Basket Ball Z: The NBA’s finest and their Dragon Ball counterparts
With the NBA regular season upon us and Dragon Ball Super heating up over the past few weeks, now seems like an appropriate time to examine the NBA through the lens of the Dragon Ball universe.
I was late on the Dragon Ball bandwagon. Lots of millennials have fond childhood memories of Goku transforming into a Super Saiyan for the first time and beating Frieza (after about twenty episodes of fighting of course). Many recall watching an inconsolable Gohan collapse to the ground after his legendary victory over Cell, or the classic “It’s Over 9000!!!” scene. Not me! The first time I watched a full episode of Dragon Ball Z, I was a sophomore in college. I had never really considered myself an anime guy…man did I miss out.
A few episodes into DBZ the electric, albeit deliberate, fighting sequences and magnetic characters had me hooked. Watching characters constantly struggle to shatter their own personal power limits and defeat their rivals, often at unthinkable costs, is pretty damn compelling (notwithstanding the multi-episode buildups to fight sequences). That kind of visceral drama, played out between larger than life personalities, is something that draws people to professional sports as well. And in the world of sports, no league can match the titanic personalities and star power that the NBA has to offer.
Every day the NBA showcases incredible talent that competes for supremacy of the league. In addition to the awesome on-court spectacle, much of the league’s success derives from the mix of unique characters that make it fun and accessible to fans. Fans can now follow players in a way that was impossible just ten years ago. So many NBA players have become ubiquitous social media presences and their personality quirks are on constant display. This is especially true for superstars, who are the league’s lifeblood both on and off the court.
Beyond the clear thematic connections between the NBA and DB, we even use similar language to describe them! More so than in any other sport, analysts, commentators and fans incessantly debate NBA player rankings and legacies. They discuss abstract concepts like potential and often ponder the value of statistics and intangibles. This discourse is like DB’s, which emphasizes power levels, transformations, fighting techniques and unquantifiable traits like Saiyan Pride (damn right Vegeta we’re looking at you).
Let’s have some fun as we ease back into the NBA season. Based primarily on personality traits and career arcs, who are the DB doppelgangers of our favorite NBA personas? Warning! Some big names aren’t on this list… I guess they’re not Big Dragon Ballers!