The parity in the NBA this year is not just reducible to teams—it’s reducible to individual talent, too. This means there are plenty of valid arguments concerning who got snubbed, and Jaren Jackson, Jr. (J3) of course takes the brunt of this as the last reserve name called for the West. But J3 going to the All-Star game (ASG) is good for the NBA and good for all NBA fans.
Don’t get me wrong: nobody is happier for J3 than us fellow Bluff City Grizz loyal. But even Memphis sports media have explained away his selection to the ASG as a nod to the Grizzlies’ position in the West. Let’s be clear: the second-place Grizzlies didn’t catapult J3 to the ASG; J3 is why the Grizz are in second place.
But here’s the real problematic: the question of the importance of defense. The same people who complain about J3 making the ASG are the same people complaining about the lack of defense in today’s league. This latter complaint is legitimate: point totals have become insane.
So, isn’t this the opportune time for the NBA to reward great defensive play? And shouldn’t we all embrace such?
While J3 has not yet won Defensive Player of the Year, he’s the runaway favorite. Consider the last 5 Defensive Players of the Year:
2018: Rudy Gobert
2019: Rudy Gobert
2020: Giannis Antetokounmpo
2021: Rudy Gobert
2022: Marcus Smart
Of these, only The 2020 Greek Freak and the 2021 Gobert made the ASG—and they were (more than) arguably selected because of their offensive stats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=yuKLrcVwM-Y
We must remember that sports are about entertainment more than wins and losses. It doesn’t matter if the team of whatever fan who buys a ticket or tunes in on cable wins. The money comes from the consumption of the spectacle. If this weren’t the case, then the Cleveland Browns would have boarded up the windows decades ago.
This means that we, as fans, dictate the direction and style of play in whatever professional sports league. Why did baseball turn a blind eye to steroids, introduce a juiced ball decades later, and eliminate the defensive shift? Why did hockey get rid of the two-line pass penalty, decrease the size of goalie pads, and increase the size of the crease? Why did the NFL introduce the two-point conversion?
If we want to complain about lack of defense, then we have to in turn consciously reward the best defensive player—not just this year but every year. It’s not really that J3 is necessarily good for the NBA and NBA fans. It’s what J3 represents that is good for the NBA and NBA fans.
