Any recognition of one star's excellence by another is worthy of reflecting upon (that picture of Iverson/Marbuy/Jordan embracing in the tunnel post All-Star game is itself a labyrinth), but when the nod comes from a curiosity in tenuous standing like A'mare, then shit gets real.
More than anything, I think this exchange exhibits Amar'e the aesthete. For some reason, most likely his flakiness on the defensive side, this is a guy whose grasp of the game and what makes it beautiful is criminally underrated. Dilettantes don't flourish under weirdos like D'Antoni and consistently reach moments of pick 'n' roll transcendence. The emerging meme here seems to be "Amar'e sees his past in the future, laughs at his own futility in the face of progress." Yeah, great, but then like Amar'e is only 28 years old and, lord willing, is still defining his own archetype.
Consider this:
"My Game is Made Outside." Nike's finest and perhaps most overlooked campaign. In addition to Stoudemire, such noted craftsmen as Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd were featured. (LeBron too, but that's another sack of gray matter). In addition to musing on the confining nature of positionality, Amar'e also recounts his first dunk, which occurred in an empty YMCA in Winter Haven, Florida. According to the ad, it wasn't until almost a week later that the 11-year-old Amar'e was able to recreate the feat for his friends on the outdoor courts. He also mentions "soul" several times in the commercial, but rather than invoking the rote "I play with soul" cliche, Amar'e instead sounds like he is commenting on the healing powers of sport on his soul. Rather than some jingoistic notion of "soul" dictating game, Amar'e's soul's thriving seems to be dependent on his game. Nourished by it. How does the "My Game" commercial inform "the nod?" It's really as simple as one disciple of the dunk sharing communion with another. S.T.A.T. may have flirted with Judaism since arriving in the Big Apple, but a Black Jesus tat is forever. Amen.
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