John Askins
Staff Writer
Flashback 6 years ago. It was a cool, cloudy fall afternoon. Saturday, to be exact, which meant one thing: basketball.
I stood on the damp pavement, ball in hand. Eucalyptus trees rose towards the sky all around me, their leaves flowing down and gently blanketing the court. A tall field of grass with a seldom-used baseball diamond extended out to the right of me, a well-worn playground in between. Crestmoor Elementary: a small public school with a little court tucked into a canyon of trees, the “alma mater” for many of the members of our little ball club. From an outsider’s perspective it wasn’t much, but it was everything we needed. Every weekend anyone who wanted to play basketball came and did just that. Sometimes there were many of us, sometimes only a few; sometimes we played hard, sometimes we chucked 3’s; sometimes we fought, sometimes we laughed. But one thing stayed the same: when it was over, we were already looking forward to the next one.
So many NBA players have become so influential, and many are using their fame in a very positive way. It doesn’t take much scrolling to find a picture of perhaps the NBA’s most beloved star, Stephen Curry, visiting a patient in a hospital, or even taking time out of his famous pregame routine to talk to my own cousin, who endured a hemispherectomy due to brain complications. Seeing first-hand now how much something as simple as a “hello!” and a conversation can make somebody feel better makes me appreciate the NBA and its players that much more. From Commissioner Silver and his brilliant, conscientious leadership to Lebron James’s Family Foundation that does so much for Cleveland citizens: players and officials having an awareness of their effect on kids — or anybody, for that matter — is extraordinarily important.
There’s a huge population of little ballers making their way through their elementary schools, middle schools and AAU teams who dream to be the next generation’s James Harden, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, or whomever they want to be. The NBA is so unique in the fact that each player has their own identity. Almost every player has their own charisma and brings a distinct aspect of their game to the stage. Jordan and Bird, Kobe and Wade, and now Joel Embiid and KAT; the league is full of personality and color, aspects wildly attractive to people all around the U.S. and beyond. It connects to the population like not many other sports can, forming for a glorious melting pot: the sport, the players, its fans, and true emotion embedded deep throughout its history.
Staff Writer
Flashback 6 years ago. It was a cool, cloudy fall afternoon. Saturday, to be exact, which meant one thing: basketball.
I stood on the damp pavement, ball in hand. Eucalyptus trees rose towards the sky all around me, their leaves flowing down and gently blanketing the court. A tall field of grass with a seldom-used baseball diamond extended out to the right of me, a well-worn playground in between. Crestmoor Elementary: a small public school with a little court tucked into a canyon of trees, the “alma mater” for many of the members of our little ball club. From an outsider’s perspective it wasn’t much, but it was everything we needed. Every weekend anyone who wanted to play basketball came and did just that. Sometimes there were many of us, sometimes only a few; sometimes we played hard, sometimes we chucked 3’s; sometimes we fought, sometimes we laughed. But one thing stayed the same: when it was over, we were already looking forward to the next one.
Today I stand in the exact same place, ball in hand, and a strong wave of nostalgia hits. Though it’s changed immensely since the days we began playing -- Crestmoor was closed and the campus reassigned to a private school, the ground resurfaced, the backboards changed -- it’s still home. Memories dating back 6 years seemed to project onto the court. Every bucket, every block, every “that’s not a foul!” -- still fresh in my brain. Many of us played for our schools and AAU teams, nonetheless we religiously made our way out every weekend, because we just couldn’t get enough. We dreamed of becoming the next Wade, Lebron, or Durant. We’d spend games doing our best impersonations: hollering “KOBE” whenever we took a bad shot; turning and pulling face-up jumpers saying “Melo!” as it sunk through the net with our right (or left, in my case) hand hanging in the air; popping a 3 from 10-feet beyond the arc while letting loose a “STEPH CURRYYYY” — all were common occurrences on the court. Though the dreams of making it big may now be outdated, the passion remains. 6 years later, we assemble in the exact same place. Some old faces, some new; all with the same love for the game.
We looked -- and still look -- up to NBA players as role models, number 2 or 3 to only Mom and Dad. It wasn’t as obvious while we were living it, but crystal clear now: NBA players have an enormous impact on today’s youth. Not only with their actions on the court, but off as well. From the shoes kids wear, the shots they take, the things they say, the way they celebrate… all a page torn right out of an NBA star’s book.
With the emergence of social media, fans are now able to see nearly everything a player does. Whether it’s a positive contribution to society, or a bad mistake made, it’ll be known by hundreds of thousands of NBA fans within a couple of hours. The platforms have allowed to us to see headlines such as “Memphis Grizzlies Visit Patients at Local Children’s Hospital”, “WATCH: Lebron’s Son Catches Trout on Family Vacation”, “BREAKING: Blake Griffin Out 6-8 Weeks After Breaking Hand Punching Trainer at Nightclub”, and even “Draymond Green Accidentally Posts Picture of-”… ehh I won’t go into that one. The social media saturation can be detrimental at times, but it could also be very helpful and inspiring.
There’s a huge population of little ballers making their way through their elementary schools, middle schools and AAU teams who dream to be the next generation’s James Harden, Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, or whomever they want to be. The NBA is so unique in the fact that each player has their own identity. Almost every player has their own charisma and brings a distinct aspect of their game to the stage. Jordan and Bird, Kobe and Wade, and now Joel Embiid and KAT; the league is full of personality and color, aspects wildly attractive to people all around the U.S. and beyond. It connects to the population like not many other sports can, forming for a glorious melting pot: the sport, the players, its fans, and true emotion embedded deep throughout its history.
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