Diversity In Basketball Continues To Trigger Players And Commentators | Bobby Burack

It turns out professional basketball players and sports commentators aren't as fond of diversity as they claim.

For the first time in decades, white basketball players are among the best in the world. Nikola Jokic is the best. Caitlin Clark has transcended women's basketball. Luka Doncic's stat lines are historic. Cooper Flagg looks like a future superstar.

It's not as if black players, who make up the majority of men's and women's basketball, have faded. LeBron James and Steph Curry remain the most popular players in America. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is universally recognized as one of the top three players in the NBA. Victor Wembanyama will almost certainly claim that title soon.

Most of the top players are still black. Rather, they simply share more of the stage with white players now than in the past. 

And that triggers people.

Kevin Durant complained this week that criticism of the NBA All-Star Game is really an attempt to elevate white players over black ones.

"You should ask the Europeans and the World team if they’re going to compete," Durant said. "If you look at Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic now, let’s go back and look at what they do in the All-Star Game … it’s a lot of bulls— with that. I can read between the lines on that. It’s a shot at black Americans. We’re controlling the sport. They’re tired of us controlling the sport."

Potential Democrat presidential candidate and current ESPN host Stephen A. Smith defended Durant's accusation Tuesday.

"David Stern to Adam Silver, these guys have supported these brothers, but America hasn’t always done so … if there were a bunch of Cooper Flagg(s) running around, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Dirk is from Germany. I’m talking about white American-born," Smith said.

"That’s a rarity in terms of superstar status in the US for the sport of basketball … KD is absolutely 1,000% right because if America had its druthers, it would rather not rely on the brothers. Even though you market NBA players who are brothers, it’s because you have no choice."

Whitening the sport, huh?

At this point, you probably expect us to cite some study that Durant and Smith used to support the statement that Americans don't want to root for "brothers." Unfortunately, they didn't provide one.

That is the recurring problem with arguments about great white hope-ism in basketball. There is never any evidence, at least not in this decade.

In 2023, ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins accused NBA MVP voters of favoring white players, even though only five white players have ever won the award. An ESPN columnist pushed back on supposed claims that Jokic was better than Michael Jordan. One problem, he never identified anyone making that argument. He was arguing with strawmen -- racist strawmen, that is.

Players and media also declared Caitlin Clark a beneficiary of "white privilege" during her rookie WNBA season, even as black players targeted her with hard fouls and public criticism.

Now, Smith claims Americans are turning Cooper Flagg into a fan favorite because he's white. In reality, Flagg's jersey ranks 11th in sales. Curry's is No. 1.

We can't help but view these false claims as a projection. Stephen A., Perkins, and the mean girls of the WNBA seem accustomed to favoring athletes and people based on the color of their skin. So they assume everyone else does too.

But that's not the case. Clark is a superstar largely because of her Curry-esque style. That does not make her fans racist, as ESPN reporter Monica McNutt claims. Further, neither Jokic nor Doncic is all that popular despite their elite, league-leading play.

In fact, the most popular athletes in America, a majority-white nation, are black, including Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Steph Curry, Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James, and Serena Williams.

Luka Doncic (L) of Slovenia speaks to Nikola Jokic (R) of Serbia during the International Basketball Friendly match between Serbia and Slovenia at Belgrade Arena on August 21, 2025 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

What’s happening here is obvious. As Jason Whitlock says, it’s race idolatry. There is clear discomfort with the rise of elite white players.

Consider activist Dr. Umar Johnson's argument in 2023 that the rap community should not accept Eminem because he's white in a predominantly black art form.

"Eminem has all the privileges of a white male and all the privileges of being in the hip hop community, so we got to be careful about letting non-Africans into our community," Johnson said.

Since 2020, society has relentlessly pushed the idea that white people seek to oppress black people. That rhetoric breeds animosity. Listen to Durant and Gilbert Arenas. They sound territorial about white players entering "their" space.

"We’re controlling the sport," Durant said. "They are taking the league from our people," Arenas said of Jokic and Doncic.

Combining the reluctance to accept white players with the perception that they are inferior athletes, Wisconsin–Green Bay basketball coach Doug Gottlieb explained in 2023 how black players can view their white counterparts in the locker room.

"Most black [people] and a lot of white guys think white guys can’t hoop and need special treatment in order to be viewed on the same level," Gottlieb said.

Put plainly, some members of the sports media and basketball community see white basketball players as DEI hires.

Ultimately, Jokic, Clark, Doncic, and Flagg are not the Great White Hopes. They are the Great White Villains. There is no evidence of white America rallying behind them because of their skin color. There are, however, pages of examples of black commentators and players bristling at their success, suggesting they don't belong.

Apparently, diversity is not a strength on the basketball court.