Fantasy Sports

From the moment Kevin Garnett (BOS) was out for the season, the NBA promoted a Dream Final between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Every minute of the day they reminded us that there is nothing apart from these two players, the best basketball players in the world. We were literally brainwashed. There was Kobe, there was LeBron James and then there was nothing else. I nearly started to believe that NBA basketball has become a sport in which athletes compete one-on-one.

In advertising I’ve learnt (by observation, not by teaching) that you go on a massive marketing tour if you try to sell either poor quality or you are desperate to sell anything at all.

This is the completely wrong approach. Basketball is a team sports and one player does not make a winning team. In fact, one player is no team. And quite frankly, the NBA has more superstars than just Kobe and LeBron James.

The Chicago Bulls of the 90s had Michael Jordan as the best player in all of basketball but they also had Scottie Pippen and later Toni Kukoc on the team, who were superstars themselves.

The San Antonio Spurs had superstars like David Robinson and Tim Duncan who played for the collective rather than individual glory. The same applies for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

The Los Angeles Lakers had Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal who didn’t exactly demonstrate team play but they were probably the two best players at that time.

The Detroit Pistons were a team without superstars but a group of highly talented players who worked as a team.

The Miami Heat had Dwayne Wade and Shaq, and this time O’Neal was more team oriented, as he was no longer his dominant self.

The Boston Celtics had 3 superstars who sacrificed individual stardom in order to make the Celtics a dynasty again.

What do we learn from this? You need to be a team to win a championship or have at least the two best individuals on your team. But even two make a group and that clearly disqualifies basketball from being an individual sport.

What else do we learn? LeBron James will never win a championship if they keep surrounding him with players just to fill the roster spots.

My suggestion: Why does the NBA not place him on a ready-made championship team when LeBron James becomes a free agent in 2010? LeBron James won’t win an NBA title as long as he is chasing the money instead of the title. Project Cleveland failed in terms of building a team around LeBron James. And that should be a warning to all bidders in 2010.

Now can we please rename the Eastern Conference runner-up to Cleveland Cavaliers again and acknowledge that basketball is being played and won by a team and not an individual? Regardless of the outcome of the NBA Finals 2009 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic, a team will be triumphant.

And hopefully the NBA won’t disrespect the other players and teams again next season. Thank you.