Finally, someone has gone and done it. After all this time, someone has finally spoken out against the one-sided media bias in the NBA.
ESPN NBA analyst and former Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson had some remarks Friday night that did not fall upon deaf ears. We, the fans of the Memphis Grizzlies, heard you loud and clear, Mr. Jackson.
Jackson referred to the ESPN commercials that have been aired leading up to these games. The commercials are about the upcoming games for the Golden State Warriors against the Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail blazers. Not only did they disregard all other games (including the incredible game tonight between the Knicks and Bucks), but they ignored all the other players as well.
“I was watching TV and saw the commercials” Says Jackson, “Dray, Klay, Steph, KD. Who’s gonna go off tonight? Grizzlies. Warriors. Ok, Are you kidding me? Let’s show Some respect to the opposition. Wether it’s Damien Lillard, CJ McCollum, Marc Gasol or Mike Conley, there is more to pump up a game than 4 Players from a particular team.”
“(If I was coaching), I would absolutely end the meeting with that commercial and I would say, How disrespectful they are to us.”
The Golden State love affair
Look, I get it. Golden State is a premier franchise. They’ve been to the Finals back-to-back years, winning 2 years ago. Durant is a former MVP; Steph and Klay Thompson may be the best shooting back court of all time. They won 73 games last year, breaking the all time record. But, the NBA is not based solely on 1 team. It’s made up of 30 teams and countless numbers of players.
Every game is a matchup between 2 teams and should be treated as such. Every team has marketable players on it, some more than others, but regardless they’re still marketable. The best way to get the most attention and bring in the biggest audience is to appeal to both teams.
The Warriors may have their big 4, but Memphis has Gasol, Conley and Parsons and is in the middle of the playoff race. Portland may be having a down year, but Lillard and McCollum are superstars.
Fixable problem?
Now that one of ESPN’s own has brought this to light on a national stage, hopefully they take the appropriate steps to fix it. If Adam Silver and the large media outlets really want this to be a league full of parity, they need to make sure each team gets a legitimate amount of hype.
When one team gets all of the hype, the fans miss out on a lot of other young superstars that they may not get to hear much about. McCollum, Giannis, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, the list goes on. The NBA has a bright future, so let’s not ruin that by putting a select few teams on a pedestal and leaving the others to fight over whatever scraps they can get.
Thank you, Mr. Jackson, for fighting for the little guys and letting people know that we really are great. Even if your employer wants everyone to think otherwise.
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