The strain of an 82 game NBA season has to be strenuous. With constant back to back, red-eye flight, and practices consuming these athletes time, a social and romantic life would seem hard to keep up.
To the contrary, it seems that dating and the nightlife is becoming more manageable due to what this unnamed General Manager called the “Tenderization” of the NBA, in a story written by Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.
“Tin-der-i-za-tion,” he repeated, “like the dating app. No need to go to the clubs all night anymore.”
An Ex-NBA All-Star also backed up this claim.
“It’s absolutely true that you get at least two hours more sleep getting laid on the road today versus 15 years ago,” says one former All-Star, who adds that players actually prefer Instagram to Tinder when away from home. “No schmoozing. No going out to the club. No having to get something to eat after the club but before the hotel.”
Haberstroh’s report also concluded that the proverbial Home Court Advantage is becoming more and more of a non-factor because of the change to charted flights, training system, and the fact that players are partying way less than those of past generations.
If you’d happened to be a passenger on one of those commercial flights that NBA players used to fly, what you would have seen was booze. You’d have seen it after games, too — in coolers in locker rooms, provided by the home team as a “general courtesy,” according to one NBA trainer. Heck, former player and veteran NBA coach George Karl said teammates drank at halftime of games back in the ’70s. They actually thought beer was hydrating. No, seriously. But times change. Just as commercial NBA flights fell out of fashion and team charters became the rule, “alcohol kind of stopped,” Karl says. “In general, players have become very serious about their profession. Players today have a more dedicated attitude about ‘This is big money.’ They’re very aware of having a plan, a plan of development, a plan of commitment, a plan of growing.”
With all the talk about resting players in the NBA, who is surprised that they prefer to stay at home more than often.