There’s no body-in-the-pantry mystery to the mutual love between basketball players and soccer players. The gradual influx of foreign stars into the NBA, the spread of the Jordan brand (and then its echo, Brand Beckham) like the empire stain in a history-textbook map, the obsession of executives in both sports with breaking into new global markets, have all broadened players’ horizons.
And given the same-but-opposite nature of the sports, the players must recognize their own intentions in each other’s highlight clips, coming back to them with an alienated majesty. So when Kobe shows up on the cover of ESPN The Magazine in a Barcelona kit, or yet another soccer star claims the number 23, it feels like two ships from the same navy raising proper colors when they pass each other at sea.
Still, I can’t say I was expecting to see an homage to Djalminha in the middle of this year’s dunk contest. But Rudy Fernández, the Trailblazers’ Spanish shooting guard, is planning to break out a little behind-the-back heel flick inspired by the former Deportivo de La Coruña midfielder. See Daryl for the video. The president of Deportivo is sending him a shirt.
Is this all just intra-Spain sporting signals being played out in Phoenix, or am I right in thinking that a soccer move (or more exactly, a soccer reference) appearing in the middle of arguably the most American event in sports has some sort of transcultural significance? Has anything like this ever happened at the All-Star Game before?
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by Brian Phillips · February 6, 2009
This dunk is going to get huge scores if he pulls it off on the first attempt. The dunk contest has been going on for so long that anything new that doesn’t involve a prop is bound to excite people.
He should really do something involving a 360-windmill and Don Quijote.
When ‘A’m'a’r'e’ Stoudemire and Steve Nash did their little soccer-informed combo in 2005, it seemed to astonish the crowd and the judges (and Kenny Smith). So I imagine this, which is much more impressive, will blow them away. And to think people were all meh about Rudy’s participation. But isn’t the element of surprise going to be missing now?
Ty — He could toss the ball toward the rim in a bedsheet! The “Sancho Panza”!
Fredorrarci — That’s right, there has been a hint of soccer in one of these things before. Decent header, too. As Daryl notes, it’ll be interesting to see if Rudy takes it up a key by wearing the Deportivo shirt during the contest. You may be right about the surprise factor, but then, I’m guessing most of the judges won’t exactly have been glued to the UEFA website looking for spoilers this week.
Well, a week is long time for a many-tentacled basketball blogosphere — though no-one there seems to have picked up on it so far.
There’s someone sitting at the Spanish commentary table wearing a Deportivo jersey…