Racial Calls to Balance Rosters Apparently Change With Times

There was once a nasty and open secret governing the selection of the 12th man on NBA teams: race.

In a league with increasingly more black players, front offices tried to balance rosters by keeping white reserves, especially at the end of their benches, since coaches customarily used only the top eight or nine players.

Some franchises were more concerned than others, among them the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns.

In Harvey Araton and Filip Bondy’s “Selling of the Green,” former Celtic Jo Jo White said, “Management is aware of the city. Red [Auerbach] was always smart enough to understand [racism] is there. Red played the hand that’s dealt him. That’s why Red always tried to keep it even--six blacks, six white, maybe seven to five.”

In the ‘90s with race a diminishing factor in audience decisions and teams hemmed in by the salary cap, there are thought to be fewer racial calls. For example, there are two white Celtics now, Eric Montross and Dino Radja, both of whom usually start.

Richard Lapchick, director of Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport, issues an annual report card on integration. In 1983, he wrote a book, “Broken Promises,” based on research he had done the preceding two NBA seasons.

“There was a dramatic pattern [then] and it wasn’t a position,” said Lapchick from Boston.

“The last time I looked, and we look every year, there was no pattern.”