You know the NBA has conquered Twitter when the notoriously tight lipped Milwaukee Bucks GM John Hammond is considering adding his name to the already saturated list of social media users in the league.
By Jake McCormick
The notoriously tight lipped Hammond is drawing closer and closer to opening his own account, and it’s very reasonable to assume Twitter’s relevance extends beyond Brandon Jennings’ song of the day and Chris Douglas-Roberts’ sports inquiries.
Thanks to the newly acquired Jon Brockman, seven Bucks players now use the continually growing network that gives fans a mostly watered down glimpse into the NBA life, on and off the road.
If you’re into the whole voyeurism aspect of the Internet, you’ll mostly find tweets about such trivial matters like who is Twitter-stalking Tiny Gallon, what’s playing on Larry Sanders’ iPod, rehab updates from Andrew Bogut, and World Cup musings from Luc Richard Mbah a Moute.
Having so many players on Twitter presents an interesting subplot to the 2010-11 season, albeit one that falls a hair below whether Scott Skiles would use Rogaine after losing it all in the wake of an underwhelming season. (By the way, he has a fake account, and has a very firm stance on using the network during games, as he should).
Obviously having every young player in the team’s regular rotation on Twitter won’t improve their play on the court or win any close games against contending teams. They spend enough time together that interacting with 140 character expressions over a passive-aggressive medium won’t make or break their on-court chemistry.
But each of the current Twittering Bucks is under the age of 25 (Bogut is the oldest) and has yet to reach their full potential. It’s certainly possible that a group of developing teammates can further strengthen their connection in a social setting as they go through a full season of highs and lows.
In a sports world that is increasingly marketed like The Decision, and the line between an athlete’s personal and private life is blurred thanks to society’s unrequited love of voyeurism, it may be worth paying attention to how/if the Bucks become when they volunteer to share their personal lives with the world.
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