Environment defines the athlete: Surroundings make an NBA player

How surroundings make an NBA player

Everyone in the world (not just athletes) is shaped by what they experience during their life and this has a defining effect on the type of person someone becomes. Whether it’s the neighborhood you grow up in, family, your education, or different things you experience while growing up, it all contributes to an individual’s way of thinking.

Sports is a unique group of people and NBA basketball is made up of players from all walks of life. Whether it be kids who have had to endure numerous life obstacles growing up: issues with family at home, living in a rough neighborhood, battling their own inner demons, or struggling to survive are all experiences which shape people and can force you to grow up quicker than others.

The majority of young African American players come from a place where they’ve had to make decisions a lot younger than people from other areas. Part of what many African American players feel is their duty is to give back to their community when they make it into the NBA.

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LeBron James the best player in today’s game and has used his status to speak out on social issues through social media consistently and most recently has made significant contributions to his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

He set up the After School All-Stars program which provides guidance to children in education and encouraging them to graduate.

Going back to the 1960s and 1970s, it was a challenging time in the USA which included the Vietnam war, civil rights protests, the assassination of Martin Luther King and JFK. It was also a time in which NBA athletes by the likes of Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Oscar Robertson, and others stood up to have their say on social issues that affected the black community.

Prior to the 1961-62 NBA season, the Boston Celtics were in Lexington, Kentucky for an exhibition game when several black members of the Celtics were refused service at a restaurant. Their response to this was boycotting the game the day after which at the time was groundbreaking.

Russell was a huge advocate for cultural integration in his time in the NBA. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA’s leader in points scored in history, has been a huge civil rights activist way beyond his playing days and continues to do so particularly in the aftermath of what happened in Minneapolis to George Floyd. After converting to Islam in the 1960s, Kareem has arguably been the most humanitarian of all basketball players.

Since then, every NBA generation has continued to churn out stars who aren’t afraid to speak their mind regarding social issues, which are all part of giving back to the community which helped shape them not just as basketball players, but as human beings.

Being given that platform to have influence over the masses is a privilege and one which should be exercised in the most human way possible.