Does America love basketball enough to see a Canadian, a Slovenian, a Serb, a Greek and a 7-foot-5 Frenchman rule the NBA? Xenophobia might be the $77-billion question as the league enters Christmas for the first time in a new media deal. The NFL has provided only reindeer droppings to Netflix, providing an opportunity for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic and 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama to supplement your presents, turkey and rotten relatives.
“I think Jokic is the best offensive player. I don’t think he’s the best player,” said the 21-year-old Wembanyama, who is worth watching a million times for the uninitiated.
Who’s the best? “I think it will be me,” he said.
Yet, too many folks in our country still thrive on the red, white and blue past. They want LeBron James as he turns 41. They want Steph Curry at 37. Both are all-time players who won’t win another championship — and they know it. James went so far to suggest taking the holiday off instead of playing Houston in a prime-time game.
“I’d much rather be at home with my family,” he said.
Why utter such thoughts, knowing fans have made him a billionaire as he builds two new homes on a Beverly Hills hillside? Why return to the league only to chase away viewers? “Obviously, I’m gonna be completely honest, I would like to be home on the couch with my family all through the day,” he said, somehow claiming it’s an honor to play.
Oddly, we’ve heard more comments from Steve Kerr about what’s wrong with the Golden State Warriors instead of nationwide thrills about Oklahoma City’s 26-3 start. The four-time champions are 15-15 and don’t deserve a Thursday spot. Monday, the coach finally laid into Draymond Green and watched him vanish to the locker room for most of the third quarter, missing the final 20 minutes of a victory over Orlando. In the previous game, Green was ejected. No one wants to see the same emotional wrongdoing this week in his decade-plus of absurdity. Why doesn’t he retire instead of blowing up Christmas?
“He made his decision to go back to the locker room to cool off. That’s all I’m going to say about it,” Kerr said. “Everything is private.”
“Tempers spilled over and I thought it was best that I get out of there,” said Green, who has been suspended, punished, ridiculed and handed so many technicals that we gave up long ago. “I don’t think it was a situation where it was going to get better. It was best to remove myself.”
Earlier, Kerr said: “I’m not doing my job well this year.” Owner Joe Lacob answered a letter from an angry fan and wrote, “You can’t be as frustrated as me. I am working on it. It’s complicated. Style of play. Coaches desires regarding players.” No longer in the zone of being “light years ahead” of other franchises, as he once said, Lacob might decide “desires” are a reason to part ways with the man. “Not a big deal. Not concerned about anything like that,” Kerr said. That would be sad when the Warriors should keep lauding the Thunder, who might take nips at a 74-victory regular season, one better than Golden State’s best-ever campaign.
“It’s hard, man, but I do think they’re capable,” Green said before his latest breakdown. “You just need so many things to go right, though — from health, but they kind of plow right through health (issues), so it don’t matter, it seems. You need a lot of breaks to go your way, but they’re on the right track. I think 73 wins took some years off my life. But like I said, they’re capable of a lot.”
The Thunder are forming the league’s best rivalry with San Antonio, whose defense with Wembanyama almost matches that of the league champions. Critics claim Oklahoma City toys with officiating on both ends, which Wemby pointed out after a victory. “I’m just happy to be part of something that’s growing to be so beautiful. Pure and ethical basketball,” he said. They play at 2:30 p.m. ET, merely a warmup band for Warriors-Mavericks and Lakers-Rockets. Shouldn’t commissioner Adam Silver be fast-promoting the future when he’s ready to appoint Seattle and Las Vegas as expansion cities? If the owners are will take multiple billions in fees, show the world what’s next. At least we see Jalen Brunson and the Knicks at noon and Jokic playing Anthony Edwards at 10:30 ET. If nothing else, we can enjoy OKC trying to form the early stages of a Bulls dynasty.
“Absolutely,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of the record. “Winning matters, and no matter what form it looks like to me. So absolutely. Seventy-three and nine? I mean, the position we’re in right now, my goal is to get even better. So if we get better than what we are now, that should take care of itself. That’s kind of how I see it.”
“Yes, because we’re competitive, you know what I mean,” Jalen Williams said. “You could say that we’re chasing it, but it’s also one of those things that we are not going out there to lose, either. So if it happens organically, then it does.”
Of course, there was Kerr, saying his team’s record is safe. On one hand, he praised the Thunder, saying, “Overall, a team mindset of zero agendas. Just win every night. Obviously, great talent. But I think high-IQ players. That’s what I see with OKC, really, really smart players, great coach, really connected. They’re on pace to shatter the record, it’s pretty remarkable what they’re doing,” Then he said, recalling how the Warriors beat the record of his Bulls teams, “I just told our guys, I never in a million years would have guessed that the record would ever be broken. I thought it was like DiMaggio’s hit streak, really. Somebody’s got to go 74-8. … I don’t see it.”
So worship the historic potential in a regular season that generally means nothing. The NBA is dealing with major concerns. One is sick gambling, as we see if Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones are banned like Jontay Porter. The inevitable bustout will bring more villains. Tanking is another, as seven teams already have lost 20 or more games when Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa await. In Season One of the $77 billion media cruise, consider dizzying broadcast options. There is Peacock, with Michael Jordan. There is Amazon Prime, with new faces. And ESPN? Charles Barkley and his “Inside the NBA” crew are quiet, because they aren’t on the air enough.
Change happens. New megastars are ready, but the fans must embrace them. What kid didn’t have bedroom photos of LeBron and Curry? Same goes for Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Do we sense anywhere near the same love for SGA and Wembanyama?
Anyone who loves basketball must appreciate sophistication as 2026 nears — behind-the-scenes mind games. The Thunder continue to pile up high draft picks, thanks to masterful general manager Sam Presti, and should remain title-worthy into the 2030s. Watch their faith and unity. “We want to lay a strong foundation of competitiveness and togetherness on both ends of the floor,” coach Mark Daigneault said. “You want people watching this team and saying, ‘Man, this team plays together.’ I think we’ve done that.”
Now it’s time to arrange a special day. The league hasn’t offered an American-born MVP since James Harden, who won in 2018. Our Olympic team almost lost in Paris, and the U.S. will lose to a World team at the All-Star Game. Use Christmas to enjoy the riches of life.
Go ahead and bore yourself on the NFL, with the Cowboys playing the Commanders and the Lions play the Vikings. I will watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama, 38 letters of pleasure when all of us — never forget — are humans from somewhere.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.