It’s like a Draymond Green kick straight to your special place.
The world’s grandest athletic stage, providing a public platform for the greatest basketball stars alive to unite for a single cause.
Cherished history and untouchable names – Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson – forever attached to your personal résumé.
The nation tuning in, a country coming alive and the summer of 2016 defined by draping a gold medal across your neck in Rio de Janeiro,instead of another boring offseason dedicated to free-agency rumors and daily tweets.
But Cleveland’s King won’t be there. Neither will the Rockets’ Weird Beard, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and a ridiculously self-absorbed collection of the NBA’s finest.
LeBron James gets a pass. He did what’s never been done. He returned decades of lost belief to the misnamed mistake by the lake. He can now do pretty much whatever the heck he wants until training camp.
The rest of the Association’s me-first, brand-second, country-third superstars could use a week-long reminder course in why they’re actually playing basketball for a living.
That’s as far as I got before my eyes rolled so far back in my head that I could no longer read what was on the page. I mean, gosh, can anyone think of any reason why someone might hesitate before getting on a plane for Rio this summer? Anyone at all? Just so Brian Smith – who mostly wrote this because he doesn’t like James Harden – knows, this was the first result that came up in Google for “rio olympics”. Yeah, yeah, Olympic ideals, representing your country, blah blah blah. I get that, and no doubt that is more than enough to lure plenty of athletes this summer. But good Lord, man. Have some perspective. And if you yourself go to Rio – are you going, Brian Smith? – I’d advise you to visit your doctor first and follow his or her advice to the letter. Maybe James Harden and Steph Curry and the rest of those NBA players did exactly that themselves.
All this talk about going to Rio reminds me of the talk about not going to Mexico. There is a whole lot of fear about traveling south of the border. This summer was an eye opener for me and my immediate family. My oldest son is currently studying Spanish in Mexico. (That is right Mexico not Spain). So far he has not been kidnapped, beat, drugged or anything else like that. He has road the bus, took a taxi, traveled throughout the city of Cuernavaca without incident.
However, he does get questioned from time to time about how he feels about Trump. He said that is always an easy answer for him. “Trump is no bueno!” He said “Dad I am in Mexico” LOL