Hey bro you did an excellent job.pointing out the nuanced motivations behind NBA players but the only constructive criticism I’d give and that’s the motivations of yesteryears players were as varied as today’s players. Throughout NBA history there have been guys that had all the talent but lacked the love for the game that is inherent in the elite players but that doesn’t mean those players born without it are lazy, unmotivated, etc… it can be as simple as their own passion in life simply isn’t ball which is actually a healthy thing especially given your point of the overwhelming number of basketball related activities that is required to make it also can result in burnout. That old saying find something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life, well it applies here in the form of players that view the game as a job not a passion which is fine so long as you’re not putting your other goals in front of that job a la Kyrie Irving.
I’m not a nba player but I do play college basketball and a lot of players lose their love with the game because once you get to that level it’s not just about basketball anymore. There’s so many politics that happen like for example a good player not getting any minutes because a coaching situation or fit on the team. Talking with some players it makes them question how much they love basketball, or if they love it still. I could only imagine how much that is at the highest level. The NBA is the biggest basketball business in the world, and nba players have to deal with that and the media. I can see many nba players losing the love for the game. I’ve had fun hooping in college, but honestly the most fun I had playing basketball was in high school, because I felt there wasn’t any politics or anything I had to deal with.
Absolutely, every job has drama. Ignorant to assume that just because hooping recreationally is fun that every facet of professional ball is the same. Most people, once they become familiar with big money feel empty and unfulfilled in other areas of life. I'd argue that the 50% who play for their wealth didn't start that way. You just never know what it's like to live in someone else's shoes. God bless every mf out there who does something they don't like for a better future.
I've had two separate friends talk about how much they fell out of love with basketball because of coaching and politics and that shit was only at the Middle and High School level can't imagine it ever gets any easier as the egos get bigger on all ends
@@corexx 😅🤣😂 Bro ikaw ba naman coach mo, ikaw ang sentro naka max contract tapos imbes na imotivate ka pag masama laro, aba ikaw pa pinagmumukhang may kasalanan sa lahat, tapos next game bench ka, parang may mali eh. Personal ang galit bro ng coach. At sa 2 seasons nila, Monty being his head coach wasn't able to fix sa issues niya sa players niya. Kaya for me, bad leadership tlga ni Monty yon at tama ang Suns to fire him.😅
i think one of the reasons they don't love the game is because a lot of them since they were like 5, they've been training hours a day, 3,4,5 hours a day, going on trips to pro-am and etc. like if you've been doing something for 20 years, you will obviously be very good at it but at the same time, i can see why the love for the game begins to fade away
Poole balled his way outta the G - League. I know he didn’t have a good series, but I’m pretty sure he loves ball. And if he doesn’t love it, he has a healthy respect for it
@@traiwitz2736I agree. I believe it hurt his ego beyond repair. Will take 2+ years to get over it. Remember, he’s been shown love his whole life and he got humiliated.
I'm from Milwaukee...where he's from. Live near his high school. I would say no. Him and Latrell Sprewell both were very distracted by off court stuff. And they were both stubborn enough that they either got benched or cut from the NBA. Take Kevon Looney. Also from Milwaukee. Never has problems. Champion 🏆. I feel like he loves the game. If you truly love it? You don't do things that can jeopardize losing it.
You can definitely see a shift where some of these European players are catching up to American prospects. So many promising prospects who fall in love with clout & highlight reels and neglect the fundamentals.
Hell yeah those Euro players play the game the way it's supposed to be played. Some of them get called out for being boring to watch but they're efficient, i.e. Jokic has that reputation. I'd take some of those Euro league guys over some of those 5 stars from Kentucky.
@@whodatn4l948 Agreed. Jokic doesn't even have a top USG% in the league and he's crazy productive. This amnoying era of flop and iso basketball is being turned around by the European players I think
okay, I'm from Brazil and here we need to work our asses out just to get some minutes on a wooden floor, seeing this got on my emotions, dude, realizing how fucking much I love this game. Cheers from Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil! Keep up the great content.
Thats life man, just like people born into wealth, some are born with supreme genetics, win the lottery of life and will get paid for barely trying while others scrape and claw for years.
