Yes, I’ll admit it… I’ve had a secret handshake too. But in my defence, I was about 8 years old. And it probably lasted a couple of weeks before the novelty wore off and we progressed on to swapping football stickers or something similar.
Watching grown men, all highly paid athletes and supposed role models doing the same thing is, to be brutally honest, pretty embarrassing. Since when did it “become a thing” for the greats of the NBA to resort to such childish behaviours ?
Back when I was playing top-flight basketball in the UK the arena would be engulfed in darkness before a spotlight came on and the commentator (the legendary Pete Godding) called out your number and your name and you jogged on to the court to the applause of the fans where you awaited your next teammate. When he arrived, you gave him a high five (or a low five) and that was it. The only diversion from this routine was Alan Cunningham who, when his number was called (7), would run diagonally across the court and along the front of the bleachers high-fiving the fans in the front row before coming back to join the team in the front court.
A conversation on the subject recently with a friend (a modern-era NBA fan) prompted the comparison to the New Zealand rugby team’s Haka before their games… “Oh, please !” was my response… The Haka is a type of ceremonial Māori dance or challenge, usually performed in a group and typically represents a display of a tribe’s pride, strength and unity. Actions include foot-stamping, tongue protrusions and rhythmic body slapping to accompany a loud chant. What the likes of Messrs James, Irving, Durant, etc are performing is ridiculous pantomime.
Please, for all that is left of a respectful NBA, pack it in immediately !
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