NBA-ийн од Кэвин Дурант гадаадын тоглогчид лигт ноёрхох болсныг сагсан бөмбөгийн дэлхий даяарх хөгжлийн нэг хэсэг хэмээн тодорхойллоо.
Кэвин Дурант өөрийн хөрөнгө оруулалттай BoardroomTV сувгийн ярилцлагад оролцох үеэрээ NBA-ийн шилдэг тоглогчид америкчууд байхаа больсон гэх шүүмжлэлд хариулт өглөө. Тэрээр сагсан бөмбөгийн спорт дэлхий даяар тархан хөгжиж байгаа нь жам ёсны хувьсал бөгөөд олон улсын тоглогчид АНУ-ын тоглогчдоос суралцан, өөрсдийн арга барилаар тоглолтоо хөгжүүлж байгааг онцолсон юм. Түүний үзэж буйгаар энэхүү өрсөлдөөн нь спортыг улам сонирхолтой болгож байна.
FIBA-ийн эмэгтэйчүүдийн дэлхийн аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээнд оролцож буй АНУ-ын шигшээ баг хэсгийн шатанд 3-0 амжилт үзүүлсний дараа шөвгийн наймд Унгарын багийг 108-56-аар буулган авч, хагас шигшээд шалгарлаа. Энэхүү тоглолтод АНУ-ын баг шөвгийн наймын тоглолтын онооны дээд амжилтыг шинэчлэн тогтоож, 31 оновчтой дамжуулалт өгсөн анхны баг болсон байна.
1980-аад оны шилдэг сагсан бөмбөгчний зурагт хуудас шалгаруулах санал асуулгад Майкл Жордан болон Мозес Мэлоун нар финалд шалгаран үлдлээ. Майкл Жордан өнгөрсөн долоо хоногт Жорж Гервинийг 51 хувийн саналаар ялж, аваргын төлөө өрсөлдөхөөр болсон юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
The Bounce Newsletter| This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter.Sign up hereto receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.
Hello! Zach’s traveling the world, so I’m on Bounce duty for the next couple of weeks. My likes: Chicago, northeast Ohio and carrot cake. My dislikes: dirty sneakers, ice cream (I know, I know!) and squirrels. Let’s get to it.
Global game
Durant welcomes NBA’s international flair
To Kevin Durant, imitation is not just flattery. It’s impact.
In a recent hour-long interview with journalist Speedy Morman on the Durant-backed media outlet BoardroomTV, KD answered a series of questions about NBA topics.
Durant, who is no stranger to sharing his thoughts on social media, gave one answer that I thought was really compelling. “One of the criticisms people say,” Morman said to Durant, “is that the best players in the league are not American anymore.”
Here was Durant’s reply:
“Why is that a criticism? Like, our game is global. Everybody plays basketball all around the world, and it’s still expanding in different countries, different places. So, yeah, it’s about time.
“They’ve been coming into the league since the ’80s … It’s just natural evolution that guys from around the world assume those positions as the best players in the league. Now, the real argument should be who they’re influenced by, and most of these dudes are influenced by Americans.
“They’re trying to play like us too, and they accomplished it and executed in their own way. All of this stuff is imitation. What can you look at and go imitate on the court? That’s how I got better. That’s how everybody gets better. Who are you imitating, though? Just natural evolution, I think.”
The way Durant reframed it is exactly how the NBA sees it as well, although the league’s motivation is probably more financial than anything.
But you know what? He’s got a point. The influence of American players of the past (and present to a certain extent) can be seen in the game today. Each generation borrows some of its game from the one before and makes it its own.
Through sports, American culture — including style of play — is a global export. As the game continues to expand around the world, we should expect competition to begin to level in the U.S. as well. And that’s good!
It’s refreshing that someone as prolific as KD doesn’t see the positive shift in views toward international players as a negative, and it’s a shame some people would attempt to paint it as such. As everyone gets better and skills are transferred, the game itself also becomes more fun, more entertaining.
Durant also wants to play in the 2028 Olympics, when he’ll be almost 40, and go for his fifth gold medal. “It’s just fun, man.”
The last 24
📺 Tune in. Be sure to check out and subscribe to our newly launched show, “The Athletic LIVE.” It’s a chat-enhanced watch party that plugs YOU into The Athletic’s award-winning newsroom, and there will be lots of NBA content as the season gets closer.
🏀 Stalemate. Are Jalen Duren and the Pistons getting any closer to a deal? Here’s what Sam Amick and Hunter Patterson are hearing.
🏀 Anybody else? The Spurs and Thunder are the obvious powerhouses in the Western Conference. What other teams could challenge them?
📺 Live from New York! Want more proof that Jalen Brunson is the king of the city? He’s hosting the “Saturday Night Live” season premiere on Sept. 26.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!)and catch out-of-market games onLeague Pass.
FIBA update
Team USA rolling in women’s World Cup
n the quest for a fifth straight FIBA Women’s World Cup gold medal, Team USA swept its group stage, going 3-0 against China (94-61), Italy (55-52) and Czechia (105-64).
In an early-morning (5:30 ET ) quarterfinal matchup against Hungary yesterday, the defending champs rolled to a record-setting 108-56 victory, advancing to an 11th straight World Cup semifinal. Team USA set a record for the most points by a team in a quarterfinal, and with 31 assists, became the first team to tally 30-plus assists in a quarterfinal.
Here are my three takeaways from the tournament in Berlin so far:
- Team USA needed the adversity of the Italy game. There was, of course, much conversation on social media about the veteran WNBA players like Chelsea Gray selected for Kara Lawson’s World Cup squad ahead of the tournament. Should they start? Should someone have been left off the team in favor of another? But with their poise and leadership — especially against Italy when the team struggled — they showed everyone exactly why the vets are there. I know people are anxious to see what the young players can do, but it’s not quite time to pass the torch. Team USA left for Berlin shortly after the WNBA regular-season break started without much time to gel. But through four games, team chemistry looks to be on the rise.
- The future is bright. Against Hungary, the “Young and Turnt Crew” — the nickname Paige Bueckers bestowed upon the younger players of the squad — gave us a few glimpses of what the next generation of Team USA looks like, thanks to a 40-point lead. And the future looked fun!
- Clark to Reese! Caitlin Clark’s interior passes to Angel Reesemade me lean forward. Their games complement one another, and it’s beautiful. While I doubt they’ll ever be on a WNBA team together (or will they?), it’s fun to imagine them as Team USA’s marquee stars in a few years. To quote Beyoncé, who run the world? Girls!
Further reading: Team USA is still dominant, but the world is catching up, Chantel Jennings writes.
Next up: The U.S. will play Spain tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET. You can watch it on TBS, truTV and HBO Max
(And though he may be on vacation, Zach couldn’t leave you entirely. He wrote the next section.)
Poster child
It’s Moses vs. MJ for the title
We did it!
This offseason, we’ve had you vote to decide the best poster of the 1980s. Last week, we had the showdown between George Gervin’s “Iceman” and Michael Jordan’s frame-by-frame dunk. In a razor-thin poll, Jordan beat out The Iceman with 51 percent of the vote. Jordan moves on to face Moses Malone’s “Moses” poster for the championship.
How’d they get here? Moses beat out Karl Malone’s “Mailman” poster with 52 percent of the vote. Then Moses beat Chuck Person’s “The Rifleman” poster with 55 percent of the vote. Jordan’s poster beat out Larry Bird’s “Bird Nest” poster with 59 percent of the vote before edging out The Iceman.
Let’s review these two works of art!
Which poster is the best of the ’80s? Sound off in the comments!
