NBA DNA Tells Story of Intergenerational Transfer Not Everyone Wants To Hear

Four members of the Golden State Warriors, the basketball team that beat the Celtics this month to become the NBA champions, are sons of professional basketball players.That doesn’t diminish the accomplishment, but it does add a layer of complexity. Sports are often seen as a domain of pure merit, where an individual’s hard work and talent are on display. Stories like the Golden State win, though, tell a story that is not only about individual achievement but also about the way families transmit excellence across generations though a combination of genetics and environment, or nature and nurture.The Warriors’ most valuable player in the finals, Stephen Curry, is the son of Dell Curry, who played 16 years in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, and Toronto Raptors. A Sports Illustrated article tells how when Stephen Curry was in high school, “father forced son to remake his jumper.” Afterward, the shot was released higher, making it harder to block.Another Warrior, Gary Payton II, is the son of a NBA Hall of Famer, Gary Payton, the nine-time all-star who played for the Miami Heat and Seattle Supersonics.Golden State also has Klay Thompson, whose father won two NBA championships playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, and Andrew Wiggins, whose father played for the Houston Rockets. Under the headline, “NBA DNA: Father’s Day came early for these four Warriors dads,” an article in the San Jose Mercury News says: “Being the son of an NBA star had its benefits. Growing up, Klay Thompson spent time in the locker room with Lakers legend Magic Johnson and was mentored by Kobe Bryant. Curry shot baskets before Toronto Raptors games with NBA All-Star Vince Carter. And Gary Payton II grew up as a ballboy for his father’s team, the Seattle Supersonics, grabbing rebounds from Shawn Kemp and handing out water bottles on the sidelines.”As that article points out, there are potential downsides, too: high expectations, pressure, the psychological burden of being pushed in a career direction in a way that might feel constraining rather than liberating.This isn’t exclusive to professional basketball. I’ve written about Olympic athletes whose parents were also Olympians, and also about how, a couple years back, the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team was starting an entire infield of sons of professional baseball players. Inherited privilege is under attack in America these days. Some universities are eliminating legacy preferences for children of alumni in college admissions. President Biden and congressional Democrats want to raise taxes on estates. When I wrote about the Blue Jays, I observed that they demonstrated the futility of political leveling efforts. Parents with valuable skills will find ways to transmit them to their children. Unless Congress plans to outlaw parents shooting hoops with their children or playing catch in the backyard after dinner, entirely preventing what critics call “hereditary elites” is impossible.One nice thing about the basketball example is that it undercuts the popular impression that these intergenerational transfers perpetuate racial privilege. Messrs. Wiggins, Curry, Thompson, and Payton are all Black. Contrary to what you may read in the left-wing press, it’s not only white people who inherit things of value from their parents. Non-tangible transfers of knowledge and skill can lead to tangible benefits. What is the value of that time Dell Curry spent working with his son on the release of his jump shot? Stephen Curry’s contract with Golden State reportedly pays $215 million over four years. That doesn’t include the substantial additional earnings Mr. Curry makes from endorsements.Sometimes the skills children learn from parents are specific and pre-professional, like a jump shot. Other times, what gets lovingly passed along is not a concrete skill but values — integrity, work ethic, a love of learning. Policymakers increasingly seem to be trying to eradicate these intergenerational transfers as inequitable. They are denounced as a kind of nepotism, akin to the British monarchy. Trying to obstruct such transfers entirely, though, is both impossible and counterproductive. If anything, government should be cultivating them. In the best cases, they lead to excellence. They are as American as basketball and fatherhood.Anyone who doubts it should look at some of the photos of the Golden State Warriors celebrating with their dads after winning the championship.

NBA DNA Tells Story of Intergenerational Transfer Not Everyone Wants To Hear

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