Be on the lookout for wonder
Specifically in the NBA Finals
Sometimes at TrueHoop we delve deep into dreadful things like Jeffrey Epstein, money laundering, sportwashing—and even flopping. Clearly, I don’t buy the weak idea that sports fans must be coddled.
And we’re not ignorant of the fact that right now, so much is terrible. (A close friend of my family has been in ICE detention since March 12 and just missed his daughter’s middle school graduation.) It’s a little debate, every day, if and how we should address … all this.
But also: even our grandparents knew to count your blessings. We call it mental health nowadays, maybe they used to call it a strong constitution. By any name, my bet is that you’re more ready to tackle life’s challenges if you also have the skill of stopping to smell the flowers and letting life’s small magic seep into your veins.
If you’re reading this, you love basketball. And the basketball right now is good. I know NBA Twitter and even the retired players on the studio shows love to poke holes in everything, or turn it into a shoutfest … but I feel amazing about this year’s Finals. The whole league nowadays features the best basketball ever played. The Pacers and the Thunder play at insane high levels. These Finals are a thrill ride for the ages.
Lately life has brought me to many conversations and events around women’s sports. What seems markedly different there, from my NBA point of view, is that in women’s sports it’s a cinch for people in the stands to see the best in every athlete. Here and there perhaps there’s a villain, but mostly we assume that darn near every woman in the WNBA or the NWSL or the Olympic rugby team is worth rooting for.
In the major men’s sports, there’s not just infinite-seeming money, but also an earned reputation that a certain percentage of them might pop up in the news with allegations from roughing up a loved one to being part of something or other with kilos of cocaine. You might feel a little weird, as a person of conscience, screaming your support of this or that player.
I hardly know every player in these year’s Finals, but I am lucky enough to have extraordinary insight, over time, into these two teams. I will tell you: I feel great rooting for these mega-hardworking young people. To my knowledge, they’re doing it right. They’re not just masters of their craft, but team-focused, playing the long game, (humble in some ways but perfectly not so in others), and worthy of our attention.
Perhaps TrueHoop leads the league in questioning the powers that be. (Did anyone else in the NBA care that Jeffrey Epstein had convincing ties to many NBA billionaires?) Lurking behind that is a yearning for a league that’s just decent hardworking people being rewarded for their daring, their effort, their creativity, and their fearlessness.
The league is far from perfect, but for me, and my tastes, these Finals are as close as it has gotten in the quarter century that I’ve been watching for a living. They’re smart, caring people, playing their asses off.
Both franchises are changing the league for the better. The Thunder have built the finest talent and player development pipeline in NBA history, the Pacers are on Rick Carlisle’s crazy high-intensity roller coaster of ten talented athletes playing harder than anyone else in the league. It’s all a testament to long-term smarts and short-tern gusto.
Maybe sports are a silly distraction with … all this going on. But on the other hand, people adore them, elevate them, and dream about them the world over going back thousands of years. Maybe there’s something right about doing your absolute best in the spirit of true competition. In this league, it’s happening three times a week right now. I have no idea who’s going to win the 2025 NBA Finals and I can’t wait for Game 4 on Friday.
Thank you for reading TrueHoop!
“But also: even our grandparents knew to count your blessings. We call it mental health nowadays, maybe they used to call it a strong constitution. By any name, my bet is that you’re more ready to tackle life’s challenges if you also have the skill of stopping to smell the flowers and letting life’s small magic seep into your veins.”
Thought this was beautifully written and I’m not sure I’ve read anything better recently. Hit home.
Thank you
the Follow the Money series was some of the best journalism I've ever read - I'd buy a book version of that in a heartbeat. been a fan since the beginning and thank you!