u/Commercial-Dog3567

Got in a large debate at my LCS.

The debate was that 99% of cards, from the moment you buy them, start depreciating. I was on the side that said this is true. The player we were focused on was Anthony Edwards, specifically (before he lost in the playoffs). The shop took the side of “Well, his cards are a great deal now, 10 years from now they’ll be worth so much more.” I told them, even if he wins a championship in the next 10 years and let’s say an MVP 20 years from now, he’ll be worth next to nothing, compared to what his cards are selling for now. There are clearly players who don’t fit this mold of consistent depreciation (LeBron, Steph, Brady, Ohtani), but 99% of players will be worth next to nothing 20 years from now, right? Cause you can buy all the Ex All-Star cards from the 80s and 90s for next to nothing.

Growing up, I used to play pickup every weekend from sunup to sundown and had a few experiences of people being disrespectful or trash-talking, but nothing overtly crazy. Most people understood it’s pick up basketball, we aren’t making the NBA, we are out here to have some fun, put some shots up, and win here and there. For context, I played basketball 3 years of highschool, had D3 offers didn’t accept because I dropped out before I could.

I recently started getting back into pickup basketball, and the culture has shifted DRASTICALLY. These people swear they are playing for the Lakers, miss a shot, you won’t get the ball again, your man makes a shot on when you are on defense, your own team is now calling you out. A key example of this that happened recently was this kid, probably around 17, who was in our pickup games. You could tell that he was new to basketball, but still wasn’t awful. He runs to the corner. I pass him the ball; he pulls it because he is wide open, but he misses it. Next possession, he goes to the same spot. His defender was a bigger guy, so he was still running back on defense. I pass it to him in the corner; he pulls it and misses it again. Immediately after that, one of my teammates screams out loud, “Yo, stop giving him the f*****g ball”. This isn’t new, and it's not from the same person. It happens almost every game: 2-3 people on the court take it so unbelievably seriously that they just become toxic.

So my question is: has basketball culture shifted, or something similar, in the last 5-10 years? Because I frankly don’t even go to the gym anymore to do these runs, because it ends with me or someone on the court being called something crazy when scored on, or not even getting passed the ball.

Also, for background, I played basketball in Las Vegas and San Diego (when I was in the military). I’m now out and live in a new city, Columbia, Sc so maybe the area might take it more seriously, I’m not sure? Especially since there are no gyms here with basketball courts, only rec centers.