Only 9% of NBA players are White Americans?

[Induveca]

After the Kaminsky debate went racial in another thread, I dug through some studies online of racial hiring practices in major sports leagues. The main study listed the NBA as being 19 percent white.

However half of those "white players" are international. Only 9.9 percent of the NBA are white Americans. Of those only David Lee and Kevin Love are considered anything more than bench players. So out of roughly 40 white american NBA players only two are considered heavy rotation/impact players.

Interesting read. Obviously it's a few years old. Also mentions MLB was around 20% African American in 1990, now less than 10%. Same phenomenon international talent squeezing out an already low opportunity for an underrepresented race.

http://hypebeast.com/2012/3/keeping-sco ... -superstar

[dangermouse]

There is definitely a slight racial bias toward african american players, especially when it comes to athleticism. I would say if you were to tell a fan that they can pick between player A who is black and player B who is white and no other stats or measurements, they would pick the black player 10 times out of 10. Whites are typecast as slower, plodders, no jumping ability, only good at shooting if they are wings and being a big body if they are centers.

I dont think it is a problem though. Like, I dont think there are any, at all, white players who don't get considered by professional teams purely based on their heritage. Players are clearly chosen based on merit and ability. There may be some GM's who have a bias toward certain colleges, or to European born players, but this would be nothing to do with race and everything to do with skills and systems that the particular players develop and learn in their respective environments (whether real or perceived).

I actually think players who AREN'T black or white are most hard done by and suffer the most discrimination. Case in point: Linsanity. I firmly believe that there were two factors in Linsanity, and neither of them were is play at the time; the stage he was on in New York, and his Asian heritage.

I believe basketball can serve as the great uniting force between races, able to break down barriers unlike any other sport, and any racism should be stamped out. Among players, fans, organisations and the league, I think there is very little racism and the actions taken against those who are racist (Sterling) have been swift and justified. There is definitely a racial harmony in basketball that isnt present in a lot of other major sports.

[AFM]

I still really like being white.

[nate33]

I'm not sure if there's a bias for or against white players. I do believe that there is a tendency to assume white players are less athletic, but at the same time, I also think that owners like to have at least one or two white guys on a team to appeal to their majority white fan base. Whenever there's a white guy in the college ranks with freakish athleticism they tend to go way higher than they should. I'm thinking about guys like Keith Van Horn and Joe Alexander.

Overall, I think both types of bias are diminishing over time. It's too important to get draft picks right for people to rely on subjective opinions. These days, I think GM's are using stats and measurements much more to help counter whatever innate biases they may have.

By the way, there are definitely a few more high quality American white guys in the league than just Love and Lee. There's Gordon Hayward, Kyle Korver and J.J. Redick as legit, quality starters. Ryan Anderson, Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Zeller are borderline starters (but probably better than David Lee). There's also a couple of guys who are considered black but probably have more than 50% European heritage: Klay Thompson, Joakim Noah and Stephen Curry come to mind.

[montestewart]

I'm withholding judgment until I see Nivek's Governing Ethic-Racial Metric (GERMY - I think the Y is for the Beatles song "Yesterday")

[Induveca]

Good points Nate, keep in mind the article/study was from 2012. At that point all the guys you named weren't very relevant (or not in the league).

Regardless with 400 or so players in the US based NBA, having less than 10 relevant white American players is eye opening.

[TheSecretWeapon]

I'm withholding judgment until I see Nivek's Governing Ethic-Racial Metric (GERMY - I think the Y is for the Beatles song "Yesterday")

I ran the question past YODA and he replied, "Give a ****, I don't."

No GERMY for you!

[gtn130]

If anything, white people are way overdrafted. Joe Alexander, Adam Morrison, Jimmer etc. Now Stauskas and McDermott. These white dudes who become mega celebrities in college don't seem to be very underrepresented come draft day to me. The bust % of white dudes is insanely high and they're still drafted -- there is no bias against them. It's kind of ridiculous that this discussion warrants its own thread imo

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

After the Kaminsky debate went racial in another thread, I dug through some studies online of racial hiring practices in major sports leagues. The main study listed the NBA as being 19 percent white.

However half of those "white players" are international. Only 9.9 percent of the NBA are white Americans. Of those only David Lee and Kevin Love are considered anything more than bench players. So out of roughly 40 white american NBA players only two are considered heavy rotation/impact players.

