Kevin Durant, Brandon Jennings, And The Day The Music Died
About six weeks ago, seeing the emergence of pro basketball’s summer basketball scene, I wrote, “Basketball’s gone underground, and it’s exposed the sport’s roots like never before.”
It was the best of times, it was the balinest of times. There was the showdown between LA and DC in late August, the LeBron-Durant battle royale in Baltimore, and the summer scene was hotter than ever. But the games sold out, mannn. Now, Sports Illustrated’s streaming games online. LeBron’s organizing games with his Miami Heat teammates. The whole thing’s gone corporate, you know?
It’s just not the same.
And this is how it ends, you guys. First Brandon Jennings tweeted: “Hope you ready for that [LA-DC] Rematch On the 9th in LA.” Then Kevin Durant tweeted: “yea I am, but on da real..all these game starting to get played out..” Then Jennings said: “you ain’t never lie.....”
And the thing is, they’re right. Next thing you know, basketball’s indie scene is going to be used for a bunch of corporate commercials. (Or is too late?) All the corporate sponsors, live broadcasts, and cross-country tours--they sabotage the spontaneous charm of summer hoops.
Instead, the whole thing just becomes a sad reminder of what we’re really missing--real, meaningful NBA games. Summer hoops has had a fun run, but the movement had to end somewhere.
If you need me, I’ll be over here listening to this, waiting for the lockout to end.
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