system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why is the NBA predominantly a black man's sport?

Was watching a game with friends when the question came up. Someone said it's because they're raised playing it, my black friend tried to argue that it was because black people are generally more athletic. Hopefully someone can solve this dispute.
gpt
Basketball is a popular urban sport.  It doesn't require much space.  A court is inexpensive, durable and requires no maintenance and the can easily be used for other community functions.  The only equipment you need is a ball and the shoes on your feet.

In the early days of the NBA, it was seen as a **Jewish** sport, since there were a lot of Jews living in urban areas playing the game intensely.  Due to complex socio-economic factors, the wealthier Jews moved out of the dense cities and the poorer Blacks moved in, leading the Blacks to play more basketball.

You also need to factor in that Blacks still generally come from lower socio-economic backgrounds, have less educational & career opportunities than other races.  This leads many of them to pursue athletics as a way to achieve success in life.

Blacks have a small advantage over whites.  On average, it's not really that noticeable but when you're only picking 500 of the best athletes in a country of over 300 million, that little edge starts to make a big difference.

It's interesting to note that, as the Hispanic population in the US continues to rise (especially in urban areas), the NBA has aggressively started marketing the sport to Hispanic viewers.  It probably won't be long before we start seeing more (American) Latino players in the league.   We already have some big names, like Carmelo Anthony & Brook Lopez.