Why the NBA is the Best, Wildest, Weirdest and Most Absurd Pro Sports League

Basketball is the world’s greatest sport, and the NBA is its greatest league. But the NBA is much more than great. It’s also absolutely absurd.

Basketball is the best sport on Earth. Watch a clip of Lebron James weaving through traffic to make a layup, or Stephen Curry shooting a picture-perfect three pointer, and the words “poetry in motion” take on a new meaning. Basketball is like ballet, except the performers are 6’8 250-pound men.

And the NBA is the world’s greatest league. Forget the freakishly muscled monstrosities packing NFL rosters, the hobbits playing professional soccer, and the beer-guzzling slobs gracing Major League Baseball. The NBA features the most well-rounded athletes, not just in America but worldwide.

In basketball, players score points. Spectator sports aren’t worth spectating on when the final score is bound to be a 1-1 tie, and that’s considered a high scoring game! (I’m talking to you, soccer!) How many people enjoy sitting through a 16-inning baseball game which ends up 1-0?

Fans want to see points, but they also want to see players give an honest effort on defense. The NBA gives them that, at least most of the time. Because of the nature of the sport and fact that players are so supremely gifted, baskets are made even when the opposition plays stifling defense.

The NBA allows fans to get a lot closer to the action than what is possible in most other sports. In the NFL and NHL, as well as Mexican professional wrestling, the players are shielded by high-tech helmets and masks. In soccer, the arenas are so big that the players are literally a world away from the fans. But buy a ticket to the Staples Center or Madison Square Garden, and you can see, feel, and almost touch the players. That’s a great thing.

Why the NBA has a monopoly on weirdness

If you’re still reading this, you are now well-versed in the multitude of reasons why basketball is the world’s greatest sport, and the NBA is the greatest professional league. But the NBA is much more than great. It’s also weird.

Extremely weird. Over the years the league has stocked up on colorful characters and been at the center of countless scandals. Because the game is more about individual players and personalities than are many other sports, NBA players have more room to let out their inner freak.

Charles Barkley once made gambling news claiming he lost $10 million at a blackjack table. There are players named “God Shammgod,” and “Metta World Peace.” Its stars are so gargantuan that one of them, Lebron James, is being tasked with single-handedly saving the city of Cleveland from economic ruin.

The wackiest and weirdest

Standard NBA coverage focuses on game recaps, statistical breakdowns and team and player prognostications. Speaking as a serious NBA fan, that’s great. But there is a lot more to the league than that. Many of the most intriguing storylines have little or no relation to the outcome of games. Here are some of the NBA’s best, if least-known, stories:

Will Lebron save Cleveland?

The city of Cleveland has fallen on hard times. With the US economy now in a post-industrial phase, Cleveland is just one of many economically depressed cities linings the country’s “Rust Belt.” Given all that, the return of King James to his hometown has implications for a lot more than just basketball.

The people of Cleveland need a savior, a modern Jesus who can jumpstart the city’s economy and rescue them from decades of unemployment and disappointment. Can Lebron succeed in his greatest challenge yet?

The NBA’s most overpaid and underpaid players

The casual observer tends to see NBA players as a coddled bunch of oversized babies, a group of guys who get paid millions to play a children’s game but still complain about being underpaid. Well, it’s hard to argue with that.

The NBA has no shortage of injured, lazy and/or ineffective guys who will nonetheless earn salaries in excess of ten million dollars this season. On the flip side, however, some guys aren’t being fairly compensated for the piles of cash they’re laying at their owners’ respective feet.

7 NBA personalities who would be perfect as the next Bond villain

Bond fans everywhere rejoice at the news that sultry and cerebral French actress Lea Seydoux will appear opposite Daniel Craig in Spectre, the next installment in the Bond series. (Monica Bellucci will also star!)

While the brilliant Christoph Waltz is rumored to have been cast as the villain in the upcoming film, we think that the NBA ranks has no shortage of characters perfectly suited to play Bond baddies.

Here are the hottest NBA WAGs

You may think that NBA players are a bunch of athletically graceful dunces. But you can’t deny that they have the looks, charisma and appeal to attract some of the world’s most beautiful women.

Just who are a few names romantically linked to current and past NBA players? Try this on for size: Adriana Lima. Iggy Azalea. Eliza Dushku. Gabrielle Union. How’s that for click bait?

The NBA’s 5 brightest stars under the age of 25

If you’re reading this, you probably have an interest in betting on sports in America. One of the best things about betting on basketball in the modern era is all the great props we can make. Which player will score the most points in a game, most assists, will Steph Curry make a game-winning shot, etc.

The league is packed with young stars, guys who are exciting for their contribution to the game as well as their ability to provide fantastic prop betting opportunities. Whether you’re into betting on the NBA or not, you’ll find this quintet of young stars utterly phenomenal.

Why foreign basketball players are good for the NBA

Sports fans worldwide are finally seeing the light and realizing the fantastic appeal of this great game. People on all continents are tuning into NBA games, and children from places as distant as South Korea, the Netherlands and Brazil are dreaming of becoming the next Kobe Bryant or Brittney Griner.

Currently 23% of NBA players were born outside of the US, and that trend should only continue. It’s also a great thing for the league, and the game of basketball is bound to get better and better.

The weirdest NBA Facts uncovered

As a media junkie, you’re scouring google for the strange and unexpected, the unheard of. And we strive to give that to you. These are the 10 wackiest and weirdest NBA facts that are known to only the most curious fan.

Did you know that the tallest player in NBA history hailed from Romania and was almost 8 feet tall? Did you know that Pau Gasol could have been a medical doctor but chose basketball instead? We’ve got these facts, and many more.

Weirdest Player Names in NBA History

Yes, the NBA certainly has a monopoly on weirdness, as least when it comes to America’s professional sports leagues. Nowhere is that more evident than in the names that have graced NBA rosters over the years.

From the league that brought you God Shammgod, World B. Free and Metta World Peace, these are the weirdest names in league history. You can almost hear former Lakers coach Mike Brown raising his eyebrows and uttering: “Ron Artest changed his name to what?!”

The most absurd NBA moments of the past decade

Good or bad, “The Association” has kept us riveted over the years, and often not because of the actual competition. Whether it be the brawl at the Palace at Auburn Hills, the accidental shooting death of Jayson Williams’ limousine driver, or Michael Jordan’s bitter, vindictive Hall of Fame induction speech, there has plenty to fill the headlines.