Now that the NCAA Tournament is here, all of the love goes towards college basketball and rightfully so, for it truly is March Madness and showcases basketball in a fantastic and unpredictable way. However, if you make the statement that college basketball is better/more watchable basketball than the NBA, you clearly misunderstand the sport. Let's breakdown the common arguments here that repeatedly rip the NBA during this time of year for being the lesser of basketball. We could always expand the argument into other college/professional sports, but we will stick to basketball to keep things in this post's perspective.
College Basketball Players work/play harder, therefore, college hoops is better: The first and go-to argument of all folks who love college hoops. This point is a complete fallacy. Players in college aren't as physically or mentally skilled as those who play the sport professionally, so how do they make up for this? They bust their asses physically to make up for the lack of talent and ability to play more efficiently/effectively. The average scoring for a college basketball team is 68.1 points per game. The average scoring for an NBA team? 102.4 points per game. The duration of an NBA game is also stretched out an extra four minutes, as well as divided into 4 quarters instead of two halves. Sure, college players may give it their hardest effort but it doesn't take away the fact that professional basketball players simply don't have to work as hard to produce better results. NBA players are able to apply their mental/physical skills into more fruitful/effective ways of playing the game. Which brings me to the next argument and by far and away, the most ignorant one.
There is no defense in the NBA: Probably the most common phrase used by people who don't like watching NBA basketball. Let's look no further than Houston's James Harden to go into this point. James Harden is a poor defender, statistically being one of the worst fields in his game. NBA players eat his lunch on the defensive side almost every game, while Harden does the same on the opposite end. Now consider this, you are Kawhi Leonard of the Spurs (the reigning defensive player of the year and a player who routinely works hard on the defensive end) and you are guarding James Harden. You play perfect defense on Harden during a possession, and force Harden to take a step-back, fading three pointer while your massive hand is in his face, obstructing 95% of Harden's view of the basket. So what happens? Harden makes the shot anyway, then stares at you with that mundane, maniacal look on his face. What went wrong? You did your job 100% correctly and it seems like the odds of Harden hitting that shot were astronomical. Only the odds really aren't that crazy for Harden making that shot. Harden is just so ridiculously skilled and talented at making those shots that it doesn't matter what you do sometimes, the ball is going to go in. This is true for EVERY NBA player. These guys are so skilled and so talented that defense becomes IRRELEVANT because no matter what type of defense you play, the ball still goes in. Defense in the NBA essentially becomes a strategy, not a controllable staple. Teams/coaches use strategy on defense as much as possible to make sure that the guys who are more likely to make shots, takes less of them or are contested as much as possible. And guess what? It STILL doesn't work and NBA players who are great scorers still score at ridiculous levels. Guys in the NBA all know how to score the basketball, they likely wouldn't be there if they didn't. It's profoundly incorrect to say that there is no defense played in the NBA, it's correct to say that the offense in the NBA is (and always will be) drastically better than the defense. You can be a poor defender or a poor defensive team in the NBA and be exploited but sometimes your offensive talent is so ridiculous, it more than makes up for your team's lack of defense. Everyone wonders why the Warriors are so dominate as a team this year and have only lost 6 games so far. Look no further than their offensive/defensive team rankings (#1 in offense, #8 in defense). When you boast the top offense and a top ten defense, you blow other teams away when you're doing things right.
College Basketball fans are better/more devoted: This is a simple one that college basketball fans can have. When more than half of your fan-base/game attendees are raging on alcohol and food deprivation, absolutely they are more fired up for a basketball game/team. Just because I worked my ass off all day at my 8-5 then want to attend a Warrior game without getting piss-drunk, painting my face and screaming myself hoarse, doesn't mean I'm not a fan or as devoted to my team. It just means I have a life and will promptly be returning to it the next day, where my sports team has zero affect on the day-to-day operations of my company. When you're out of college, sports become more of an entertainment value, not a requirement/standard of your college life that requires your do-or-die devotion.
NBA Players are over-paid: A common argument here that can be expanded into other broad topics such as professional athlete salaries and the NCAA paying their student-athletes but we will keep this college basketball-based. Do NBA players make a lot of money? You bet your ass they do, they are entertainers and entertainers get paid A LOT of money (Justin Timerlake, Leo DiCaprio & Kevin Durant, all entertainers). Do NBA players act like Nancys on/off the floor when things don't go their way? Go ahead and bet that ass again. You have to remember though that this is THEIR PROFESSION. THIS IS HOW THEY MAKE MONEY. If I'm a professional basketball player (and believe me, everybody bitches for calls at basketball refs, no matter what age or profession), I'm absolutely going to complain for as many calls as I can get and demand that I shoot the ball more. Say I'm an NBA guard and I didn't bitch for calls or shoot as much as the guard on the opposite team. Not only will the other guard's team have a better chance of winning, the other guard visits the free throw-line/shoots 2-3 more times per game than I do. Now that guard averages 6-8 points more than me from more opportunity and gets more of my teammates/myself in foul trouble. The difference of an extra 6-8 points or 3 -4 extra rebounds can mean small millions off of your next contract. So hey average NBA player, don't bitch at the refs or try to demand to shoot the ball more, it'll only mean the difference of 3 million dollars extra per year and affect your team's chances to win games. Yeah, right...
And don't feel bad for those poor players at top basketball programs btw, this is Kentucky's film room and 24-hour head personal chef. The upper-class of college hoops live just fine..
And don't feel bad for those poor players at top basketball programs btw, this is Kentucky's film room and 24-hour head personal chef. The upper-class of college hoops live just fine..
Look, I like college basketball a lot. So much so that I'm super juiced and swooping on the chance to go to Spokane this weekend and watch the 1st round of the NCAA tournament. Have I been filling out 2-3 CBB brackets every year for the past 12 years and will continue to do so? Of course. Do I hate watching college hoops or think it's an inferior form of basketball entertainment? Absolutely not. Those who truly love/understand basketball enjoy all forms of it (there is an outlier here in Women's basketball, which is another subject all together that I don't want to touch with a ten-foot poll for fear of this PC-age/reaction). The NBA is just where the most respect/prestige of basketball is, saying you don't like it means you don't respect the game at its highest level. How can you then be respected as a basketball fan? Simple, you can't be.
By: El Mijo