É complicado né maninho? Chegar na quadra e ter q jogar numa tabela SEM ARO pq um arrombado fdp arrancou ele depois de jogar futebol entre outras coisas
Good observations. The only thing I'd say though is we should be careful not to shame the opportunists, because a lot of the time theyre being pressured as children and adolescents by everyone around them to take advantage of that opportunity, whether they want it or not, whether theyre ready for it or not. I read the article that Eddy Curry wrote about being pressured into basketball because of his size and athletic ability when he was in middle school and he just wanted to be a regular kid with a regular childhood. Whenever i see a story of a star prep athlete just deciding not to do sports, a bunch of people shame them and call them fools for missing out on the "great opportunity." Then those people will turn around and bemoan how so many players dont show enough passion for the game. Well, if thats a problem, then stop pressuring kids to do something they don't want to do for the sake of the scholarships, money, celebrity, family, community, etc. Someone's "gifts" should not dictate their interests, their interests should dictate their interests. For me, i dont care if the players with the best verticals and wingspans are in the NBA, if those people want to go live a simple life and be an accountant or some shit, that's what id prefer they do. "Gifts" are overrated, passion and drive and fierce conpetition are what makes the game great. The culture starts with how kids are treated by the people around them. If you let people self determine without pressure, it will naturally create for a better culture. However, breaking out of poverty and/or working class life has been a common theme in the history of basketball and all sports, so you could argue it's a fundamental part of the culture.
If there are guys in the NBA who don't really love it, but still do it...I don't blame them. They have the opportunity to create generational wealth and a lot of them come from bad environments. At the end of the day, as long as they put on a show when they get on the court that's all that matter. I find it odd that certain players we'll try to establish superiority over others for loving the game more. A lot of dudes are just trying to eat and are afraid of going back to poverty. If you love the game, great. If you think it's aight, but you're good at it and it pays the bills, that's also great.
Sports is about passion for a lot of guys. So, when they spot guys who don’t reciprocate that they feel offended. The superiority comes from the extra work they’ve put in compared to those that haven’t. Kobe said he didn’t pass the ball to guys who didn’t work as hard as him. The guys that felt a sense of entitlement when they didn’t work half as hard as he did.
@Stain Masters Everybody isn't Kobe nor has to share his view of the game should be played. So this whole video is stupid. It's opinion which you are entitled too. But unless you sit down individually with these men, you don't how they feel or think.
@@VirtuousAmber Exactly. Damn, Jokic is prime example. Treats basketball as a job. But gives his all for that job, but it is not all to life, there are more important things out there. I think the worse players are those that just love everything that comes with being an NBA player. Fame and living luxurious. You can treat something as a job but still give your best.
I’ve watched dunkey for years and never noticed I would like him 🤣. It’s strange so many people say I sound like him but he’s one of my favorite RU-vidrs so I’m not complaining.
This topic reminds me of a soccer player by the name of Carlos Vela. A mexican prospect that was exciting and playing in top leagues in Europe . But has said he doesn’t enjoy soccer like that. He only plays it cuz he’s good
@@helenhua2970 Is it really a surprise? How many people actually enjoy their jobs? It's the same thing with pro sports, it's a job and many only do it because of their talent and because it is extremely lucrative.
I mean, can't you also add Jokic to that list. "Basketball is not the main thing to my life, and never will be." Playing ball has and always will be secondary to the more important things in life like family
I was nowhere near their level but from when I was 6 to the age of 17 when I stopped playing AAU I played so much to a point where I wasn't having fun with it anymore. It became less about me having fun and too much of a business. I had a few low-level D1 looks, a couple D3 offers but I was just over the sport at that time. It took me until I was almost 20 until I fell in love with it again. I don't even wanna know what it feels like to be somebody who has NBA talent and is being pushed by everyone from every angle to keep playing. It must be a living hell mentally. On the outside looking in, we just see guys making millions of dollars playing a game but we don't see what they go through off the court and what other demons they're battling. That's why I don't knock guys for anything, because you never really know what someone has going on.
