Basketball is a physical sport. As much as I concentrate my mind on a basketball, it probably will not fly into the hoop; my physical body is required. As such, players often do not play games when they are physically injured (e.g., fractured fourth metacarpals).
Drawing inspiration from positive psychology, I want to provide a counter perspective on this dominant narrative. The first part of this argument - that basketball is a mental sport - is not new, and may even be considered rote. The second part of this argument - which I find more interesting - is that basketball is negative.