Fans traveled all the way from Germany to see Kevin Durant, who's not playing
As the NBA continues to expand its global reach -- and quietly challenge soccer as the most popular sport across the world -- there are more and more instances of diehard fans traveling to the United States to catch their favorite team or player in person.
On the surface, it's great. A trip to America and an unforgettable experience watching your favorite team or player play. What could be better?
It appears, though, as if these once-in-a-lifetime trips haven't gone as planned -- especially when the Oklahoma City Thunder are involved.
Last night, a fan traveled all the way from Japan to see his beloved Toronto Raptors get thrashed by the Thunder, undoubtedly ruining the fan's experience.
On Tuesday, two fans made the trek from Germany to Detroit to watch Kevin Durant, their favorite player, play, only to find out the Thunder were resting Durant 90 minutes before tip-off (via Royce Young of ESPN.com):
Five seconds after I took this picture I told them he wasn't playing tonight. "You're kidding! Oh no," was the reply pic.twitter.com/K0VVXhTSfm
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) March 29, 2016
Wow. What a bummer.
The biggest argument against resting is exactly this: Every time a team rests its star(s), there are hundreds, if not thousands, of fans who are making their lone trip to an NBA game that season -- and likely spending a fortune in the process --only to have to sit through a subpar contest because Star X is sitting out to prevent injury and (likely) improve his team's playoff chances.
Of course, resting players makes sense on a team-level. The Thunder don't care if fans miss out on seeing Durant or Russell Westbrook or Serge Ibaka -- they want to win a championship, and need those players healthy. They're already locked into the No. 3 seed out West, and have nothing besides momentum and pride to play for.
It's just an unfortunate situation overall, with no clear solution (besides, perhaps, shortening the season, which is unlikely).
The only takeaway: If you're planning on traveling to the U.S. to see an NBA game, make sure the Thunder aren't playing. Or that it isn't a Los Angeles Lakers home game this season.
Jovan Buha covers the NBA for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter: @jovanbuha.
