How Many NBA Players are Jehovah’s Witnesses?
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The NBA, or National Basketball Association, is a professional basketball league based in the United States of America with one team from Canada, the Toronto Raptors.
It is considered the most successful basketball league of all time, generating billions of dollars in revenue annually and boasting a global viewership of about a billion people.
The NBA is comprised of 30 teams across North America.
These teams are divided into two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, each consisting of three divisions.
Some well-known teams include the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors.
The NBA season typically starts in mid-October and ends in early April. Each team plays 82 games, with 41 games at home and 41 games on the road.
The teams compete within and outside of their divisions to secure a good record and qualify for the playoffs.
The NBA playoffs are a tournament held at the end of the regular season to determine the league champion.
The top eight teams from each conference qualify for the playoffs, and they compete in a series of best-of-seven games to advance to the next round.
The playoffs culminate in the NBA Finals, where the champions of the Eastern and Western Conferences face off for the title.
The NBA Draft is an annual event where teams select players to join their rosters. It is a way for teams to acquire new talent, including international and college players.
The draft consists of two rounds, and the order of picks is determined by the teams’ records from the previous season.
The NBA has gained immense popularity not only for its on-court action but also for its influence on popular culture.
The league has been able to capture the attention of fans through exciting games, star players and marketing efforts.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a millennialist denomination that developed within the larger 19th-century Adventist movement in the United States and has since spread worldwide.
They believe that they are living in the last days and look forward to the imminent establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses are an outgrowth of the International Bible Students Association, which was founded in 1872 in Pittsburgh by Charles Taze Russell.
Russell was succeeded as president in 1917 by Joseph Franklin Rutherford (Judge Rutherford; 1869–1942), who changed the group’s name to Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1931 to emphasize its members’ belief that Jehovah, or Yahweh, is the true God and that the Witnesses were his specially chosen followers.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God’s kingdom is a literal government in heaven, ruled by Jesus Christ and 144,000 “spirit-anointed” Christians drawn from the earth.
They reject Trinitarianism, inherent immortality of the soul, and hellfire, which they consider to be unscriptural doctrines.
They also consider the use of God’s name vital for proper worship.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are known for their door-to-door preaching, distributing literature such as The Watchtower and Awake!, and for refusing military service and blood transfusions.
They also reject celebrations such as Christmas and Easter.
Several cases involving Jehovah’s Witnesses have been heard by Supreme Courts throughout the world.
The cases generally relate to their right to practice their religion, displays of patriotism and military service, and blood transfusions.
Some critics argue that Jehovah’s Witnesses are not true Bible Christians because they reject the only authority there is in the world for the Bible, namely the Catholic Church.
Others argue that they manipulate mankind’s natural feelings and fears.
Jehovah’s Witnesses compose less than 1 percent of US adults, yet are among the most racially and ethnically diverse religious groups in America.
According to Pew Research, no more than 4 in 10 members of the group belong to any one racial and ethnic background: 36 percent are white, 32 percent are Hispanic, 27 percent are black, and 6 percent are another race or mixed race.
There are currently three NBA players who are Jehovah’s Witnesses; Danny Granger, Dewayne Dedmon and Darren Collison.
However, there may be more players who practice this religion but have not publicly disclosed it.
In addition, several current NBA players follow the Jehovah’s Witness faith, such as Jonathan Isaac, Trey Burke and Jahlil Okafor.
It is worth noting that the NBA is a diverse league with players of different nationalities, races, religions and even sexualities.
Content retrieved from: https://thescoop.co.ke/2024/08/nba-jehovahs-witnesses/.
