As I write this, I am looking at the statistics from the Los Angeles Lakers game against the San Antonio Spurs from November 15th, 2024. 39 year old LeBron James had his 4th straight triple double - in his 22nd season in the Association. I am 35 years old and my back hurts from picking up my computer to write this article. I got into the NBA when I was in high school, around 20 years ago. I have not really known the NBA without the Chosen One. As I marveled at the superhuman longevity of arguably the greatest player to play the game (please don’t come for me, MJ fans. I said arguably) I began to reflect on my love of the game - and my hate. That’s right - the Wrant is back, full force.
My family is from Houston, but as a wee lad in 1994 and 1995, I can barely remember the elation my family felt as Rudy Tomjonvich told the basketball world “don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion’ and the Houston Rockets won two championships. I played basketball in a church league, but I never truly appreciated the game. I was the big goofy kid who played with untied shoelaces, more interested in post game burgers than setting a screen. As I grew up I started playing more seriously, working on my shot and playing more pickup. I started more seriously following the NBA in high school. As a Rockets fan, the early 2000’s were tough.
I remember watching the Rockets beat the Blazers to get their first playoff series win since 1997 in 2009. I had to go to my grandparents house to watch the games because we didn’t have cable at my house. I remember watching Yao Ming get injured against the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round, him grimacing in the tunnel as he tried to put weight on his leg. I remember Battier, Brooks, Lowry and Scola giving everything they had on the court, their sweat and blood - Shane Battier’s bloody face is burned into my brain. I watched as Ron Artest went up against the late great Kobe Bryant and I watched as Kobe elbowed Ron and I watched as Ron was ejected - and that’s where the hate began.
You see, hate isn’t random. The Lakers would beat the undermanned Rockets in 7 games, and to this day it is still one of my favorite series of all time, even though my team lost. You see, that was the day I started to really pay attention. I wanted Kobe to lose so bad after that series that I obsessively watched every single Laker game the rest of that post-season. Hate Watching - the act of watching a game not because you want a certain team to win, but because you NEED a certain team to lose. Of course, if you’re a student of the game, you know that my hate watching was, well, unpleasant. The Lakers would go on to win the Championship against the Orlando Magic, beating one of my favorite players, Dwight Howard, in the process just to twist the knife deeper. The Lakers would go on to repeat in 2010 while I hate-watched every game once again.
The Rockets eventually gained prominence as a perennial contender with the arrival of James Harden - and a new era of my fandom began. I watched nearly every single game The Beard played as a Rocket, and with his success, I began to see him get the same treatment from fans online that I had given Kobe Bryant. Pure, unadulterated hate. I’m not proud to admit, but I have several comments worth of arguments on Reddit defending James from his haters. Eventually, it dawned on me - the Great Ones get the hate. Instead of being mad at all of the vitriol and toxicity, I started feeling proud. I was a fan of one of the best players in the league at the time and every time he beat another team, he would gain another hater.
That isn’t to say I don’t also appreciate the greatness I’ve seen over the years. Kobe Bryant broke my heart, it’s true, but I still appreciate the fact that I was able to witness the Black Mamba in his prime. Hate is respect. You don’t hate something that can’t hurt you. You hate what you fear. I feared Kobe. Other NBA fans feared James Harden.
You see, the average fan measures athletic success in championships and awards. I measure success in hate. The more hate you have, the better you are. I look forward to the future of the league and cannot wait to see who the next hated superstars will be. You see, that's what respect actually looks like. If you're being hated on, you're being respected. It may seem backwards, but that's ball. Respect and Hate look exactly the same.
Each week I’m gonna review and recommend random things - TV shows, music, or a restaurant. Whatever I feel like. This is my blog. This week’s Triple W is HBO’s ‘’The Penguin’’. Taking place after the events of “The Batman”, this crime drama follows the story of one of Gotham City's most notorious crime bosses - Oswald Cobb, the titular Penguin, played by Colin Farrell. A fantastic look into the criminal underworld of Gotham City, this show will have you on the edge of your seat, or futon in my case. You don’t have to be a Batman fan to enjoy, “The Penguin” is a well written, dark drama that takes you into the mind of a true gangster.
NEXT WEEK: Walker’s Wrantings - The RELUCTANTLY RESPECTED LIST - My top 10 most hated/respected NBA players of all time - a look into my twisted mind.