I Guess I'm Just Old School, Then

In a closely contested game, the Wizards' JaVale McGee used a fast-break as an opportunity to show off his, admittedly, amazing hops. He decided to give the fans a show by lobbing the ball off the backboard giving himself an assisted alley-oop. He was successful, and saluted the fans on the jog back down court. His head coach, Flip Saunders, was not amused, and benched McGee for the rest of the game. The Rockets proceeded to go on a run and dismantled the Wizards, dropping them to a record of 1-12.

Was McGee in the wrong?

I've seen and heard a few arguments going both ways. Some say that sports is just entertainment, and as an entertainer, McGee was just trying to entertain the fans, and the Wizards fans can use something, right about now. But I'd argue that those displays are better left for All-Star weekend, where competition is friendly and the spectacle of basketball is on display. Fast-breaks are all about swing points, momentum shifts. That's how you win games. And trading in high-percentage dunks and lay-ups for a bit of show-boating isn't worth it. The fans do deserve a show, but more importantly, they deserve a team they can be proud to cheer for. As good as McGee is, he can't honestly say that was the best way to handle that situation, I'm sure even he misses those from time to time. A miss due to machismo would have been more embarrassing than that make was actually beneficial.

It wasn't worth it.

That being said, there are many who disagree with this sentiment. I think this marks a major shift in the attitude towards sports stars. Yesterday's greats are revered as gods, but with them gone, we are forced to raise the profile of today's superstars. Sometimes undeservingly so. We used to talk about teams, now we talk about free agents. It's getting to their heads and the product suffers. I never cared who threw the lob to Blake, I cared that he was a beast. Now, every Clipper game attendee expects greatness, or at least a spectacle. But as long as there's the Durants and the Roses and, yes even the Bryants, I'll be good though. I dig the silent killers. The ones who say more with a grimace than an alley-oop (even though they can all put it down).

I guess I'm just old school, like that.