Essay on how the internet, risk aversion, and globalization changed NBA style and led to a perceived decline in basketball 'cool'.
Preview0:00-14:45Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade.Ock Sportello on how the internet, risk aversion, and globalization ushered in a basketball swag crisisJun 20, 2025∙ PaidThis is a free preview of a subscriber-only episode.For as long as any of us can remember, the NBA has been the cultural North Star of the United States. But according to Ock Sportello, author of a viral Substack article called “Toward a Unified Theory of Uncool,” the league has become a microcosm of the ways that economic risk aversion and image production in the age of social media are rendering the culture at large… increasingly swagless. To celebrate the final weekend of the NBA season, Emilie and boyfriend-of-the-pod/co-host of the excellent new show Macho Pod Drew Millard brought on Ock to discuss how “aura” replaced “coolness,” the erasure of regional identity in the age of globalization, and what the basketball superstars of 2025 have in common with the West Village Girls. Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Emilie Friedlander.
