But there is no system whereby we can truly know who can perform the best beyond trying our best to figure who is the most talented amongst those who have chosen to dedicate themselves to the sport. The decision to attempt to become a professional athlete is something most people with “better” options don’t seriously entertain because they know that it is such a long shot because doing so will close many doors along the way. You really need to take a look at the types of people that tend take those odds; poor people.
Poor people actively pursue a career in professional athletics for the same reason they play the lottery more often (twice as much in some studies). They play the lottery because they wrongly see it as the best way of dramatically improving their circumstances. A rich White kid is far less likely to entertain pipe dreams whether they be playing in the NBA (where Blacks dominate), the MLB (where White dominate), the EPL (where Americans lag far far behind), or buying a lottery ticket. To more affluent people, the money used for a lottery ticket is better spent on something more likely to pay off. In the same way, the hour spent practicing free throws for a more affluent kid is better spent studying for a history exam.
In theory this would be true, but fails for a number of reasons. Most people don’t get their choices weeded out for them based on their deficiencies. For most of us, you never reach your level of incompetence; you generally gravitate towards what interests you, what is culturally important to you, and what comes easiest to you. Your innate skill set is important, but most people never travel far enough down the road to ascertain what they are truly good at. I’m sure you did not decide to become a doctor because superior lawyers, architects, pornstars, rappers, pianists, grifters, and tv news anchors outperformed you in those fields. Do you really know whether you would be a great Mahjong player, cricket player, or archer?
You assert this, but IME, this is simply not true. Blacks do have more opportunity and nurturing. In general, poorer (Black) people in the city have more basketball courts closer to them. More importantly, there is a dearth of most other athletic fields. They also have more opportunity to play, and play a style of ball that is dominate in the current NBA, against competition weeded out based on skill level rather than age (as it generally is in the majority White suburbs). Many also have fewer “distractions” (involved parents, family vacations/dinners, SAT classes, etc.).
I currently live in Washington, DC. I can find a basketball game, within 5 miles of me, going on from morning to midnight during most months of the year. Where I grew up (playing basketball), near Princeton, NJ, it was difficult to find pickup games outside school sanctioned events.
When I do play here, my level of playing time is directly proportional to how I stack up against the people playing at that time. You rarely play against people you are much better than (except by choice). If you suck, you don’t get to play. If you lose, you get off the court. The playground system is one that rewards superior athletes with more practice, against better competition, on a more regular basis. In the suburbs, most people play against others their age regardless of skill, or (as adults) whoever is around. I would guarantee that a dedicated Black player in the city would have played far more hours of basketball against better people than a similarly determined White kid in the suburbs. In the end, that’s what will make all the difference.
Even though there will initially be more White kids playing basketball, they will largely be playing against substandard competition in a relatively small, isolated area. Even though the aggregate is numerically greater, the effective competition is smaller in number and inferior in skill. The average Black kid goes to a larger school with a larger talent pool. This is why high school sports are generally segregated by school size.
As a result, the best coaches are generally located in cities and prep schools (which often recruit from the city). This list of the top 25 high school basketball teams does not include any school from a small or rural area. Newer basketballs, better gyms, and fancy uniforms generally don’t make you a better better player. Neither does having a better funded, more formal system if there are informal systems that supplement those in place which are more capable of producing desirable outcomes.
Lastly, you forget how players are filtered at the higher levels which tends to favor Blacks from certain circumstances. NBA players are generally not drafted from small liberal arts schools or Ivy-league schools. Draftees usually are not hard science majors, or people who plan to attend grad school. Colleges scout based on stand outs from AAU and other club teams (which are more common in cities), and large high schools. Bigger tournaments are held in larger venues, and are more widely reported and scrutinized. Consequently, a player with a greater, larger stage will consistently get more opportunities to play at a higher level.
Perhaps, but when opportunity has obviously not been normalized, and their are other substantiated factors in play, it seems foolish to assume causation based on scientifically dubious claims.