Basketball: 4 Simple Reasons The UK Should Care

Basketball is one of the fastest growing sports in the world, much of that can be attributed to the global growth of the sport. In just over a decade the United States has gone from walking through international tournaments, to being challenged, and even beaten. Argentina was the first to slay the giant and win gold, and today teams like Spain, Russia, and Lithuania are all contenders with NBA-level talent. Another team rising fast is Great Britain: ed by two-time NBA all-star, Luol Deng, Great Britain has become a team with great promise. The United Kingdom is blessed to have elite level athletic talent in almost all major sports around the world. The beautiful game may dominate but it's now time for a new sport to receive some limelight. Despite having an abnormally high 5 NBA players the UK has cut funding for basketball completely. Deng is a keg cog on a NBA title contender; now he is desperate for Britain to take it to the next level. After the announcement of the cut funding Deng immediately put together his proposal, organizing a petition and writing a letter personally the British Prime Minister David Cameron. And in February there was a reprieve after a hearing with the UK Sport Board - basketball is to receive funding for additional year. Ben Gordon, Byron Mullens, Joel Freeland, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu are all NBA rotation players; with so much talent why cut funding in the first place? The UK has a team with talent, and the sport continues to grow. But this minor miss-step can still be rectified: here are 4 reasons why I think the UK should care more about the game of basketball.