Cohen: NBA Battle of the States
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By Josh Cohen
Aug. 24, 2010
ORLANDO -- Heart, passion and devotion are just some words that describe international athletic competition.
From the Olympics to the World Cup to the Little League World Series, global sporting events reveal an unparalleled spirit in an athlete. Although some are more patriotic than others, it seems athletes unveil more vigor, emotion and commitment than they normally would.
We witnessed such fortitude from the Americans during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing when the Redeem Team, featuring NBA stars such as Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, recaptured the gold in an epic final against Spain.
Most recently, we observed the utmost spectacular soccer moment in U.S. history during the World Cup when Landon Donovan netted the game-winning and Group-clinching goal against Algeria to propel the Americans into the round of 16.
In the United States, similarly, there is a certain pride many of us have for the state and/or city we originate from. Much of today’s music, for example, often tends to address the importance of “where you come from” and “what culture you are associated with.”
Born in the Bronx, NY and raised in Edison, NJ, I always try to represent my background and affiliated traditions proudly.
As a result, I have a suggestion for the NBA:
Perhaps instead of a customary All-Star Weekend or maybe replacing a portion of the exhibition schedule, I think an NBA “Battle of the States” competition should happen.
Basically, the guidelines would permit only active NBA players to participate and teams would be sorted out based on where the player was born. I would, moreover, set up a playoff-style tournament to determine the grand U.S. champion.
I honestly think many of today’s NBA stars would compete in this event. So many athletes are devoted to their home towns that I think they would see it as an honor and a privilege to represent their birthplace.
The obvious stipulation and resulting controversy would be differentiating between where the player was born and where the player was raised. To avoid this hullabaloo, it would be a requirement for any participant to join the state of which he was born, not necessarily raised. The Magic’s Rashard Lewis, for instance, would have to suit up for Louisiana (born in Pineville, LA) and not Texas despite growing up in Houston.
Here are the teams that I created. I had to alter positions of some of the participants in order to get the best players on each of the squads. I decided to construct teams for eight different states:
ROSTERS
Aug. 24, 2010
ORLANDO -- Heart, passion and devotion are just some words that describe international athletic competition.
From the Olympics to the World Cup to the Little League World Series, global sporting events reveal an unparalleled spirit in an athlete. Although some are more patriotic than others, it seems athletes unveil more vigor, emotion and commitment than they normally would.
We witnessed such fortitude from the Americans during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing when the Redeem Team, featuring NBA stars such as Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, recaptured the gold in an epic final against Spain.
Most recently, we observed the utmost spectacular soccer moment in U.S. history during the World Cup when Landon Donovan netted the game-winning and Group-clinching goal against Algeria to propel the Americans into the round of 16.
In the United States, similarly, there is a certain pride many of us have for the state and/or city we originate from. Much of today’s music, for example, often tends to address the importance of “where you come from” and “what culture you are associated with.”
Born in the Bronx, NY and raised in Edison, NJ, I always try to represent my background and affiliated traditions proudly.
As a result, I have a suggestion for the NBA:
Perhaps instead of a customary All-Star Weekend or maybe replacing a portion of the exhibition schedule, I think an NBA “Battle of the States” competition should happen.
Basically, the guidelines would permit only active NBA players to participate and teams would be sorted out based on where the player was born. I would, moreover, set up a playoff-style tournament to determine the grand U.S. champion.
I honestly think many of today’s NBA stars would compete in this event. So many athletes are devoted to their home towns that I think they would see it as an honor and a privilege to represent their birthplace.
The obvious stipulation and resulting controversy would be differentiating between where the player was born and where the player was raised. To avoid this hullabaloo, it would be a requirement for any participant to join the state of which he was born, not necessarily raised. The Magic’s Rashard Lewis, for instance, would have to suit up for Louisiana (born in Pineville, LA) and not Texas despite growing up in Houston.
Here are the teams that I created. I had to alter positions of some of the participants in order to get the best players on each of the squads. I decided to construct teams for eight different states:
| | | | | | | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CALIFORNIA |  Jason Kidd |  Ray Allen |  Tyson Chandler |  Kevin Love |  Paul Pierce |  Baron Davis |  Brook Lopez |
| FLORIDA |  Steve Blake |  Tracy McGrady |  Marreese Speights |  Amar'e Stoudemire |  Vince Carter |  Trevor Ariza |  Udonis Haslem |
| ILLINOIS |  Derrick Rose |  Dwyane Wade |  Eddy Curry |  Shawn Marion |  Andre Iguodala |  Corey Maggette |  Juwan Howard |
| LOUISIANA |  Chris Duhon |  Danny Granger |  Paul Millsap |  Antawn Jamison |  Rashard Lewis |  Thaddeus Young |  Brandon Bass |
| NEW JERSEY |  Mike Bibby |  J.R. Smith |  Andrew Bynum |  David West |  Al Harrington |  Shaquille O'Neal |  Randy Foye |
| NEW YORK |  Jonny Flynn |  Ron Artest |  Elton Brand |  Lamar Odom |  Carmelo Anthony |  Charlie Villanueva |  Joakim Noah |
| TEXAS |  T.J. Ford |  Stephen Jackson |  Emeka Okafor |  Chris Bosh |  Grant Hill |  LaMarcus Aldridge |  Mike Dunleavy Jr. |
| WASHINGTON |  Jason Terry |  Brandon Roy |  Spencer Hawes |  Jon Brockman |  Marvin Williams |  Jamal Crawford |  Nate Robinson |
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After reviewing the rosters for each state, who do you think would win in a "Battle of the States" competition?
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