What is the general strike of NBA players? Tell me about it.

Do you still remember Stern 1998' s "Stop Beard" in summer and autumn? For the sake of accuracy, we should say that Stern's beard first appeared in August. At the beginning of February, his beard occasionally came into close contact with the razor, just after he announced the cancellation of the all-star game. However, it seems that people only remember that the angry and fragile chairman of the alliance allowed his beard to grow wildly-from 1 July 1998 1 to1June 19991,and a 300-page agreement was finally released after half a year of tug-of-war. There is also a legend circulating in the street: one afternoon, while Stern was rushing to the barber shop, he was mistaken by passers-by for ZZ Top's bearded bass player at a corner of Manhattan Avenue.

This is a difficult tug-of-war-191day reached an agreement, resumed the basketball game in 204 days, and began to shrink the first round of the season on 2 19 days-who said that things would not be so serious? Ten years later, we should commemorate, not celebrate, the unprecedented catastrophe of NBA. It was this strike that weakened the whole league and took several seasons to recover. The game was interrupted for six months, and the fans suffered greatly. Stars and teams suffered heavy losses, and the league lost 464 games in a regular season, which greatly hit the enthusiasm of fans. 1994, Major League Baseball missed the World Series because of the strike. 1987, a player strike broke out in the NFL. In the 2004-05 season, NHL (Major League Ice Hockey) cancelled the whole season because of a strike. Like all leagues, the NBA allows labor disputes to destroy what remains of innocence in basketball games.

From then on, the slogan "I love this game" sounded even more insincere.

Looking back, Stern and the members of the board of directors of the League will tell you that the strike was an inevitable disaster and a key factor that gave birth to the "wage capping" plan. Players and the leaders of the players' union will say that this is a worthwhile battle, which proves that they can unite and fight for common interests.

Many fans will say that this whole thing is an embarrassing farce, a game in which 400 players and 29 bosses compete for $2 billion. With luck, both sides will say that this farce did not happen in the post-9 1 1 era. After all, the US military is going overseas, and the oil price has soared to $4 per gallon. Maybe yesterday will never happen again.

1998 general strike and its consequences left us something today. "Max player" was born, and they have the highest salary. The league wants to strictly limit the salary cap, but the players' union demands the widest possible salary space, just as O 'Neill, Mourning, Juwan Howard and Garnett enjoy a billion-dollar contract. According to the regulation of "maximum salary", the total salary paid by the team to the players shall not exceed a certain proportion of the total salary of the team. Subsequently, in the 1999 season, the player contract was controlled at around $86 million.

Because of this, the contract between Allen Iverson and Antoine Walker fell to 1 100 million yuan. This also inspired Steven Marbury's jealousy of Garnett. After only playing 18 games, the Timberwolves defender left Minnesota through a trade.

CBA avoided several strikes because the ceiling was linked to seniority. For the sake of economic benefits and freedom, young superstars, such as "Little Emperor" James (Knight), Dwyane Wade (Heat) and chris paul (Hornets), have all shortened their contracts with their respective teams.

The NBA is also plagued by the Wobigen Lake Effect (Note: The Wobigen Lake Effect originated from the fictional little town on the prairie written by Garrison Keller. This psychological effect means that most people think they are above average, but it is actually impossible. Every player thinks he is different, and almost half of the players classify themselves as "Max players". Some teams even take ten years to tell who is a genius and who is a mediocrity (Marbury, Zach Randolph, Francis, Shaquille O 'Neal and Gasol are among them). The latter often thinks highly of themselves, and as a result, the team lost their wives and soldiers.

The strike prompted the league to link the minimum wage with the qualifications of players, which is quite beneficial to veterans. They don't have to worry about enjoying the treatment of rookie and second-round draft players. Played a veteran contract in the NBA for more than 10 years, at least worth10 million dollars. A large number of middle classes in the alliance benefited from this.

Due to the strike in 1998, new terms such as "middle-level exception" and "half-year exception" will be widely circulated among basketball fans. This is as common as baseball fans talking about OPS (base rate+batting rate) and EAR (pitcher's responsibility scoring rate). For fans, the middle-class clause is simply a blessing, because the team has at least one chance to toss in the transfer market every summer. From $654.38+$7500 in the first season to $5.36 million in the 2007-08 season, the annual growth rate of 8% is also good news for role players, and Mavericks newcomer Sagena Diop has officially benefited from it.

Of course, strikes also have a cruel side. Veterans near the end of their careers lost their jobs-for example, Buck Williams never got a chance to play again, while dennis rodman only played 35 games, and his career ended hastily. Charles Oakley's expected $654.38 million from New York State also disappeared in the new contract terms. Glenn Robinson and Bryant Rivers lost their last multi-year contract. After losing Tom Gugliotta, the Timberwolves frantically signed joe smith. After the brutal strike, the timberwolves concocted another illegal contract. This completely annoyed david stern and ruined the future of Wolves.

