will. Let's not forget about the Celtics from the 50's and 60's either.

16 NBA Championships...A record 8 in a row from 1959-1966...Three separate Championship eras...When it comes to hanging Championship Banners, the Celtics are the cream of the crop. No organization has won more titles than the 16-time World Champion Boston Celtics. Whether it's the Green's first title in 1957, their 12th in 1974 or the 16th in 1986 the Celtics tradition of winning championships has stood the test of time.

1956-57
1958-59
1959-60
1960-61
1961-62
1962-63
1963-64
1964-65
1965-66
1967-68
1968-69
1973-74
1975-76
1980-81
1983-84
1985-86

source: www.nba.com...

Let's not forget about Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Tommy Heinsohn, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens.....

The Bulls have nothing on this team!!

I would have probably been a Celtics fan if I was in fact alive during that period. Their 16 championships were very very impressive I have to admit. I still loved my Bulls though

Let's not forget about Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Tommy Heinsohn, John Havlicek, Dave Cowens.....

And let us always remember Red Auerbach and his Victory Cigar.

May he RIP.

I like NBA, but basketball does not really mean anything until March. That is when you get the NCAA's followed by the end of the NBA season and finals.

The NBA, as well as baseball and hockey, have too many regular season games. The NFL just asks that you give up 16 Sundays a year to watch your favorite team. I know it would never happen because of revenue reasons, but the regular NBA season would be more interesting if it were cut in half.

Yeah, what hotpinkurinalmint said. The playoff are the only thing worth watching anymore.