- http://suite101.com/article/why-are-the-dutch-so-tall-a55753
Yes, it could be said that the Japanese do not value basketball because they have historically not found success in it on the international scale, which would be because of their genetic predisposition to being shorter than even the Chinese. Genetics shape culture and culture can reinforce genetics. But it's not all about genetics. That's my entire point: there is no single variable that can claim why Kenyans run so well. But people want to say that it's genetics that make a good marathoner. That's just not the case, it takes both genetics and environment.
This is not a novel concept, but for some reason when it comes to lay people talking on the internet about sports, they don't want to admit it. The world is complex, there are shades of grey, nothing is black and white.
Within a breeding population, height tends to follow a normal distribution. Depending on the standard deviation, there will be a few Japanese taller than the average Dutch. But there will be far more Dutch than Japanese among the very tallest men. This is a simple example, but in a sport where height matters, like basketball, there will be far more Dutch who are good at it than Japanese, and far more Japanese than pygmies.
Certainly culture matters, especially in sports where intelligence matters more and raw physical talents matter less. But genetics also matter.