Why are there hardly any good White American NBA players?

cough cough wingspan cough

 

I don't know if I can agree with the statement that black people in general are more athletic than white people, IMO that seems like a claim that is awfully subjective and untested scientifically. But lets assume that you are correct, that people of African descent are athletically superior to Caucasians, what in your view is the reason for that? Genetics? Breeding? Environmental? Conditioning?

 

1. Don't overestimate the quality of white players from Europe. We have some good ones, like Nowtizki to take the poster boy. But, you also have the Kevin Loves to offset the Euro examples. Whites might be better represented in the elites of Euro players compared to blacks among Euro players, but they're all still dwarfed by black American players.

2. I've seen a couple references here to blacks being more committed to basketball as their ticket from desperate conditions, a dilemma not shared by as many white players. I'll rebut with this old ESPN article from 2011, which says in part:

[rquoter]Yes, talent and grit drive sports success. But so does an athlete's background, and more than you might think. That's the lesson from research published recently in the International Review for the Sociology of Sport. Joshua Kjerulf Dubrow of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Jimi Adams of Arizona State University studied NBA players from 1994 to 2004. They found that among African-Americans, a child from a low-income family has 37 percent lower odds of making the NBA than a child from a middle- or upper-income family. Poor white athletes are 75 percent less likely to become NBA players than middle-class or well-off whites. Further, a black athlete from a family without two parents is 18 percent less likely to play in the NBA than a black athlete raised by two parents, while a white athlete from a non-two-parent family has 33 percent lower odds of making the pros. As Dubrow and Adams put it, "The intersection of race, class and family structure background presents unequal pathways into the league."

...

The NBA of our imagination -- a league that functions as a conveyor of inner-city hoop dreams -- actually did exist at one point. In the 1960s and '70s, more than 90 percent of NBA players were from urban areas. But as the game grew more popular and attracted more corporate sponsors, pro teams and colleges expanded the search for talent, and suburban (and foreign) high schools began strengthening their programs. As a result, it now takes more resources -- a lot more -- to compete at the highest level. "You need facilities, equipment and transportation, not to mention coaches and volunteers," says Peter Roby, former director of the advocacy group Sport in Society and the athletic director at Northeastern University. "And what we've found is that kids in cities are now much less likely to participate in sports than kids in suburbs."[/rquoter]

Many inner-city black kids might see their basketball skills as their ticket out, but we don't actually see many of them reach the NBA anymore. If its really suburban black kids who go to well-resourced high schools and colleges, where's the desperation?

Though I wonder if there is a confidence gap from the culture around basketball. There's been sociological research on success and confidence around gender differences with work and salary that I find interesting. NPR did a story recently on how men's irrational confidence leads to better outcomes in entrepreneurship compared to women. I wonder if black players have an easier time really believing they could make the NBA and therefore working at it more faithfully, while white players may see themselves at a disadvantage because it's supposed to be a black sport and be discouraged more easily.

 

It's not silly at all. Where is the science that supports that theory? What are you defining as race and what are you defining as athleticism?

The reason for that with WRs and RBs is confirmation bias that black people are faster or more athletic. What happens is the white kid that plays WR at HS is told to play another position. We have seen white DBs and we have seen some very talented WRs that are white.

This is not even counting TEs, if you consider WR more talented then you also most consider TEs who also have to block just as well.

Every position requires elite athleticism outside of QB, DT/NT, OL and kicker. Interior linemen just have to be strong and know their position. QBs don't necessarily have to be athletic, but if you added Vick's speed in his prime to Tom Brady or Manning it sure wouldn't hurt.

We can also expand to other sports here too. The idea that athleticism isn't coveted in other sports is just false. Yes, technical ability and the ability to actually play the sport is what's most important but when you look at the top of drafts athleticism plays a huge factor. The Astros drafted Correa because of his athleticism. The guy can hit the ball yes, but his size, jumping ability, agility, and speed is what made him into a top prospect. Athleticism in any team sport is coveted. Using this logic then black people should just overrun any sport.

