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Rivalries that saved the league The NBA didn’t grow on the back of fair play and harmony. It grew on pure ani- mosity and the clashes of titans. The league was in such a crisis in the 1970s that the finals were only broadcast on national tel- evision at midnight, in delayed timeslots. Then, in the ‘80s, two rivals emerged to save the day: Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) and Magic Johnson (LA Lakers). Their rivalry injected pure adrenaline into basketball’s bloodstream. It pitted the working-class heroes of the east against the Hollywood showmen from the west. When the 1990s added to this mix the “flying” force known as Michael Jordan (who first had to survive bloody beatings from Detroit’s famous “Bad Boys” before becoming a champion), the NBA was no longer just a sporting league. It had become a global pop culture phenom- enon, making basketball a billionaire-dol- lar industry. A ring as the Holy Grail The NBA trophy is nice, but it’s the title ring that defines the legacy. An NBA championship ring is weightier than the gold used to make it – it stands as proof that a player has survived 82 games of a brutal season and two more months
of fierce play-offs. The absolute record holder is Bill Russell, Boston’s legend- ary 1960s center, who won 11 champion- ship titles. He ended up with more rings than fingers. The league’s biggest names have always been more than athletes. This goes for the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 100 points in a single game; Kobe Bryant, with his “Mamba Mental- ity”; and LeBron James, who continues to defy biology in his 40s. And then, of course, there are modern European play- ers like the untouchable Nikola Jokić or Luka Dončić. Temples of basketball: New York and Chicago Basketball is essentially an urban sport, played on concrete and street- side courts surrounded by wire fencing. If you’re crossing the ocean with Air Serbia this autumn, the airline’s direct flights take you straight to the heart of two major basketball towns, so you can visit those basketball courts where leg- ends were born. After that, of course, don‘t miss New York’s Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks. Despite having not won a title in dec- ades (they‘ve been waiting since 1973),
MSG remains the world’s most important stage. You don’t attend this venue just to watch the game. From Spike Lee sitting courtside and yelling at the referees, to the acoustics that amplify every squeak of the players’ footwear, the Garden is pure theatre. Being great in New York means being an all-time great. Chicago’s United Center, on the other hand, resembles a giant spaceship, though it’s actually the house that Michael Jor- dan built, as the Temple of the Chicago Bulls. You are greeted upon arrival by the famous bronze statue of Jordan in flight (titled The Spirit) that adorns the arena’s East Atrium. Inside, under the hall’s vaulted ceiling, hang six champi- onship banners from the ‘90s that testi- fy to the most dominant dynasty in the history of modern sports. Chicago’s bas- ketball atmosphere differs from that of New York: tougher, louder, and imbued with that working-class pride of Amer- ica’s Midwest. Ultimately, basketball remains the same game that was invented by Naismith as a cure for winter boredom. A ball, a hoop, and that moment of silence as the ball flies through the air. The only difference is that the stage is today a billion times bigger.
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