I love this... so maybe they're the ones who should play in the Olympics? wizkid put it best... "Hey, LeBron!!!! Let me see that medal that you wo... oh, never mind, it's BRONZE..."
It would be one thing if the best players from around the world weren't allowed to play in the NBA. But they are, and they do, so we call them the world champs. The NBA, which has franchises abroad, plays games abroad and is very much an international league. This has nothing to do with American arrogance - and everything to do with the determination of the top basketball team IN THE WORLD, which is what the NBA has been doing for 60 years. The WC's and the Olympics are great tourneys taht serve as a nice diversion for a few weeks every few years, but they don't put forth even a small fraction of the time, money, and effort into determining who's the best team as the NBA does, every single year, and has done since the postwar period. This has nothing to do with nationalism. Nothing.....at least on our end. Let's reverse this situation. Let's say Liverpool (not withstanding the fact that they blew the Toyota cup or whatever it was to Sao Paulo) as defending UEFA champs declared themselves the World Champions of soccer for 2004-2005. Would I care? No. Would Brazil, the 2002 world cup champions have cause to complain? I don't think so. The UEFA champions league is the tournament for the best teams in the world and has the best players - even though only European teams are eligible. If Liverpool wins it, then they can call themselves the world champs, in my opinion, and I don't see where anybody really has cause to complain - and that has NOTHING to do with American arrogance.
First of all, I am not comparing national teams competing in the Olympics or the WC with professional leagues such as the NBA. I understand that the "world champion" of national teams is not the same as the "world champion" of professional clubs. The UEFA champion is the champion of European professional clubs. (They also have European Championship for national teams.) They never call it world champion. Now it happens that South American countries also have world class clubs. Let's say if European football was indeed clearly superior to the rest of the world, it would still be wrong to call the UEFA champion the world champion unless they invite teams from all over the world to participate. I know you don't care what the UEFA say about themselves. I don't either. In fact, I don't care if the NBA calls its champion "world" or the MLB calls its championship series "world series." I just think it is pretty silly to call a national league champ a world champ. The tacit implication is the mindset that WE ARE THE WORLD.
Does anyone honestly think any team in the world can beat the NBA's champion (pick any season) in a series?
The UEFA history is quite different from that of the NBA. It wasn't till the 1970's that non-European players started flowing to Europe in droves. However, non-European teams and players were dominant up until and during that time in International play - even though UEFA championships were around in the 50's. So they didn't have any grounds to call themselves the world champions. Contrast that with the NBA, which, though mostly American until the late 80's. Until the that time, the state of basketball outside America was so poor that US college all-star teams could go out and destroy the rest of the world in international competition. The NBA, the US and its teams were so far ahead of the rest of the world it wasn't even close. Of course they were the best teams in the world. But going to your last sentence -I don't think it would be wrong at all. UEFA clubs invite all of the best players from around the world to play for their teams. The Champions League champion is theoretically the best team in the best league in the world. They've got grounds to call themselves the world champs. I don't care where the clubs are located. Neither of those two leagues are "national leagues" - they span two countries - and play games in others too on occasion. Anyway, when it comes to the sporting universe of that particular sport - the NBA IS THE WORLD. You can call this arrogant, but it's the truth. All of the world's best players play there if they can. Same same with MLB. Same same with Australian Rules Football. The NBA champion is the World Champion. Taking your logic, btw, I could say that the NBA Champion is not the true NATIONAL LEAGUE champion because the NBADL, the WNBA, and NCAA teams aren't allowed to participate.
You are the champion only if you win in a competition. This was exactly the problem with college football. Their champion was determined by an opinion poll. I don't care if it's everybody's opinion that a certain team is the best team. You have to actually compete in a structured competition to be called the champion. Team USA basketball was considered by everyone's opinion to be the best team in the WC. But they lost. Yes, you can say we didn't send the best players all you want. But the fact is that they didn't win and therefore they were not the champion. So how can you say you are the world champion without actually competing in a world competition? WNBA and NCAA are different kinds of basketball (one is women, one is non-professional). So the logic doesn't apply. The DL is a minor league. There are minor leagues in all sorts of sports. Unless you call all other pro basketball leagues in the world NBA's minor leagues. Otherwise the NBA is still not a world league. Think why they have the World Series and the Superbowl. It was because they had two national leagues. They wanted a true national champion by competition, not by opinion.
