18th Article at the Independent

Where has the toughness gone in the NBA? Too many fragile egos Chris Drummond cdrummond@marshallindependent.com

It’s disappointing to see how much the toughness has left the National Basketball Association. I’m all for player empowerment and being able to have more control about your career, but the whining, complaining and outright degrading of your teammates is despicable. For example, Kyrie Irving, superstar point guard for the Brooklyn Nets, forced a trade from his previous team the Cleveland Cavaliers because he no longer wanted to play with LeBron James.

his was back in 2017, just coming off of a championship season the year before. Irving and the Cavaliers then made it back to the Finals, where they were dethroned by the Golden State Warriors in a rematch. When Irving requested a trade, the front office was reluctant to do so, but according to reports, he threatened to sit out and get surgery on his knee if the Cavs didn’t move him. Remember, they had just made the Finals three years in a row and won a championship one of those years. However, because of the fragile ego of Irving, he wanted to part ways and be his own guy with another team. Since then, Irving hasn’t been back to the Finals, while James has been to two and won in 2020.

Another example of this is the recent saga with Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard James Harden and Nets point guard Ben Simmons. Let’s start with Harden first, a player who has purposely played his way out of two organizations because the first one he didn’t think Houston could win a championship and the second one he didn’t like the situation in Brooklyn. Harden was right about winning a championship in Houston during his time with them but he had multiple chances and couldn’t get the job done. Michael Jordan didn’t win a championship until year seven with a franchise and LeBron didn’t win one until nine years in. Many players played for one franchise their whole career but never won. It’s the fragile ego and lack of mental toughness Harden displays that makes me cringe every time he plays. The only way to solidify his place in NBA history is to win a championship, hopefully he won’t fold again and want out of Philly next.

Then there’s Ben Simmons. You want to talk about mental toughness and a fragile ego. I actually watched in person some of his last moments on the basketball court versus the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 NBA playoffs. I attended games four and six of that series, seeing how tentative Simmons was playing. What did he expect fans and teammates to say about his performance? He simply didn’t play well and anyone could see that he was a liability on the offensive end of the court. Simmons let the facts bother him and the noise to affect his decision making into being a professional. Simmons hasn’t played all year and relationship between the 76ers and him soured leading to his departure from the team.

These NBA players nowadays seem to act out when things don’t go the way they want it to. It is concerning to see this etiquette being exhibited because of how this behavior can be copied. I love the NBA and love the parody with the league creating the competition that fans all love to see. But when you have star players with these fragile egos destroying organizations by not being professional or mentally tough by hopping around on teams to chase rings or throwing temper tantrums, it’s maddening to see. I fear it’s only going to get worse with there being a lack of toughness and fragile egos and has me questioning where has the toughness gone in the NBA? Too many fragile egos.