Interesting read. Obviously it's a few years old. Also mentions MLB was around 20% African American in 1990, now less than 10%. Same phenomenon international talent squeezing out an already low opportunity for an underrepresented race.

http://hypebeast.com/2012/3/keeping-sco ... -superstar

Indu, I didn't post on Easter and I am about 9 hours late seeing this very welcome post.

I have been thinking "them white boys from Wisconsin can play!"

Black dudes, ex-NBA players (plural) have called Sam Dekker not Keith Van Horn, but instead "a poor man's Kevin Garnett". I agree, too.

It dawned on me after UK got their butts kicked that several Wisconsin players simply know how to ball. Dunks, step back threes, dribble drives, crossovers--I am seeing athleticism from all players.

Pat Connatin (sp?) reminds of Thunder Dan Majerle or a bit like pre-injury Brandon Roy. (I wish Notre Dame had defeated Kentucky.)

As for not many whites in the NBA, the Wizards didn't stick with Nate Wolters. Dat2U, I recall Wolters had many effective games with Milwaukee. My personal belief is U.S. born NCAA whites are not given the same opportunities to adjust to the NBA game. They generally don't get drafted or they go late in round 2.

European players who don't go lottery tend to be drafted late in round two. Even the good ones tend to be buried on NBA benches. Guys like Teletovic will generally go back like Stewie Pecherov and Jan Vesely.

The NBA has been referred to as Nothing But Africans for a reason. Love and Lee are certainly not the only above bench worthy players. Redick is balling. Korver is a beast. Both Plumlee brothers are ballers.

A lot of guys never get a real opportunity. Paul Davis, Josh Davis, Mike Gansz, Joe Alexander, Colton Iverson, a former Terp who came from Maine (kid's name escapes me), John Scheyer, Aaron Craft...they should have stuck.

I think for some reason performance is not objectified when a player is different.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Jimmy the Greek got fired for giving an answer I find quite plausible even if still politically incorrect.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Good points Nate, keep in mind the article/study was from 2012. At that point all the guys you named weren't very relevant (or not in the league).

Regardless with 400 or so players in the US based NBA, having less than 10 relevant white American players is eye opening.

Racism and bias are part to blame.

Same way white guys kicked Kentucky in the ass an NBA team with skilled whites can kick ass.

Lambert was no Kevin McHale, but both players were integral parts of teams that won more than one title. Mikan, Bird, West, Rick Barry, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, IMO Paul Westphal--are among the best players EVER.

AAU and dumb draft sites that overvalue freshman and athleticism are responsible IMO.

Noone will convince Nate Wolters still can't light up Terrence Ross or Dion Waiters. He can hold his own against Damian Lillard If surrounded with good players.

I believe bias against white players is very real.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

If anything, white people are way overdrafted. Joe Alexander, Adam Morrison, Jimmer etc. Now Stauskas and McDermott. These white dudes who become mega celebrities in college don't seem to be very underrepresented come draft day to me. The bust % of white dudes is insanely high and they're still drafted -- there is no bias against them. It's kind of ridiculous that this discussion warrants its own thread imo

McDermott wasn't overdrafted.

Stauskas is a rookie. Jury is still out on him.

[nate33]

Jimmy the Greek got fired for giving an answer I find quite plausible even if still politically incorrect.

Jimmy the Greek's theory seems plausible, and probably plays a small role, but I think the true answer is even simpler. Races evolved in different environments with different selective pressures. It seems reasonable that the end result of these different selective pressures is that the different races won't have exactly identical aptitude in all things. Some races are going to be generally better at some things than other races. All one has to do is review the racial composition of the top 10 finishers in the Olympic 100 yard dash over the last 20 years to conclude that people of West African descent are more likely to be faster sprinters. In a meritocracy, sports that incorporate sprinting and other quick twitch type activity like jumping are probably going to be disproportionally represented by people of West African descent.

Just speculating, but I suspect that hand-eye coordination aptitude does not disproportionately favor West Africans, at least not to the same degree as sprinting does. There aren't many black pitchers or golfers for example. And usually when whites compete well with blacks in sports like basketball and football, they tend to do so by relying heavily on hand/eye coordination activities like shooting and passing.

