The White-Boy Report: The 40-Year De-Volution

From Left to Right (Click on the image to enlarge):

2008 – Kirk Hinrich, Mike Miller, Mike Dunleavy Jr., David Lee, Chris Kaman
1998 – John Stockton, Rex Chapman, Keith Van Horn, Tom Guggliota, Bryant Reeves
1988 – Mark Price, Chris Mullin, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Tom Chambers
1978 – Pete Maravich, Rick Barry, Paul Westphal, Dave Cowens, Bill Walton

Honestly, there’s not much to write that this picture doesn’t really say – but as always, I can show some stats:

In 2008 – there are 10 white-boys in the top 125 in scoring
In 1998 – there are 10 white-boys in the top 113 in scoring
In 1988 – there are 10 white-boys in the top 54 in scoring
In 1978 – there are 10 white-boys in the top 40 in scoring

You can do the same with Rebounds and Assists and you will see the same trend.

Now – most people will argue that this trend is because more african-americans and foreigners are playing the game than in the past, making the talent pool a lot deeper now than in the 1970s-1980s. However, I would like to offer a different hypothesis. While the first point is certainly a part of it, I think that the white players are just flat-out getting worse.

Larry Bird, Pete Maravich, Bill Walton, Rick Barry, Kevin McHale – these guys are all better players than what we’ve got today. Bird would be an MVP candidate, Maravich would put up 27 a game, Bill Walton would essentially be Yao Ming. These guys weren’t really good because they were playing against lesser talent, they were really good because they were really good.

So what gives? People will always throw out the “athlete” card, that American-born white-guys can’t keep up with the athletes of the NBA. Certainly true for some, but certainly NOT true for all. I watched nearly every game Allen Iverson played for the Sixers and there were only a handful of defenders who could handle his quickness, two of them were John Stockton and Kirk Hinrich. Josh McRoberts was/is a phenomenal athlete for his size, he just plays way too passive. Chase Budinger has a 40 inch vertical leap and can get his head at the rim. I know we’ve mentioned he’s Canadian, but have you SEEN Steve Nash move around a basketball court? And then, of course, there’s Tom Chambers.

OK – fine. Let’s say we concede that there is an inherent athletic disadvantage for some white guys. Hell, they even made a movie about it. Why aren’t there any white-boys who are OK athletes getting in the MVP talk? Everyone knows Larry Bird wasn’t the best athlete, but he and fellow short-short Kevin McHale won themselves a couple championships.

So what is it? Are young white-boys who might have played basketball in the 80s trending towards Baseball, Lacrosse or Football? Are they pigeon-holing themselves as a “three-point specialist” early in their careers instead of developing their game in other ways. Whatever the reason – they are moving in the wrong direction.

I’m not sure that this trend will stop, but I can hope. A big part of this feature will be looking for that next great player who can bring some respect back to us white-boys. He’s out there – he’s just got to get his act together and step up.

Is this your first time reading the White-Boy Report? Wondering what the hell I’m doing? What is The White-Boy Report?

April 11, 2008