of Shakespeare and basketball

Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players”. I think he forgot to mention that these men and women happened to be basketball players. There is no greater stage than a basketball court. It displays human emotion, will power, grace and poetry in motion like no theater can. Each game has its own story with intricate plot lines and unexpected twists at the end. Hero and villain are pitted against each other on a nightly basis. This game bleeds drama! …OK, maybe too much drama. Which leaves me to think, NBA might be scripted.

Take for instance the year 2004. The basketball gods bestowed their blessings upon the Los Angeles Lakers by granting them with two future Hall-of-Famers in Karl Malone and Gary Payton to join the already unstoppable duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Detroit Pistons, on the other hand, collected junk that no one else wanted: Ben Wallace went undrafted on Draft Day, Rasheed Wallace was a disaster wanting waiting to happen, Chauncey Billups played for 5 teams in 5 years. As fate would have it, these two teams of contrasting backgrounds collided in the NBA Finals, with the Lakers being the clear-cut favorites. Yet, in an upset comparable only to Peter LeFleur’s Average Joe’s Gym toppling White Goodman’s Globo-Gym, the Pistons did the seemingly impossible by defeating a team that boasted of not two, not three, but FOUR! future Hall-of-Famers. Only fairy tales could have written something this improbable.

Speaking of improbable, how many guys less than six-feet do you know can reach the top of the rim in one jump? In the 2006 All Star Weekend, the five-foot-nine Nate Robinson put his leaping abilities on display in the Slam Dunk Contest. In one of his dunks, he leapt over the five-foot seven inch Spud Webb. Game Over! David beats Goliath and Robinson defeated the six-foot-seven Andre Iguodala to win the Slam Dunk Contest. But when you take into consideration that he won it on the 20th anniversary of Spud Webb’s victory in the same contest and that it took him seventeen attempts to complete one dunk, you begin to wonder…

More recently, in the summer of 2007, Kobe Bryant demanded for a trade. Kevin Garnett, a former MVP, was also unhappy with his situation in Minnesota. It seemed like a match made in heaven: two disgruntled superstars hungry for a title needing a change of scenery. Ultimately, Garnett would be traded to the Boston Celtics, a team that also happens to be the Lakers’ worst rival, for loose change and pieces of lint. Not to be outdone, the Lakers would trade pieces of toe gunk for Pau Gasol. All of a sudden, two of the league’s most storied franchises are significant again! On the same year! And by virtue of two of the most lop-sided trades in the history of the league! Did I forget to mention that they hate each other?

Drama. The NBA provides enough of this to fill up a library. Maybe that’s why it’s so popular. It’s not just about ten sweaty men trying to put a ball through a peach basket. It is a test of character. It is a test of will and determination. It is a display of grace and athleticism. It is poetic. Although I cannot explain it in detail, I am convinced the league is governed by some “master plan” designed to suit the demands of the drama-hungry fans. David Stern may very well be the next Shakespeare…or for the very least the next Vince McMahon.

~ by jedomps on February 25, 2008.