According to Hanno Möttölä, the significance of the NBA star game must be understood through the social framework.
Lauri Markkanen knows the show elements typical of the NBA. The Finn has worked really hard this season. In this picture, Bulls’ Nikola Vučević ends up on the poster. ZUMAwire/MVphotos
Lauri Markkanen has lined up selection for the NBA all-star game as one of his big goals.
However, to a Finnish ear, dreaming about a “game of chicken” sounds somewhat strange.
Let’s give Finland’s first NBA player Hanno Möttölän explains what the All Star clash is all about.
The former Atlanta Hawks man reminds us that the event and its importance reflect well the deep commitment of American society and sports to commercialism.
– The NBA is very much marketed through individuals and personal brands are a big deal. Sure, legendary clubs like the Lakers and Bulls resonate with a large audience, but the sport is promoted through individuals. If you are an All Star player, it increases the value of your brand, Möttölä opens.
Trump card
Lauri Markkase can become the first Finnish player in the NBA’s all-star game. AOP / USA TODAY SPORTS
The value of a brand is naturally measured in money.
– And of course it is also important for the next salary negotiations. Even if we are talking about the opinion of fans and coaches – that is, it is not a factual statistic, as a result of which you become an all-star player – it is still important financially and as a status symbol, Möttölä points out.
– Branding and personal image are big things. It may sound quite foreign to us in Finland, because we don’t have money in sports here. There are no name-brand shoes or anything else, but in the big world, such a choice still matters a lot.
The players talk from his legacy, of inheritance. The star status ceremoniously roots them in the same elite group as the greats of the sport. The achieved reputation lasts until the pin.
Möttölä uses one of the superstars of his active time as an example Tim Duncanwhose statistics he throws from the hip to the model correctly.
– Five championships, a fifteen-time All-Star and two MVPs. That’s how those players are introduced and then remembered in the history books. Championships, MVPs and All Star selections. Only after that will it come whether he has won the Corinth home statistics or something else, he will open the statistical hierarchy of the sport there.
A place to hang out
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, left, Jason Terry and Hanno Möttölä on the floor in January 2002. Abdul-Rahim’s All Star spot was a point of pride for the entire Hawks team. ZUMAwire/MVphotos
Möttölä himself describes the star match as a “circus” and “clowning”, but the various show elements built around the event make it an attraction that attracts both celebrities and athletes.
– A lot of players travel to the All Star weekend, who don’t even participate in anything, they just go there to hang out, Möttölä knows.
This year’s destination is Salt Lake City, the hometown of Markkanen’s club Utah Jazz, where the carnival will be held from 17th to 19th. February.
The players in the All-Star game are chosen by the votes of fans (50%), coaches (25%) and players (25%). Voting that requires logging in takes place on the league’s website. You can participate from anywhere in the world.
One is not enough
Hanno Möttölä remembers how the entire Atlanta Hawks team rejoiced Dikembe Mutombo and By Shareef Abdur-Rahim from invitations to the star game at the beginning of the millennium. Hopefully, the same ventilations will soon be seen in the Utah Jazz locker room.
According to Möttölä, Markkanen’s entry to the event organized at Jazz’s home arena would further increase the Finn’s appreciation behind the rapako.
– There are hardly any European All Star players in history, so of course it’s a great achievement. After that, he is the All Star player Markkanen. But Lauri’s next goal is to be an All-Star player for the second and third time, the Finnish legend underlines his compatriot’s ambition.
However, star anxiety remains in the background when talking about the goal that motivates the players every day. Markkanen and the Utah Jazz will have to work hard and score in order to reach the playoffs this spring.
– Then, of course, if you are lucky enough to be able to play in a championship-seeking team, then that is the real goal of the season. Utah is not in that situation yet.
Hanno Möttölä knows that entering the star game affects a player’s reputation. Jussi Eskola