The NBA Has a Star Problem

Author: Daniel Gardner

Editor: Aaron Mesco

Kyrie Irving and James Harden have both caused quite the PR disaster for the NBA this year. Irving stopped showing up for team events (including practices and games) and declined to communicate with anyone within the Nets organization. Harden, on the other hand, showed up to Rockets camp out of shape and disinterested, and then publicly declared his Rockets career over before a trade was actually in place. Although these two Brooklyn stars had very different reasons for their actions, some more valid than others, it does not change the fact that neither of these events were good press for the NBA. These are not isolated incidents and are both symptomatic of a larger problem that persists in the modern NBA: the stars have far too much power.

Kyrie Irving not showing up to work was an odd move by him, but not surprising to anyone who has followed him closely through the years. He has a long history of bizarre behavior that has a negative effect on his teammates. In Boston, he publicly blamed young stars on the team for being the reason they were losing games. He made waves earlier this offseason when he told reporters “I don't really see us having a head coach. You know what I mean? KD could be a head coach. I could be a head coach. It’s a collaborative effort”. As so often with Irving, his latest episode was filled with good intentions, but executed in the worst way possible. He stepped back from basketball to make light of social inequalities in our society, which is a worthy cause. But by not telling the public, nor anyone on his team why he wasn’t playing, he put everyone else in a position to answer for his actions.

James Harden, on the other hand, has thoroughly disgraced himself with his actions this season. Houston has enabled Harden throughout his entire tenure with the team. Putting up with his infamous party habits, getting players he asked to play with, and bringing in a coach that allowed Harden to play a style that was great for his stats but grating for other stars. No star in the league was allowed more leeway than Harden, and it showed. When Russell Westbrook got to Houston last year, he was reportedly appalled by the lack of accountability in that organization. Even after being granted his every last wish, Harden still wanted out and showed it in the least professional way possible. He did not go to training camp this year despite having an entire new cast of teammates, showed up wildly out of shape, and displayed a remarkable lack of effort on the court to the point where his teammates were forced called him out after he famously said he was done with the team following a blowout loss to the Lakers. Harden has acted like a spoiled, entitled brat. Although many will forgive him if he wins a title in Brooklyn this year, I hope Houston fans don’t, because I certainly wouldn’t.

Irving coming back to the team with essentially no repercussions and Harden being granted his trade request to Brooklyn is an issue for the NBA. The players should not be rewarded for doing things that hurt the image and turn off the actual fans of the league. These are not isolated occurrences. Last year, Anthony Davis quit on the Pelicans and demanded to be traded to the Lakers. Where did he go? The Lakers. Harden quit on Houston and demanded a trade to Brooklyn. Where did he go? Brooklyn. A few years ago, Kawhi just stopped playing for San Antonio and no one talked about it because no one talks about Kawhi. Players quitting on their franchises so they can get traded to the team of their choice for a king’s ransom is awful for the league. While it may be great for the casual fan to watch the drama unfold, it hurts the die-hard fan. Nets fans loved the D-Lo-led team that went to the playoffs back in 2019, and now nearly everyone that made that team fun is gone. If the Nets win a title with this team, their fans will enjoy it, but it won’t be the same as a homegrown team winning the title. Part of what makes winning so fun is watching the team grow and develop, and that doesn’t happen if the team signs a bunch of hired guns. What separates sports from other entertainment is the passion it evokes from its fans. If the NBA continues down this route, it will become just a more lazy form of entertainment.

The players have no reason to look out for the long-term interest of the league, and many don’t. Their only focus is on what’s best for them. This is why stars act out to team up with other stars in big markets. Who cares if this hurts the fanbase as long as it’s good for them? This is precisely why the players having as much power as they do is bad for the health of the league. The power should not reside with people who have no interest in what goes on after they’re gone. It is the owner’s responsibility to reclaim some of this power, because the repercussions could be disastrous if they don’t.

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