‘Best I Ever Had’

The Knickerbockers did it!  Man, I can’t even imagine what the atmosphere would have been in New York if the Knicks couldn’t land the Mr. Melo.  This is great.  For anyone who thinks this isn’t great for basketball, think again.  Look at the teams with major stars:  Chicago, Boston, Dallas, L.A., New York, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Orlando, and Miami.  Not only do they have stars, but the cities themselves for the most part are large and in charge U.S. cities.  Heck, even check out the second tier teams like Atlanta, New Orleans and Utah have legit All-Stars.  I’ve had this on the tip of my tongue for some time and have not publically said so, but the NBA is the best it’s ever been.  Whether your still clinging to the 1980’s Celtics/Lakers rivalry or the Jordan era of the 1990’s, like it or not, the NBA is at a all-time high.  Don’t believe me?  Why not?  Nostalgia?  Honestly, how many teams could have possibly won the NBA championship during the Jordan Era?  Not many.  How about in the 1980’s?  Not many.  Really, go back and look at which of those teams you could really envision holding the trophy as the Celtics/Lakers sat home and watched.  Picture Jordan losing titles, or not in the finals?  It’s to hard to picture that happening.  You want stars in major markets?  You want parody in today’s NBA?  YOU HAVE BOTH! How many teams could prospectively win the world championship this season?  You could argue between 6 and 8 teams!  When else was that true?  Sure, we’ve had 3, 4, maybe 5 contenders, but 6-8?  And I’m not even counting Oklahoma or New York.  And that 6-8 number could grow, that’s the best part.  Should the Knicks land a top point guard in Chris Paul or Deron Williams, now they’re in the mix too.  People cry wolf because the Memphis’, Charlotte’s, and the Toronto’s of the world aren’t competing…but where they ever?  The league is thriving as it is, and the Melo deal just made it better than ever!  Check the numbers to back me up.  The All-Star game this past weekend was the highest viewed ASG since 1998!! Whether you think the Dunk Contest was good or bad, it was the highest viewed contest ever!  Maybe because were in the moment we can’t fully appreciate it, but the NBA is in a prime that we’re watching unfold.  There’s  never been so many stars, that are all so young, that are all in hot spot cities, all playing for winners.  Go through the playoff matchups if the season were to end now and tell me which series you wouldn’t watch.  Every single one is interesting.  Maybe I’m to young and my point of is jaded.  Maybe my NBA history ‘sample size’ is too small.  Or maybe I’m right.  Maybe this is the second coming of the league’s golden age where 8 NBA teams have multiple Hall of Famers.  An age we’ll look back and say 3 or 4 of the 10 best players in league history laced up their shoes in 2011 (LeBron, Kobe, Duncan, Dwight?).  Props to New York for pulling off the biggest trade the Knicks have had in Decades.  Props to Denver for having the guts to pull the trigger and getting something in return.  And props to the NBA as a whole for being the best I’ve ever had.