The Day The NBA Stood Still…Again

Who was looking the best? Biggest disappointment? Who has made a leap? How is their team faring?

Plenty of discussion was to be had.

About basketball.

NBA Players Uneasy

In light of the recent shooting of an unarmed Jacob Blake by law enforcement officials in Wisconsin, there were some rumblings between the players on the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors on if they wanted to forego the next round and instead make their way back home to protest for change.

While that story was still very much a talking point today, the Milwaukee Bucks were slated to play the Orlando Magic in what promised to be a solid showing from the #1 seed to close out the series.

But when it came time for the players to warm up, the Bucks did not take the floor.

NBA Takes Action

Reports from Adrian Wojnarowski and Malika Andrews came out that the Bucks had discussed boycotting the game.

The Magic were unaware of the Bucks plan. And were warming up as usual, but with a little under 4 minutes until game time, they retreated to their own locker room.

Words quickly became action, as the Bucks and Magic, as a united front, boycotted the game.

It wasn’t long after when reports came out that the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets will also boycott the game.

Soon after, the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trailblazers decides to follow suit and boycott as well.

The NBA announced that the games will be postponed, but the truth is no one knows when these games will be played again.

NBA Bubble

Chris Paul; point guard for the Thunder and President of the NBPA worked tirelessly to not only set this bubble up, but to give the players a platform to make their stance on social justice known.

Whether it was messages on the backs of the jersey, kneeling during the anthem, “Black Loves Matter” on the court, or verbally pleading for change in post game interviews.

Despite all the work he put into this, he believes that change is more important than what he worked to build.

LeBron James, forward for the Lakers and arguably the best player in history is in year 17 of his career. While he has managed to maintain his body better than most, he knows his time is running out.

Yet, he is willing to sacrifice a season of his PRIME , because he believes change is more important than basketball.

Call for Change

As a Thunder and basketball fan alike, a very selfish part of me is disappointed. I was enjoying watch my team’s run in the playoffs, and enjoying all the storylines around the playoffs.

Yet, I understand that change is more important than my desire to watch basketball.

This bubble was something the league had never seen before. Now this league wide boycott adds to the list of events never seen before.

It’s already causing waves throughout the world of sports, as the Milwaukee Brewers boycotted their game against the Cincinnati Reds. Other teams throughout the MLB are also discussing a boycott.

The conversation the NBA players were wanting to spark is happening, the only question now is; is the world going to listen?

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