Its that time of year again, the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs are on. Hard core basketball fans have to arrive early at their favourite venues to secure their seats since the casual fans are also flocking to watch the games. Every night, for a few hours, fans escape from reality, embedding themselves in the fluctuating fortunes of their ‘team’, as the games swing back and forth, minute to minute, quarter to quarter. They scream constantly at the television set and at each other, when one of their team scores from an improbable distance/angle, blocks a shot, makes a no-look pass, intercepts a pass from an opposing player, dives on to the floor for a loose ball, or leaps into the crowd to save an errant pass. They conserve their vilest vitriol for the referees when a television review goes against their team. They tantalize opposing fans, they laugh, they high-five each other. They order another round of drinks and the screaming is perpetuated. It is playoff time.
As of writing, the NBA playoffs are in the second round phase, with eight teams still in contention. As usual, the two best players of this generation, LeBron James and Stephen Curry, are creating quite a stir. For four consecutive years from 2015 to 2018, James’ Cleveland Cavaliers met Curry’s Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, with Curry winning three of the showdowns. In 2018, James moved to the Los Angeles Lakers, winning a title with his new team in 2020. Last year, Curry led the Warriors to an unexpected fourth title in their sixth finals appearance in eight years. Now, the two superstars are colliding once again in the semi-finals of the Western Conference. Many of the game’s connoisseurs consider this battle royal as the ‘Finals’, with the actual NBA Finals serving as an anticlimax.
James and Curry are once-a-generation game changers whose performances on the court have had significant influence on the way basketball is played. Now in the twilight years of their careers, the routes they have carved to get to the top of the game are entirely different. James, 38, now in his 20th season, and the game’s all-time leading points scorer, was anointed as the ‘Chosen One’ whilst still in high school in Ohio, skipped college and entered the professional ranks as the first selection in the NBA Draft, following an impoverished upbringing. Standing six foot nine inches tall, and weighing 250 lbs, ‘King James’, as he is often referred to, handles the ball with the aplomb of a smaller person, whilst dominating all aspects of the game. James’ noted selfless style of play in a team sport filled with lots of ‘me-first’ mentality stars has been complemented with amazing physical durability. Wherever James has played – Cleveland, Miami, Cleveland and Los Angeles – he has brought to bear on his teammates his will to excel at a higher level.
Curry, the eldest child of Dell Curry, a former NBA player who enjoyed a 16-year career, has been around the game at the highest level from an early age. Unlike the highly sought after James, Curry was overlooked by all the powerhouse basketball colleges owing to his ‘small stature.’ Recruited by Davidson, a small liberal arts college, the size slight has driven him throughout his basketball career. “The underdog mentality and mind set will always be a part of who I am. Humbled beginnings in the game, being overlooked and having to really, on the court, fight for everything,” Curry noted in an interview four years ago. Now, six-foot-two and weighing 185 lbs, his long-range shooting accuracy, which has radicalized the game as a primary offensive attack, is complemented by non-stop on the ball movement, more often than not leaving his hapless markers grasping at thin air, as he creates an aperture to launch another three-point missile.
It is easy to point to the vast collection of MVP awards, accolades, multiple Sports Illustrated Sports Person of the Year ceramic Greek amphoras and NBA titles that the two game changers have won and the influences they have had on the game of basketball. It is easy to note the fabulous wealth they have accumulated during their careers from salaries, endorsements and investments. James is the first active player to attain the status of a billionaire, while Curry, 35, now in his 14th season in the league, is in his first year of an extended four-year contract which is guaranteed to the tune of $215 million. As the two key drawing cards for the NBA, they have increased the value of the league and the franchises to astronomical levels. It also easy to overlook the hours they have logged to attain, and maintain their skill sets.
Forget about the accolades, the wealth and the influence on the basketball court, what really sets these two game changers apart, has been their willingness to utilise their platforms of exposure to bring about social change. Few sportspersons have been willing to risk their careers fearing a backlash similar to what was meted out to John Carlos and Tommy Smith following their protests on the podium at the 1968 Olympic Games. To the short list which includes the likes of former professional football player Jim Brown, former NBA great Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Muhammad Ali, add LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Besides their well-documented philanthrophy, especially with regard to children, they have added their voices to the burning social issues of today. Both have spoken out against gun violence, while James has launched a voting rights group, and Curry assisted with public health outreach during the pandemic.
While LeBron James is among the best to ever play the game and Stephen Curry is arguably the best shooter of all time, these game changers will long be remembered for their off-the-court influence in trying to better the lives of their fellow man.