 

Not that it is a ticket out but just that african-american kids usually grow up in areas where basketball is the sport. What sports are played and by who is a region thing. You are going to find more elite talent in Texas than New York when it comes to football because Texas as a state celebrates the sport.

I think that yes, basketball here is seen as a "Black" thing and that's a big part of it.

 

IIRC...in college i remember reading something that stated blacks aren't generally more athletic than whites...it's more like the best black athletes are much more athletic than the best white athletes.

And in my past experience, working with schools that were predominantly black, more of their kids focus on sports as a future career. That, along with a game that's becoming more about athleticism, rather than extreme height and fundamentals, is your answer.

 

THIS.

Black people are not more athletic than white people.

but the very best black athletes are more athletic than the very best white athletes and of course these are the professional athletes.

There are exceptions of course. JJ Watt is a good example.

The greatest white athletes of today aren't particularly athletic but more technically/intellectually sound. i.e Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Steve Nash.

Athleticism is a HUGE factor in basketball. Not near as much as football or baseball.

The best example I can think of is Troy Tulowitzki. Dude is a phenomenal athlete and the best SS in the MLB. He was all state basketball player in HS but he would have a very very very difficult time even getting minutes in D1 college basketball because of his physical limitations. Height/Weight/Strength/Speed etc.

 

I understand your point and agree with most of it however you said there are freak white athletes in the NFL.

I'm having hard time even thinking of one besides JJ Watt. You could even argue his success is due more to his size and work ethic.

Clearly all of the QB's aren't even close to being athletic enough to play in the NBA.

The only white NFL player I can think of that could even sniff an NBA court is Rob Gronkowski.

 

I'm going to chalk this up as a massive gag and all sarcasm because if it was serious then....definitely shouldn't have people like this on the forums.

 

Different sport but there are no white corner backs in the nfl. The last white CB was Jason seahorn back in 2004...

 

I won't agree with you on this because you're only taking the sample size of people you've played ball with etc.

I also have many many many years playing bball/sports and i agree that most likely a black kid is more athletic than the white at the gym or whatever.

But in GENERAL no. For every athletic black kid you see at the bball gym there are 10 who are at home picking their nose and playing video games.

if you had to rank the most athletic races then yes, black is #1 but there's no evidence to support it other than our subjective opinions and observations.

 

Could be due to participation....If there are less white athletes in basketball demonstrating freakish athletic feats (compared to what the elite black athletes do), then the lesser white athletes are more likely to participate in pick up or organized ball, since they feel less intimidated.

Less athletic blacks on the other hand, may see the more athletic blacks and feel immediately discouraged, therefore staying away from sports earlier and more often.

 

Mike Trout is a perfect example of why there are no white american NBA Players.

Mike Trout is going to be one of the best baseball players of all time and he couldnt play d1 college basketball due to his size. He's 6'2" with VERY short arms.

 

Tennis takes quite a bit of athleticism as well. Why aren't black men dominating that?


The truth is, black american kids play FAR more hours of basketball than any other group. Suburban black kids go to the hood all the time and get dominated because they just haven't played as much ball. When there's money for baseball gear, video games, space for soccer, etc there's less time for basketball.

 

This thread went left

 

Maybe white american kids dont' play as much basketball as other sports?

 

But you are discussing an issue of science. So I'm not that interested in any single experience of anyone.

If you asked a biologist whose expertise was that of Humans do you think he'd go "Well, I went to a gym and saw that the black people jumped higher and ran faster than the white people. I then concluded my research."

It also seems that people are only qualifying athletic ability as being able to run fast and jump high, not even considering other aspects of athletic ability such as agility, flexibility, stamina, and strength.

So CBs are automatically more athletic than LBs? I don't agree with that. Some CBs ONLY have speed...and do they have stamina? Football doesn't really account for stamina the same way Basketball or Soccer does, where you are always sprinting and running. Not every CB is Richard Sherman, fast and strong enough to go up against any WR.

Was Johnathan Joseph more athletic than Brian Cushing in his prime? I'd say no way, it's not even close. While yes Joseph was faster and more agile he didn't have the combination of athleticism that Cushing displayed in his prime.