Of course, it's always difficult to remove cultural and financial influences when making these comparisons.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I still really like being white.

Japanese women love white men, especially blonds.

Korean women like black men but they do so mainly on the down low.

Sadly, the worst fears of many whites from slavery days seems to be true: White women like (no, love) black men. I have had white women half my age take pictures of me at the beach and the pool.

Taking things full circle, black women respect and admire white men.

It's all good to me. In fact, it's beautiful to me to be getting to the point where nothing offends me.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I'm not sure if there's a bias for or against white players. I do believe that there is a tendency to assume white players are less athletic, but at the same time, I also think that owners like to have at least one or two white guys on a team to appeal to their majority white fan base. Whenever there's a white guy in the college ranks with freakish athleticism they tend to go way higher than they should. I'm thinking about guys like Keith Van Horn and Joe Alexander.

Overall, I think both types of bias are diminishing over time. It's too important to get draft picks right for people to rely on subjective opinions. These days, I think GM's are using stats and measurements much more to help counter whatever innate biases they may have.

By the way, there are definitely a few more high quality American white guys in the league than just Love and Lee. There's Gordon Hayward, Kyle Korver and J.J. Redick as legit, quality starters. Ryan Anderson, Kelly Olynyk and Tyler Zeller are borderline starters (but probably better than David Lee). There's also a couple of guys who are considered black but probably have more than 50% European heritage: Klay Thompson, Joakim Noah and Stephen Curry come to mind.

Better list than mine, nate.

I think every NBA team should have at least three whites.

I think the Wizards were idiots to not play Vesely even at SF and play him more with Gortat. They should have paired Wolters with Beal and Wall the same way they're bringing Sessions.

Good call on Klay and Noah, but Dell Curry and his wife are both black IMO.

Birdman has some brother in him. He makes me seem like Carlton on the Fresh Prince. Guys like him and Rex Chapman ... just LOOK white.

My freshman year roommate was a white guy from Flint, MI. He sounded like a brother. (Was the campus radio DJ). He ran faster than I could. And the cute black girls loved him. Can't explain it but that guy's a brother as far as I am concerned.

[gtn130]

If anything, white people are way overdrafted. Joe Alexander, Adam Morrison, Jimmer etc. Now Stauskas and McDermott. These white dudes who become mega celebrities in college don't seem to be very underrepresented come draft day to me. The bust % of white dudes is insanely high and they're still drafted -- there is no bias against them. It's kind of ridiculous that this discussion warrants its own thread imo

McDermott wasn't overdrafted.

Stauskas is a rookie. Jury is still out on him.

lol McDermott definitely overdrafted. 11th pick for a 23 year old who isn't able to get any minutes. Not a good look. Maybe he'll carve out a niche later in his career, but he was pretty clearly taken too early.

[nate33]

Good call on Klay and Noah, but Dell Curry and his wife are both black IMO.

This website says that Sonya Curry "is a Caucasian but she is a African America Croele". Not sure what that's supposed to mean.

[Higga]

Thats about 4% more than I thought to be honest.

[nate33]

If anything, white people are way overdrafted. Joe Alexander, Adam Morrison, Jimmer etc. Now Stauskas and McDermott. These white dudes who become mega celebrities in college don't seem to be very underrepresented come draft day to me. The bust % of white dudes is insanely high and they're still drafted -- there is no bias against them. It's kind of ridiculous that this discussion warrants its own thread imo

McDermott wasn't overdrafted.

Stauskas is a rookie. Jury is still out on him.

lol McDermott definitely overdrafted. 11th pick for a 23 year old who isn't able to get any minutes. Not a good look. Maybe he'll carve out a niche later in his career, but he was pretty clearly taken too early.

I'm not sure if McDermott was overdrafted. The guy put up ridiculous numbers in college. It wasn't a Jason Alexander type situation where he was drafted in a desperate hope that a white guy could compete with black guys athletically. McDermott was drafted under the assumption that his obvious skill would outweigh his known lack of athleticism. It was a bet that he could become the next Mullen or Szczerbiak.

I thought it was a reasonable gamble. I'm not sure we can conclude that he is a bust anyway. It took Redick several years to adapt to the NBA, but he ultimately did so.

[queridiculo]

This thread is a train wreck waiting to happen, I've already picked up a few subtle hints about reverse racism.