The state of the NBA

[ripdog]

As I watch the Sonics jump out to their usual hot start, I can't stop myself from thinking back to the days when Magic, Kareem, Larry, and Isiah ruled the court. Back then it didn't matter if your team sucked. If Boston and L.A. were playing--it was an event. Where are those games now? Non-existent. The NBA is a shell of its former self and will never return to the glory days of the 1980's. Who are the stewards of the game today? Kobe the rapist? The big Aristotle? Allen Iverson? I absolutely hate Kobe and Allen. Shaq is somewhat less digusting, but no peach himself. At least I'll always have the memory of the truly awesome games between the true greats. You could tell that they played for the love of the game and the competition. I believe that the glory days are gone forever for the NBA. What we have today is just uninteresting. Who really cares which of these bloated egos wins the championship? I'll root for the Sonics because they're my home team and because Nate McMillan is at the helm. Hopefully he will have them playing the kind of defense that he played, bad knees and all. Still, the game is less interesting without the likes of Magic and Larry. There will never be excitement like that again. I could have written the same thing about boxing--Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Cosell. The glory days of sports are long gone. I'm glad that I was alive to see it first hand and without having to cough up $60 for Pay-Per-View. Pro sports are a joke today in comparison to the 80's. I'm amazed at how quickly they fell.

[lapoker17]

I was a Sixer fan as I grew up during those great years - Julius, Moses, Cheeks, Toney - throw in a young Barkley - what a time to be a kid who loved hoops. I agree that it's not the same, but I take issue with the tenor of your post.

Iverson has as much heart as anyone who's ever played the game. Kobe (who I don't like) is not a rapist (read the transcripts of his police interview on the Web). And Shaq is hilarious.

The problem, I think is mutli-fold. First, the supply is on overload. Back then, those games were an event, because there was no such thing as the NBA package, or TNT, or the NBA on ESPN. There just weren't that many games to watch, so each game we saw meant more.

Also, the fact that Bird was a deadbeat (abandoned his daughter), and Magic, though married, was banging everything in sight and Isaiah and Kareem were just dicks wasn't an issue, because the media was so much softer, and we never really knew who these guys were.

Lastly, expansion always makes the product worse - It will take some time to fill in the roster gaps left by the addtion of new teams.

I admit that the game itself is less enjoyable to watch right now. No mid-range jumpers, no movement, few great passers/defenders, but I get upset when people somehow attribute the NBA's decline to the rise of thugs. The guys are basically the same, they just have more tatoos, more money and we know more about their private lives.

Additionally, I think we have fewer great coaches right now, and that, combined with the growth of "streetball" has contributed to a less enjoyable game. People complained about the Pistons and their style of play, but I saw a good team, with a number of players who knew their roles and a great coach - Look at Rasheed in Portland vs Rasheed in Detroit.

It's all cyclical. We'll have a great era again.

LeBron could've played with those guys in the 80s, and that style. There will be more, just wait. Another great era is coming...

[Boris]

I think its just a cyclical thing. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade are two young guys who are awesome to watch and they seem pretty cool. I like Shaq now that he doesn't take himself so seriously. He is a funny guy. With all the emphasis on individual play, Utah is a fun team to watch. they have a great team oriented half court offense. If they continue their success I'll bet many of the ME players will buy into the team concept. The Suns are also an exciting team to watch. I havn't seen the Sonics this year but they must be doing something right.