Celtics legend Paul Pierce shared his thoughts on why the competitiveness in basketball has declined across all levels.
For all of the talk as to how the NBA could improve the competitiveness of the All-Star Game after the game became nearly unwatchable in 2023, the 2024 iteration of the historic game proved to be an even more dire showcase of basketball, at least from the perspective of fans. But for Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce, the decline of the All-Star Game’s competitiveness is merely a symptom of what’s truly ailing the game of basketball.
Posting on his official Twitter (X) account, the retired Celtics forward shared what he thought is “ruining” the game of basketball, making it a mere shell of the sport he fell in love with, not just in the NBA-level, but all over the globe as well.
“Money and business is ruining the real love and competitiveness of the game of basketball on all levels,” Pierce wrote.
It’s worth mentioning that players should be compensated as much as possible for putting their bodies on the line for months on end. Some of the greats in league history such as Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson paved the way for today’s NBA players to have this much control over how they generate income.
Nevertheless, from a grander point of view, it is true that capitalism does end up commodifying everything in it. With profit being the primary goal, everything becomes secondary, especially in late-stage capitalism. In the NBA, a player’s greatest asset is their body; why risk putting their moneymaker on the line for something so relatively inconsequential, like the All-Star Game?
In the context of the NBA All-Star Game, it’s difficult to envision how the league can bring back the purity of something that was once so entertaining. The game is an exhibition, with no bearing on players’ legacies. The All-Star Game does not provide any sort of motivation for players to give it their all.
The impact of money and business on the game of basketball, which Paul Pierce thinks is ruining the game, won’t go away anytime soon. Perhaps it’s time for the Celtics legend and the millions of fans around the world to accept this new reality, as disheartening as that is to do.
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