Shawn kemp also became a tragic hero. He gained a lot of weight during the strike, so the coaches were worried about whether he could run freely on the field after the game resumed. Seattle supersonics's Vin Baker was in a bad state, and he even used alcohol to help him through the turbulent period of NBA.

The general strike has been deeply imprinted in the history of NBA, and the background color outside the stadium cannot be erased. I still remember that the former Bulls coach Phil Jackson commented that 1999 season was a shrinking season, and the quality of the Spurs' championship naturally faded a lot. Later, Jackson returned to the Lakers. In fact, in addition to the real emotional expression in the competition, many principles and pressures come from economic interests. No wonder Stern's "strike scene" is almost comparable to ingmar bergman's "marriage scene".

Here are some unforgettable memories:

At that time, Patrick Ewing, president of the Players' Union and Knicks center, planned some exhibition games, aiming at keeping the contact between players and fans and raising money for the players in trouble. "Looking at the athletes who take part in professional competitions, not everyone can stop worrying about money," he said. "They earn more money and spend more money." The last sentence is classic. So far, Ewing has been the laughing stock of ridicule.

Shaquille o'neal had planned to take part in a charity competition in Dallas, but the organizers asked him to be an audience because they were worried that O 'Neill could not even wear XXXL shorts. If you can't put on pants, O 'Neill must sit on the sidelines. "Pants were like bicycle shorts on him," recalled kenny smith, the sponsor of the competition. "I said, shark, you must have gained weight again."

Compared with others, Celtic defender kenny anderson hopes that his seven-year $49 million contract will be interrupted. The New York Times had a detailed understanding of Anderson's financial situation, and Anderson admitted that he spent about $75,000 on the maintenance and insurance of eight cars every year. Obviously, there must be some price. "You know, get rid of Mercedes," Anderson said. "As people say, the more you earn, the more you spend. I have to start saving money. "

During the negotiation in early February, a small number of fans gathered outside a hotel next to the NBA headquarters. Just walking past the fans, Jordan is enough to make them feel happy. No one mentioned that former US Secretary of State Kissinger also passed the same place earlier that day.

June 5438+10, the Wizards boss Abby Pauline complained about the tight economic situation of the team. Jordan is impatient with complaints from future bosses and partners. "If you can't compete with others, then sell the team." Marbury, who was young and frivolous, commented on Pauline like this. "Hey, there are too many old guys in the team."

Rocket veteran mario elie is tired of playing basketball, and tennis has become his new love. "I must cultivate new habits and hobbies, because I'm tired of playing like this."

Malik Ross was just a marginal player at that time, earning less than $500,000. His Lexus was stolen during the strike. He was turned away from a hotel in new york because he maxed out his credit card. Coupled with the repossession of his apartment, he had to go home and share a room with his 8-year-old brother Ricardo.

Billy hunter and Stern, the directors of the players' union, are experts in phrasing. 199865438+February, Stern said, "We are more likely to break up this season than start over." As early as June, he laid the foundation for the strike. "Many teams are better at screwing up than running." During the negotiation, Hunter questioned the owner's right to make money. He said, "It's like playing poker. First, they wait to see who is the most impatient. Unless they are prepared to compromise, there will be no 98-99 season, and this season will soon end. "

When the final agreement was reached, the focus of both sides turned to pay attention to the public's reaction. Jazz guard John stockton said, "If the fans don't come to watch the game, I won't blame them. No one is right about this. " Buckley interjected, "Everyone is a loser. We lost the game for three months, and we hurt the fans and the game. It will definitely cause great harm. "

In any case, many insiders, the boss of the capital team, are the biggest winners of this strike. The salary cap accepted by players is far below the market value, and there are many other concessions, which harm the interests of players and agents. "This is not a victory, nor a draw. We totally lost, "dan fegan, a famous agent, told the reporter of LA Daily News. "Overall, the final agreement was very bad." Fagan questioned Hunter. "If you have a brain tumor, you should have brain surgery instead of surgery."

For this labor dispute 10 years ago, who won or lost is still inconclusive, but its influence is obvious. When the cameras and reporters gradually moved away from the Chicago Union Center, GM also turned its attention to CBA. Jordan's observation of finger nerve injury came to an end. This so-called cigar knife accident may be the reason to prevent him from returning to the bull. Jordan announced his second retirement, which triggered new chaos in the post-strike era of NBA and the post-Jordan era.

This is another anniversary for us, as unpopular as the first one.