Just switched off the first Mavs-Celtics game. Since the iconic rivalry of the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA Finals ratings have never recovered. Strangely enough however the lowest TV rated series was the most interesting to me. It was 2020, the year of “the bubble”, an innovative solution the NBA found to continue working despite restrictions.
And it won Joe Biden the elections.
At a time when we were all stuck at home watching Netflix they managed to produce top level basketball and a potent political message at the same time. Every match was a black lives matter match, a platform for players to talk about the importance of voting. Personally I truly believe it made the difference by getting especially black voters determined enough to overcome all of Trump’s hurdles in order to vote against him and swing the election. It wasn’t easy post Obama to keep their support, especially in the COVID mess of disinformation.
Lebron James is a divisive figure in the world of basketball. Billed from a very young age as “the next Michael Jordan” he is in fact much much more than Jordan can even imagine. (Yes, I have written about him before, here is a good summary of a lot of things I admire in him.) Mostly because this athlete had the courage to stand up against an acting President. He alienated half his fans forever. But he was right. And he didn’t win that ring “for Cleveland” like the last one he got. He won it for social justice, so he could have a platform to make change.
LBJ is what I call “a benevolent dictator”.
This is a term I have often used to describe Google too. I laughed out loudly when reading magazine titles about how “open AI is challenging Google in artificial intelligence”. Nobody is even close. Google, much like LeBron James, is several steps ahead of everyone. Google makes assists to everyone for as long as possible and only hammers specific baskets in if and when necessary. LeBron this season at age 39 single handedly outscored the entire much hyped Clippers team in the fourth quarter to come back from a 19 point deficit. Google can do the same any day of the week to Open AI.
With much power, comes much responsibility. Blowing out opponents simply makes nobody watch the game. LBJs history, much like Google’s is a constant string of everyone doubting them. You rarely see a LeBron James team blowout opponents. I have oftened wondered why I am awake at 4am (Greek time) watching him play. I now know and it is addictive, he is very cunningly making sure the end result, what you bought a ticket for, is worth watching. It is the exact opposite of watching Giannis play. But even an aging LeBron can turn games around when he really needs to, he controls the narrative. He knows when the league isn’t going to give him MVP, he knows when the league needs a different team to get a championship. He adapts the story, sure. But the end result is always worth watching if you know what you are looking for.
Sundar Pichai, if you ever need help, who you gonna call?
PS Lebron it’s time you switched to a Google Pixel.