Okay, so, I’ve been digging into this whole “Jewish owners in the NBA” thing, and let me tell you, it’s been quite a ride. I started with the basic question: how many NBA team owners are Jewish? Seems simple, right? Nope. Turns out, it’s not as cut and dry as you’d think.
First, I made a big ol’ list of all the current NBA teams. We’re talking 30 teams in total. Then, the real work began. I started going through the ownership groups for each team, one by one. It was like peeling an onion, layer after layer of investors and whatnot. I used some information I found on the internet.
For example, with the Atlanta Hawks, you’ve got this guy Tony Ressler as the main owner, along with some other people like Grant Hill. Then there’s the Boston Celtics, owned by Wyc Grousbeck and Stephen Pagliuca. And over in Brooklyn, the Nets are owned by Joe Tsai. The Charlotte Hornets? They’ve got Gabe Plotkin at the helm.
And you know what I found out? A good chunk of these owners are Jewish. It’s actually pretty interesting. Some folks even call basketball a “Jewish sport” because, back in the day, a lot of Jewish immigrants in big cities used to play it. It was cheap and easy to pick up, you know?
Now, I’m not saying I got a definitive number of Jewish owners, but it’s definitely noticeable. And what’s also interesting is that there aren’t many African-American owners in the NBA. Remember Michael Jordan? He used to own the Charlotte Hornets, but he sold his share.
So, yeah, this whole investigation took me down a bit of a rabbit hole. I was reading about the history of basketball, the backgrounds of these owners, and even some debates about diversity in sports ownership. It’s way more complex than just counting heads. It really got me thinking about the history of the sport and who’s running the show today.
Here’s a quick rundown of what I did:
- Made a list of all 30 NBA teams.
- Researched the ownership groups for each team.
- Identified some of the main owners like Tony Ressler, Wyc Grousbeck, and Joe Tsai.
- Learned about the history of basketball and its connection to Jewish communities.
- Noticed the lack of African-American owners in the league.
It’s been a fun little project, even if it didn’t give me all the answers. Sometimes, the journey is more interesting than the destination, you know? And hey, at least now I know a bit more about who’s calling the shots in the NBA.
