Caitlin Clark won’t bail out Adam Silver, LeBron James, and NBA All-Star weekend

The LeBron James-Adam Silver version of the NBA is such a dumpster fire that the best player in women’s basketball doesn’t want to be associated with the league.

That’s right. Caitlin Clark, the WNBA superstar, turned down an invitation to compete against Steph Curry in a three-point shooting contest in the NBA’s floundering All-Star weekend. A year ago, New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu jumped at the chance to compete against Curry from beyond the arc.

Had Clark accepted the same opportunity, it would be a major ratings draw for an All-Star weekend that has lost virtually all of its appeal. But Clark and her handlers smartly realized she shouldn’t attach her brand to trying to resuscitate the NBA, which has turned into the Fyre Festival of basketball during the LeBron James-Adam Silver era.

The WNBA and its players feel zero obligation to help the NBA. Feminists are not builders. They’re not providers.

James entered the league in 2003 hailed as the heir to Michael Jordan’s throne. After a successful eight-year run in Cleveland, James began the process of turning toxic when he took his talents to the Miami Heat as a shortcut to win championships. He ushered in the player-empowerment movement at the same time Silver succeeded David Stern as commissioner of the league.

Silver and James were a match made in basketball hell. Silver’s weak leadership allowed the players to seize total control of the league. The league’s biggest stars decided that jumping from team to team in search of championships is what served them best. They decided the injury risk in the All-Star Game justified a reduction in effort. They made the same decision about playing an 82-game regular season, popularizing load management/skipping games.

In terms of relevance and competition, the NBA is a shell of what it was during the Jordan-Magic-Bird-Stern era. Things have gotten so bad for the NBA that yesterday Silver floated his worst idea yet on how to improve the league. He wants to reduce the length of play of each game by shaving two minutes from each quarter.

“As we get more involved in global basketball, the NBA is the only league that plays 48 minutes,” Silver told radio host Dan Patrick. “And I would be — I am — a fan of four 10-minute quarters. I’m not sure that many others are. Putting aside what it means for records and things like that, yeah, I think that a two-hour format for a game is more consistent with modern television habits.”

It’s a white flag of surrender. NBA ratings have been in steady decline during Silver’s 10-year reign as commissioner. The game’s biggest star — James — turned himself into a polarizing figure with his shilling for China and Democrat politicians and his embrace of Black Lives Matter. James is the antithesis of Michael Jordan as an ambassador for the game. Silver is the antithesis of David Stern as a force for controlling the players.

The NBA’s best players are foreigners — Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Silver wants to give up on the American market and chase foreign relevance and television contracts. The NBA wants to be a streaming-service league.

Involving Clark in the league’s All-Star weekend was a desperate attempt to appease American sports fans. Clark is the biggest star in American sports. NBA All-Star weekend has turned into a yearly embarrassment for the league. Its events are an annual commercial for how much the league has declined.

Led by LeBron’s 20-year refusal to participate, the league’s best players no longer compete in the Saturday-night dunk contest. The dunk contest used to be a showcase for Doctor J and Michael Jordan to elevate their brands. Now unknown G League players and journeymen showcase their athleticism.

Despite multiple format changes, the All-Star Game features players sauntering up and down the court exchanging three-point shots. It’s a slow-motion version of a regular-season game, only the players smile and laugh throughout. This year, the game will feature four different All-Star teams. It’s a convoluted mess.

Mostly All-Star weekend is a traveling, three-day Lollapalooza for rappers, weed smokers, and sex workers. It’s the Freaknik disguised as Gus Macker basketball. (Freaknik was a wild spring break party in Atlanta during the 1980s and 1990s. Gus Macker is a three-on-three basketball tournament that was super popular in the 1990s.)

I don’t blame Caitlin Clark for avoiding the mess LeBron James and Adam Silver created.

You could argue that she owes the NBA a debt. The men’s basketball league has financed the money-losing WNBA for nearly 30 years. Silver probably wants to channel rapper Dr. Dre: “This is the thanks we get for financing this feminism s**t.”

Yes, this is the thanks you get. You created Frankenstein. The WNBA and its players feel zero obligation to help the NBA. Feminists are not builders. They’re not providers. They feel no obligation to help men.

And why would Clark feel obligated to help a league or a bunch of men who destroyed themselves by empowering the matriarchy? Like everyone else, she’s lost all respect for the NBA.

Feminists are not the allies of men. We must choose our allies wisely.