These days, more than any other sport, professional basketball has become a glamour sport. It’s all about the superstars. The recent teaming of Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh in Miami was unprecedented. The players are basically running the front offices of NBA teams now. This morning there is a report that New Orleans Hornet all-star guard Chris Paul wants out of New Orleans, and would like to join a different team in a situation similar to the Wade/James/Bosh situation, perhaps even the champion Lakers to team up with Kobe Bryant. I’m sorry but I don’t see Paul doing anything to improve the Lakers. He can’t improve on what unsung veteran Derek Fisher brings to the table, especially in the clutch. Players like Fisher are overlooked more than ever now in the NBA in this superstar dominated environment. Every team has players like him, and you never hear anything about them. The headlines are dominated by Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, etc. In the meantime, the “grinders” like Fisher and Ron Artest of the Lakers, Rip Hamilton of Detroit, Manu Ginobli of San Antonio and Glenn Davis of Boston are ignored. Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder are a young team on the rise, and Durant is getting a lot of media attention. He is their key player, but the success of his individual game and the Thunder’s collective game will depend largely on Durant’s unsung teammate, Russell Westbrook. Orlando’s Dwight Howard is the self-proclaimed “Superman”, but Orlando goes nowhere without significant contributions from guys like Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis. It seems to me that in the past, role players on great teams, like Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Scotty Pippen, Bill Cartwright, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman, Robert Parrish, Danny Ainge, James Worthy and Byron Scott, got a lot more attention. Rodman may be a bad example, since he was an attention-hound, but the “dynasty” teams of the Pistons, Bulls, Celtics, Spurs, Lakers, etc. all were carried to greater heights because of the grinders. Going back even further, players like Phil Jackson, Dick Barnett, Jim McMillian, Bob Dandridge, Don Nelson and Tom Heinsohn all were under-appreciated players on great teams. So far, I don’t see any of these type of players on the current Miami Heat roster.
NBA Unsung Heroes
22
Jul