They did. It's called the NBA regular season and NBA playoffs. Your point? again, relevance? They did. It's called the NBA regular season and NBA playoffs. Players from all over the world participate, people from all over the world watch, and the games are played all over the world. So? FIBA Rules is ALSO a different kind of basketball. Different lane size, different 3 pointer, different time structure, different other things (and it's also non-professional for the most part). So if my logic doesn't apply, yours is totally self defeating. They are the NBA's minor leagues. The NBA regularly mines them for young talent - have you seen any of the past 10 NBA Drafts? So what? We had the BAA and the NBL back in the 40's. Then they merged. Same with the ABA. This logic doesn't get you anywhere.
What a bunch of ignorant crap. If there were a playoff series where the basketball teams from around the world competed for the title, then the "World Champs" title would be fitting. Oh wait...that's called the "Olympics." It'd be foolish to even think that this title is completely unrelated to the fact that the US is the most ethnocentric country in the world.
Sorry Sam, you've got some flaws with you logic. The international players who compete in the NBA represent their teams (US cities) when they play. This means that the scope of the NBA is strictly w/in North America, which also means that when they compete in the regular season and the playoffs, they only play teams in North America (despite the sharp influx of foreign players in the NBA). Now there will be little argument about whether any assembled team in the world can compete against the NBA champs in the NBA format, however it's unfair to give any NBA team the title of "World champs" if you automatically disqualify non-North American teams.
Who was the Olympic champion for 2005? Let me know when you find an answer. In 2004 who played together for more games: The Detroit Pistons? Or Argentina? And if you think I'm simply saying this as a flag waving, chest-beating, America/ethinocentric fool, you're simply dead, dead, dead wrong, and you can kiss my passport.
So, tell me wise guy: I'm from Slovenia, EU. In which conference or division do I fall upon? Which team should I root for to be "my world champion team". Guys, You totaly got it wrong. Only wizkid got it right(sorry if I forgot somebody). This thread is based on totally wrong paradigm. They are not called "world champions", they are called "NBA world champions" and I'm OK with that.
If we're talking about an "NBA format", then non-north american teams DON'T EVEN COMPETE in the NBA format, they use differnt rules, etc. So I'm even further inclined - along with your concession that these minor leaguers wouldn't stand a chance - to recognize what is obvious: 2005 San Antonio Spurs = World Champions.
You can root for whichever of the dozens of NBA teams you like. You can do it based on whatever factors you choose. Evidently you chose Houston - which bears little rational relation to Slovenia - but is a testament to the global reach of the NBA. I'm glad, btw, that we've established that Slovenia must be represented in order to give us a threshold with the way I am allowed, due to world grammar rules, to call the NBA champion. Do we have to have NBA teams in all UN member states now in order to call them World Champions? What about the Vatican City? Do they have to have a team? Give it a rest already. I'm about the least nationalistic person around - go read some of my posts in the other forums if you don't believe me. The fact taht people are playing the 'chest thumping USA ninny' card says a lot more about inferiority complexes than it does about me.
I am the repeating world champion of flicking boogers on my cat. I know this because I just won the tournament and came in first...again. My cat is also the world champion of taking dumps in my bathtub....b*stard.
Are you playing dumb or do you seriously lack understanding of set theory? Please read the two bolded sentences that you said and explain how North America = World.
I've repeated myself 1000 times. Read it again The NBA has the best players in the world from all over, correspondingly making up the best teams in the world, all of whom who spend the vast majority of their time playing for their respective franchises, and playing in multiple countries (NBA regular season games I believe have occurred in the US, Canada, Japan, Mexico). North America =/ world NBA = world, as far as basketball players go - which is the universe I am concerned with. I am not referring to the UN Security Council or anything political. Let's take a different example: Australian Rules Football Australia =/ world Aussie Rules football league = world as far as aussie rules football players go. Therefore there champ is the world champ. I have no problem saying that. And that has NOTHING to do with being american or ethnocentric. Now I answered your question. Answer one of mine: Who was the Olympic Champion in 2005?
