The new NBA Store opened on fifth avenue earlier this year. I’d been to the old NBA store. It was awesome, large and full of NBA wonder, from the past and present. This new NBA store is similar, but on a smaller scale. It features everything you could want from todays NBA. Ricky Rubio uniforms, NBA notebooks and shoes you can pay for with a body organ I’m sure. It’s cool, but what’s the new NBA store missing?
The historic values of the old NBA. Gone are the fabulous pictures of past players and the feeling that the NBA remembers and values its past. While that’s undoubtedly due to the smaller location, it’s still a huge hole. After experiencing the old store, it’s clear that this location isn’t big enough to hold all the amazingness. Surely the NBA saw the chance to get another prime location as something to jump on. That’s understandable. The problem is these exclusions further obscure the greatness of past players.
Young fans hear less about the Larry Bird’s, Dominique Wilkins and George Mikan’s of the world. That’s near as sad as kids throwing away morals and manners. These guys were amazing, both on and off the court. The NBA Store is obligated to give these guys attention. Maybe this location can’t fit them in. Eventually and hopefully they’ll move into a larger location.
When that happens, I expect past legends to get the space they deserve. As much as I love today’s NBA, the past NBA made the present game possible. You can argue about which players are better or worse, but everything starts somewhere. The NBA Store shouldn’t only be an economic environment, it should be a look into the NBA. How did it get this popular? Who where the household names of the NBA in the 60’s?
The new NBA store is worth checking out. Enjoy your stay, buy whatever you need, or do what it takes to bring out the brilliance in that experience. After you visit the NBA Store, find an NBA legend whose name you didn’t hear in the store and familiarize yourself with him. While the NBA Store is an enriching place on today’s NBA, it fails to bring light to what initially powered the league.