15 reasons Summer Olympics are better than Winter Olympics
By Brad Weiss
12. Impact on major sports
One of the things that makes the Summer Games so much better than the Winter Games is that it can serve as a feeder system to some of the major sports in the world. The Summer Games are sometimes the first look a fan can have at the next great boxer, or a European basketball player no-one has ever heard of.
USA Basketball participation in the Olympics has brought basketball global, and every year, more and more players from outside of the United States are being drafted high in the NBA Draft. In the 2016 NBA Draft, eight of the first 30 players selected came from outside the United States, and the Summer Games have played a big part in that.
Some of the best boxing in the world occurs during the Olympics, and it is really the only time the sport is popular now. Boxing used to be one of the biggest sports in the world, but now there are a handful of good boxers left. The Olympic boxing tournament is made up of amateurs, and since 1904, it has shown off the best young talent in the game.
Oscar De La Hoya, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), and “Sugar” Ray Leonard, are all legendary boxers who have won gold at the Olympics.
The Winter Olympics really have no feeder system outside of hockey, which is mostly made up of NHL players anyway.
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