This post came up on my feed today. As an older woman I only got into watching NBA basketball in 2019. I laugh whenever I think of it bc I watched the 2019 Eastern/Western Conference with the Curry brothers playing against each other. I’ve been hooked ever since. 😂😂😂 There’s so much of the game I don’t know. I definitely can’t give you stats or anything like that but I’m learning a lot about it. If there’s one thing I’m not liking about the game/players is the drama. But, damn, there’s so much drama!!! Anyway, I love how your narrate this video. Wishing you all the best in the growth of your channel. New sub. ❤❤
I saw a video recently about Scottie Pippen's beef with Michael Jordan. I think the emotions between those two echo the point of this video. I don't know if Jordan ever really said anything bad about Scottie Pippen. I remember content that said Jordan praised him in "The Last Dance." But that beef is out there now, and it seems like a lot of it is coming from Pippen. And that kind of makes sense. Pippen always seemed like a sweet kid, kind of shy, great potential. But he and his family were dirt poor. Basketball was the way out of poverty for Pippen and his family. He literally had to succeed to save them. Then, after a rocky rookie season, he became a main contributor, second to MJ. Knowing he was going to make it in the NBA and stick around a while, he signed that 7 year contract that literally everyone warned him not to sign. He spent his entire prime, the heart of his career, under three million when guys with half his talent and numbers were making twice as much. It made him miserable. He constantly clashed with management, and he was always in the paper talking about how robbed he was. But he signed that contract. And he did it for the most noble reason: to lift his entire family out of poverty. And he did go on to get his bag in Portland. But I can't imagine he still thought basketball was fun anymore, that it was his passion, that he loved the game. It was his mistake. He mismanaged his career. But that's tough for someone to admit. What's easier is being resentful. And what's even easier is to be resentful of the man you helped win six titles, who, when he was out of the league, you couldn't win titles without. Because for all the craziness of Michael Jordan's career, you could tell just by the way he played, that he loved it. Michael Jordan was broken for basketball. He wanted to win basketball games more than anything else and he wouldn't stand for people who didn't at least act like they did, too. That's probably where the resentment comes from. Pippen did what he felt he had to do for his family and it ruined his love of basketball. Michael Jordan played because he wanted to win every single game he was in even if he burned every other relationship he had and it made him the greatest and most beloved player of all time. I can totally see why some players don't love the game anymore, and I can also see why some can't really live without it.
I 100% agree with DeRozan, this isn’t an uncommon thing with sports. Considering for basketball at least, many players didn’t even play basketball until their teens and becuase they had the right frame, and ability, they decided to play. As a football fan(soccer), many players also don’t enjoy football. A lot of them don’t watch games, even the biggest games, a lot of them only watch tape of their next opponents. Many of them have also come out openly saying they don’t really watch the sport or follow any other team, basically saying they don’t like the sport without saying it. Also if you consider the fact that if your 6’7”+ in height you have a 1/7 chance of playing in the NBA, I can see most of the players just do it because they were decently skilled, and had the height. I wanna say most of the players that probably don’t like the sports are in that category. Ben Simmons of example is 6’10”. Not saying Jokic doesn’t like basketball, but clearly he enjoys horse riding more, and he found a way to feed his family. This is just my opinion but I can definitely see anyone whose “shorter” in the NBA are probably the ones that really like basketball, it just makes sense, you actually have to be good and passionate about the game instead of being decently skilled and tall. I wrote this comment at the beginning of the video before Pat Bev’s statement, which basically what I said. You actually have to be skilled, passionate, and work hard if you aren’t taller than 6’6” since it’s just much harder to be a player, and you can’t exactly run on skill, I mean look at curry, if he wasn’t passionate and loved the game, would he have become the best shooter ever? I don’t think so. Even with all the at talent, he had to work.
You know dude. I really love this video and what you said about advantage/disadvantage groups in society. Is perfectly relatable to me. My family moved to America with dreams of a better life. I had dreams to be a pro athlete in either soccer or basketball but it went down the drain right away. My family was broke and still is even after 8 years. My parents couldn't help me accomplish my dreams and I had to do it on my own. Unfortunately, my knee got injured many times and it hurts to walk with my left knee. Surgery also costs too much money for my parents. Then I had to give up on my dreams and think about those who have the money or connections I am jealous of them. It almost seems to me like they got everything in a snap of a finger. Anyways great video dude and made me think a lot about my own life. Hope to see more great content in the future!
One of the most illustrative videos I've seen on this topic in a while. Given that sport is bigger and higher paying than ever before, there may be more and more opportunists showing up (and yes, ambitionist *is* a word, at least to 1913 Webster). Some of these guys were in football as well, like Marc Andre ter Stegen who hardly remembers who he's playing against, or Batistuta who outright said "football is just a job" and went to watch polo instead.
Let me put it to you like this. My dad was a somewhat notable musician. Nothing major but pretty big within the obscure genre he played. My whole life I watched him play because it was his passion and he was damn good at it. He absolutely loved it. Playing music was his fun time his happy place. Well it was that is until the day he actually got enough notoriety to quit his day job and start touring and playing full time. Once he began doing that all of the passion disappeared. Because he wasn't doing it for fun anymore. It was work and work is not fun. Because work is something you HAVE to do. Not something you are just choosing to do for no other reason other than it's fun.
