Today’s NBA is truly a spectacle to behold, a league jam packed with more young stars than the roster of “Backyard Baseball” could hold.
In Los Angeles, Blake Griffin’s only worry is hitting his head on the rim during one of his earth-shattering, gravity-defying, DVR-rewinding dunks. In Oklahoma City, Kevin Durant’s jumper is so beautiful that pictures of it are being framed and hung in The Louvre. In Chicago, Derrick Rose slices through the defense with the grace of the white swan and untamed ferocity of the black swan simultaneously (your move, Natalie Portman). And in New Jersey…actually, never mind.
Think about the sheer number of athletic, likable, up-and-coming stars the Association currently has to offer. There’s the aforementioned Griffin, Rose and Durant, of course. Then we have to consider the likes of Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Love, Brandon Jennings, John Wall, Tyreke Evans, Dwight Howard and Monta “Shot a Minute” Ellis. It’s a mind-boggling collection.
It used to be that one or two superstars would reign over the league for five to seven seasons, enforcing their will and leaving hopeless defenders in their wake. Then, the next star would emerge, and the torch would be ceremoniously passed, a sort of “changing of the guard.” Dr. J. gave way to Bird and Magic, who eventually relinquished power to Michael Jordan, who most of you may know as the Charlotte Bobcats hapless owner, but was once a pretty good basketball player. Jordan, in turn, gave the reigns to Kobe Bryant, who is in the twilight of a controversy-riddled, yet extraordinary career. So who’s next?
It seems a dozen eligible stars are waiting in the wings. Where once the league was top-heavy and dominated by a small, talented group, now successors are peering in from every direction. Lebron James seems to be one of the league’s elder statesmen, a veteran already at the age of 25 (18, if you’re measuring by maturity level).
With the radically changing look of the NBA, it seems that the learning curve of young players in general has sped up dramatically. While fresh faces used to need several seasons to truly adjust to the speed and complexity of the game, now rookies are dominating and exceeding expectations from day one (provided that you’re not Greg Oden). It seems that the NBA’s decree to force players to spend at least one year in college before declaring deserves some of the credit, allowing players to develop their skills in the college game and be slightly less raw when they finally make it to the big show. Whatever the reason, the league is more athletic, high-flying, and fun to watch than it has ever been. Period.
The 2011 NBA All Star Game, taking place in Los Angeles on Feb. 20, will feature all the flash the NBA has to offer, minus any of that boring and monotonous “defense.” It’s true that the game is nothing more than a glorified scrimmage, few people ever tune in, and it tends to resemble a pick-up game at the Y more than an actual competitive exhibition. But if there was ever a time to give the NBA All-Star game a whirl, this is it. You’ll have all of the NBA’s best players on the court at the same time, all trying to one-up each other and prove that they are the present and future of the league. You’ll have Lebron getting insincere hugs from rivals who hate him, Blake Griffin attempting somewhere in the ballpark of nine alley-oops, and Kobe trying desperately to persuade the world that it’s not quite time to pass the torch.
I don’t know about you, but I’m sold. Plus, Shakira and Alicia Keys are headlining the halftime show. That has to count for something, right?
