The year is 1992. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird are arguably the three greatest basketball players in the world all playing for the United States Olympic “dream team.” This team went around the world that entire summer obliterating the rest of the world’s basketball talent. Everything was going well, basketball became a global game, many athletes especially the Black ones like Michael Jordan exploded onto the scene in a God-like status. The NBA and basketball became one of, if not the most popular game in the world because of this group of guys and their talent. With the game growing like this and all the popularity and attention it sucks in, we weren’t accounting for one thing. And that is how will the next generation of athletes benefit from this. I am not saying that the globalization of basketball has been a bad thing. In fact, it has been incredible. It has taken the game to new heights by increasing fandom all over the planet, allowed fans and leagues to have access to the most talented athletes all over the world and brought us some pretty cool basketball storylines most of us will never forget. But what the globalization did do to the game was make it much harder for lower- and middle-class kids and athletes to compete. In the United States throughout history, Basketball has been praised for its accessibility. All you need is a ball and hoop. Besides soccer or track and field there are very few sports where the resources needed to play is that small. When I was growing up players like Allen Iverson, Dennis Rodman, Derrick Rose, Cynthia Cooper, Lebron James, Dawn Staley, Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas all were names of players who represented a rags to riches like mentality. This was very common amongst the players because that was the average demographic. It was very rare to have a Kobe Bryant or Steph Curry who came from a lineage of pro athletes and affluence. There was a stigma around privileged athletes that has been debunked or not as true since basketball became globalized. I even love the example of the fab five University of Michigan 30 for 30 ESPN documentary. That documentary is the epitome of class difference and struggle in basketball. Jalen Rose one of my favorite basketball players of all time represented the poor, impoverished kids while a teammate of his Chris Webber or Duke legend Grant Hill represented affluent communities. And the difference was sharp. Both sets of kids came from different upbringings and had noticeable talents. But the likes of a Jalen Rose were more popular or more well liked because of the traditional demographic of basketball. So, what happened to the game that we love?
The pathway to elite competition has a price tag on it that many Americans cannot afford anymore. This Pay to Play Youth System is the main cause. In the United States, elite youth talent participating in AAU (amateur athletic union) is becoming very costly. Food, travel, equipment, paying teachers, trainers or coaches has also become a hassle for many parents. This results in many working families being priced out of that access to exposure where their son or daughter will have the opportunity to be seen by other coaches or scouts. Talent alone for kids is no longer enough. In the United States, most basketball phenoms play for their local school and still have to be a student like a normal kid throughout the whole year. In contrast to someone from overseas like a Luka Doncic who joined Real Madrid youth academy at 13 years old. Luka ended up playing “professionally” at 14. In the United States this is unheard of. Not because the talent isn’t able to, it’s the system and the exposure that the players have, mixed in with the laws. With Luka playing “pro” since he was 14, getting to the NBA and being ready by 19 was easier than it was for most. This same phenomenon has been happening a lot in the NBA, and it is measured that 20% of the NBA is foreign born and of those foreigners, most of them played in some type of academy or pro before entering the NBA circuit.
Private schools and prep programs also play a role into this idea of working-class families being frozen out of the game. Some of the nation’s top high school talent cannot play for prep schools where exposure is at a maximum because tuitions at these schools are too high. There are prep schools in America for some athletes where the tuition for one school year is north of 25 thousand dollars. You tell me how many working-class families can afford that. Schools like IMG academy, Montverde, Oak Hill all have a long-standing history of pushing athletes to the next level, but the cost of some of these schools is egregious and not realistic. This also leads me into geographic gatekeeping. Kids who have the ability to travel to metropolitan areas at ease have the ability to get exposure a lot easier than a kid from a rural area. This creates a pipeline that favors kids who have the economic means to travel all over the world for competition. Location and schooling play a much larger role in one’s athletic endeavors than some may think. Growing up in a town like Kalamazoo, Michigan we had a very rich basketball history. Not as rich as a major metro hub like Chicago, Illinois but the Kalamazoo Kids definitely had it easier than the kids from rural Kalamazoo areas. And it shows how Kalamazoo Central high school traditionally dominates the SMAC conference in boys’ and girls’ basketball.
The commercialization of the game has allowed players to treat themselves as brands more than people. With the increase of technology and cameras, the internet has allowed for some of these guys such as a Zion Williamson to become household superstar names even before they touch the hardwood floor of an NBA game. With Name Image Likeness (NIL) becoming real for many young athletes to get paid before their pro career takes off, the game is as serious and highly competitive as ever before. More notoriety will get you more access to better trainers, media exposure and legal guidance. Kids who can’t afford to carry themselves as a brand are going to fall behind the cracks. Now that college athletes can be paid from NIL, the game has raised its competitiveness up a notch. Now players are seeing the ability to go to college as more than an opportunity for a free education, but now it is looked at as a paycheck. It has now become a job for most athletes because of the financial aspect, and they are looking to feed their family. In the United States there are still many stories of athletes who maybe had their dad as their coach, such as a Caitlyn Clark, Tj Mcconnell or Austin Rivers. But these athletes are becoming far and in between. Look at Bronny James, he plays on the same pro team AS HIS DAD. if that isnt access to resources, then idk what is. And that’s no shade to Bronny, he’s earned his career. I’m just saying he’s had unlimited access to the game and has made the most of it.
With the game being globalized, the game is still culturally accessible. But in terms of elite development, the game is more exclusive for some than ever before. There are still plenty of rags to riches stories in the NBA currently, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler and Demar Derozan are all current active players who have tremendous stories about how basketball helped them raise their families out of poverty. The globalization of the game has also given us some damn good legendary talent. Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Victor Wembenyama are all household NBA names who were born outside of the United States and will be pioneers in the game for a long time to come. Just like with everything else in a capitalistic society, what poor and working-class people have gets slowly deteriorated. Unfortunately, basketball doesn’t far fall from the tree in this example. Money, locations and connections matter more than ever in the basketball realm. This doesn’t mean that great athletes can’t rise like they once did, the barriers to do so are just raised. Basketball now operates like a closed loop. If you’re in the ecosystem, you get better coaching, netter exposure, better deals and better opportunity. If you’re outside of this, then it is extremely difficult to place yourself in that world. Luckily for these athletes’ talent is earned and not given so they will always have a chance.
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