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Since I was little I’ve always loved basketball. I spent my teen years growing up watching Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls win six NBA championships. Those days are long past now and it’s clear that the National Basketball Association is in need of a serious revival.
Unfortunately for the NBA, it seems the league has given rise to yet another dynasty, but this dynasty is anything but glamorous. The San Antonio Spurs are, in one word, boring.
Yes, Tim Duncan is arguably the best power forward in the history of the game. No one kisses it off the glass like Duncan and no one is as consistently good night in and night out as he is.
Duncan is a nice guy and has been a class act from day one, but the man plays with less emotion than a goldfish. You’d think after four championship rings he’d have something to smile about.
The Spurs uninspiring lineup also includes Manu Ginobli, who is the quickest, scrappiest and most unlikely character to be as good as he actually is. If you find yourself cheering for a Spurs opponent on any given night you won’t have to watch for long before you find yourself hating Ginobli. He, like his cohort Tony Parker, can slash to the basket in a flash, shoot it from anywhere on the floor and create problems for you all night long. Sadly though, for David Stern and NBA fans, therein lies the problem. Of the last nine NBA finals since Jordan’s last title each of the four in which San Antonio has played in and won have been the lowest rated. Very few are interested.
So this brings me to my point. It seems we have reached a point where the NBA has become more fascinating off the court. We no longer have Jordan, Magic and Bird to lift the NBA above mediocrity. We have LeBron, Kobe and the like, but they just haven’t measured up yet.
Therefore, like every off-season, it seems this one will be filled with speculation. How will the chips fall during the draft? It’s almost certain that Greg Oden and Kevin Durant will be chosen one-two by Portland and Seattle, but what after that? What will become of Kobe Bryant and his discontent in Los Angeles?
Will he be traded? Could that ever really happen?
How will teams like the Phoenix Suns and the Cleveland Cavaliers fix whatever problems prevented them from getting past the Spurs. Can anyone equip themselves to keep San Antonio from winning it all again next year? Whether that team comes out of the East or the West, the NBA better hope so.
Now I will give credit where credit is due and admit that San Antonio is good. Not just good, but very good. But anyone who knows anything about basketball understands minutes into Game 2 of the finals that Cleveland was out-matched, out-classed, out-worked and not even close to being good enough to beat the Spurs. It didn’t take us long to start thinking about free agency, the draft and whatever else that didn’t include the San Antonio Spurs.
I don’t know what direction the NBA is headed over the next five years but I hope that with the arrival of players like Greg Oden and Kevin Durant and with current superstars in place like LeBron and Kobe, that one of them can rise above the rest and lead the revival that this league so badly needs.
As for me, I’m already counting down the days to college football in August. And yes, I will even be watching the NBA draft, summer trades and hoping and praying that by this time next year we find anyone but the San Antonio Spurs dancing amidst confetti and champagne.
TATE CASTLETON
Assistant Sports Editor