AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Reuters) - Hall of Famer Larry Bird says the NBA needs more white stars if it is to continue to appeal to its fan base.
In an interview with ESPN to be aired Thursday ahead of the Game Three of the NBA finals, the former Boston Celtic, widely considered one of the greatest players ever to hit the hardwood, was asked if the league lacked white superstars.
"Well, I think so," Bird said. "You know when I played you had me and Kevin (McHale) and some others throughout the league.
"I think it's good for a fan base because, as we all know, the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited.
"But it is a black man's game and it will be forever. I mean the greatest athletes in the world are African-American."
Bird, now the Indiana Pacers (news) president of basketball operations, made the comments during a round-table discussion that included Magic Johnson and NBA rookies LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
Former Los Angeles Lakers (news) great Johnson said: "We need some more Larry Birds. I mean, you know, you want that. Larry Bird, you see, can go into any neighborhood.
"When you say 'Larry Bird', black people know who he is, Hispanics, whites, and they give him respect."
While Bird had the respect of basketball fans, the former-Celtic felt he was not always respected by opposing coaches when they sent out white players to guard him.
"I didn't care who guarded me -- red, yellow, black. I just didn't want a white guy guarding me because it's disrespect to my game," said Bird in a portion of the interview played on ESPN.
While the NBA has a breakdown of players by nationality, the league said it does not breakdown players according to race.
A report in the Chicago Tribune, however, said that of the 408 players in the NBA last season, 76.5 were black.
the way i see it.... a lot of the NBA's $$$ come from the white audience and i think that deep down inside, that audience (the whites) feel like they're payin to see players who are too egotistical, always gettin into trouble, and they feel slighted b/c there's not enough white American stars... notice that a lot of the white stars are foreigners (Nowitzki, Nash, Stojakovic, etc.) there's not a great white hope from the US that is kinda turning away from the audience.... but hey, if they don't wanna come, that's another seat for my **** 8) :arrow:
i see Larry's point clearly
Larry Legend is just speaking the truth. The only good white players are foreigners and the best athletes are african american. and when i played ball i was offended if they put a white dude on me too
Why does race matter though? If someone is deserving to be in the NBA then so be it. Race shouldn't be a factor into who should play professional ball.
Why does race matter though? If someone is deserving to be in the NBA then so be it. Race shouldn't be a factor into who should play professional ball.
race comes into play because the NBA is a business. there are alot of things that come into play that wouldn't be relevant if it were just basketball.
Why does race matter though? If someone is deserving to be in the NBA then so be it. Race shouldn't be a factor into who should play professional ball.
race comes into play because the NBA is a business. there are alot of things that come into play that wouldn't be relevant if it were just basketball.
exactly... a lot of owners are just in it for the $$$ they want the top players... and the top players are African American and white European... you got some cities and markets who are passionate and knowledgable about sports... like Boston, New York, Detroit... and the money maker markets like Los Angeles and Orlando... this isn't back in the 80s where players played for the love of the game, and to give fans a good time... when the green comes into play, race becomes more of a factor...