I dont like Pat Bev but I do love his passion.. same for Kobe I was a hater.. but his love and drive ... man i got nothing but respect for the bro RIP... Also im with Pat Bev on that I was one of those dudes that HAD to get their 1 hr early .. Had to stay back an hr.. while my Friends could just come out shoot around and get it... I use to question weather or not i was playing the right sport... but as i keep playing and working getting up at 5 in the morning to practice b4 sch.. it started to come togeather... and in the end I became better than them... so I understand Pat on this.. Great video bro
I played in college. I love basketball, I coach right now for free because I love it. But once your living situation is predicated on sports then it's your job bro. And jobs get tiresome. I showed up every day because I was hyper competitive and I considered myself a professional with high character. But getting up every day to play ball can be a drag mentally and it's physically painful . It's a grind. So I can see how players may not always love it, especially since if it's all you did since you were a kid and your whole family depends on you to be the breadwinner. You're basically an economy all to yourself and that's all people see you ass when you're just a 20-something year old trying to come into your own as a man.
Great video man! I see some of these guys and you can just tell some of them don't give a damn whether they win or lose. They get their money either way.
It's not just NBA, the football coach Jose Mourinho said "young players today is different" as in they're more spoiled, banging IG models and dripping themselves up, rather than perfecting their craft. It's social media, I might sound like a boomer but what the youth consumes right now is addictive trash, that thing kills most of the good aspect of lifes. Keep it up basketballDunkey!
Gilbert? Talking about love for basketball? Gilbert!? The guy who loves gambling and gun more than basketball is talking about the love for the game. Lmao
I'm 28 and just started to play basketball after 4 years when I even had ball in my hands last time lol. I love watching basketball but never had any, even a little bit of talent to play it. And I think it turned good for me bc now I find a lot of fun in learning to play at that age, also no pressure is a bliss.
I got this on my feed and wondered why I subscribed and than watched the video… and I was surprised on how good you put this all together. No wonder I subbed in the first place😅. Keep up the vids 🙏
I think some players who had the nba as their goal from childhood worked (or rested on talent) for years to get there, and once they reached that goal, there was nowhere else to go. No new goal to reach. They made it and that's when they stop caring.
Marcus Smart was born and grew up in a wealthy and safe town. Flower Mound, Texas. How do I know? I grew up there and went to the rival high school. My friend was his teammate at Marcus HS. Guns and gangs are not the norm. High end cars and multi million dollar homes are the norm.
I agree with the sentiments of your video. The money, the glamour, and the prestige of it all is what drives people to be the best. Compare that to most American eSports, and we see a trend where pro gamers don't stick around for too long. Because there is some fact to that whole statement. When a passion becomes a job, people end up resenting their passion. Especially in a competitive environment such as competitive sports/esports. As soon as you go pro, you have to constantly play your favorite game over and over again. And if you don't meet expectations, then your job is on the line. There is a reason why pro baseball players intentionally play worse when they play at home or are ahead in score. They care about the jobs that the other players have and they don't want to hinder their chances of making it to another season. But I love the analogy with Music, as there are musicians that end up resenting their most popular works. Kurt Cobain was such a pioneer in modern rock that he made up a new genre that changed how we view society. He wasn't the best musician, and he intentionally keeps it like that because he is afraid that his success will bring in these expectations that he doesn't have the capability of fulfilling. He didn't get lucky, as Smells like Teen Spirit became Nirvana's successful track and his fears became a reality. It came to a point where he went on a downward spiral, and you know the rest of the story. There are a ton of musicians that end up resenting their work because they were practically forced to engage with that environment as a young kid. When you look at a child prodigy going ham on a piano or violin, there are chances that they was forced to practice and was abused if they made mistakes. They'll tell you that they hate playing said instrument, but they have no choice but to keep going because it's all they ever had. Thank god we never came to that point in basketball where people were forced into the sport because the money is lucrative. Chess has that problem, especially if you have guys like Magnus Carlsen saying they hate playing despite the fact that he is the best in the world. He was forced to play at such a young age.
I just don't appreciate Poole being in the thumbnail, especially considering how he's touted for his work ethic and his improvement over his career. Really unless it's quite obvious like Kat with the video games or something else I don't know how you could tell a player doesn't love the game. There's more to the human psyche than a box score
50% sounds absurdly high, but it shouldn't be a suprise to hear that a 6 to 9 figure career path would attract people who don't even really like basketball.
Whatever the person loves or does not love the game, stick always with the attitude. many of them dont put in the work, and they just care about their image. Thats why the attitude is the most important aspect especially on basketball and especially on real life.
Some people don’t understand that it’s easy to make the NBA for a freak athlete. Guys like Ben Simmons and Anthony Edwards never had to work out. As crazy as it sounds, these guys were blessed with godly bodies and literally walked into the NBA
