There are racial undertones all across the NBA—as long as you know where to look for them. And one place where we always noticed it was in Indiana. That 2013 ECF vs the @pacers was tough. I broke it all down in my latest newsletter --> The Last Chip https://www.thelastchip.com/p/the-conference-finals

And any time you travel to Indiana for an NBA game, you’re faced with the same narrative: This is basketball country. Sure, many of the players on the Pacers were Black, but have you ever seen the crowd in Bankers Life Fieldhouse? Shit’s as white as a Trump Rally.

To some extent, this is true wherever you play in the NBA. Teams have every kind of fan—white & Black, rich & poor—but tickets are expensive, income inequality is real, and no matter the city, you’re liable to look at the stands—especially courtside—& catch a sea of white faces.

For a long time, players kept quiet about this, but moments of reckoning like the one we’re in now are when we confront hard truths. Like the fact that fans in the stands at NBA games tend to be much less diverse than players on the court, not to mention viewers watching at home.

This series was intense, as seen by this photo I found of me after nailing a three-pointer in Game 7. Subscribe today to The Last Chip --> I'm going to be dropping some special newsletters soon that you won't want to miss. $5/mo benefitting #BlackLivesMatter via @ColorOfChange