Super naive to think they aren't making bank off this circus.
Didn't say they weren't.
Doesn't mean this whole thing is just completely fabricated and everything's fine.
But I guess we live in the era of "Fake News" right?
Well some of it is indeed "fake news", but a lot of it is also just overblown hype in an effort to sell drama. It's non-stop. It's ceaseless. Social media has completely changed how this league is covered.
It makes me wonder how guys like Larry Bird would come across in today's daily media storm of constant cameras in his face after every tough loss. Bird was known to be a bit contentious and difficult with his teammates. Former teammates have said they weren't really friends with him.
"Kevin McHale is one of the greatest players in basketball history, but Bird sometimes scolded him to others as if McHale were a kid brother. The two have always had a relationship based on mutual respect, but they are not friends."
Bird seemed to lead by example... and fear... the legendary crap-talk wasn't limited to opponents.
In the middle of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 16, 1985, Larry Bird got in a bar fight in which one guy claimed Bird sucker-punched him and one of Bird's friend's ended up in the emergency room. The rumor was that Larry screwed up his finger... despite normally shooting 52% during championship playoff runs, his shooting dipped to just 40% after the incident.
Can you even imagine such an incident in today's 24/7 NBA news cycle? Seriously... try to wrap your mind around someone like Kevin Durant getting into a bar fight and potentially messing up his finger in the middle of the Conference Finals. They would never stop talking about it. They'd create an entire sub-page on ESPN's site dedicated to KD's finger.
Hell, you don't even need to go back that far. Imagine the reaction to Paul Pierce in the 2005 playoffs. On the verge of being eliminated. Up 85-84. 12 seconds left. Pierce gets fouled and reacts by shoving Tinsley to the ground - subsequently getting an offensive foul and very nearly getting us eliminated, then left the court swinging his jersey over his head, and showed up in the post-game conference with a joke bandage on his face:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yroYIQiAQyIHe was buried for that... but it wasn't nearly as loud without the platform of social media and a non-stop NBA media onslaught. BTW, that incident happened when Pierce was about a year older than Kyrie Irving right now.