The last month has felt a little empty to me, and the reason for that is the absence of the NBA.

I have written about how the lockout was really only hurting the fans and how it shouldn’t be happening. Now that it’s finally over, I’m just happy to be able to speculate on the upcoming season. With the start date of Dec. 25, this NBA season is going to be a great Christmas gift for us all.

Many months of debate went on to finally get a deal in place to move the NBA forward into a new season. One of the main points of dispute was the revenue split between the players and the owners. The players were currently receiving 57 percent of all of the revenue, leaving 43 percent to the owners. The owners wanted the 50-50 percent split but the players would not budge. Eventually an agreement was made that it would be down to a 51.2-48.8 percent split in the favor of the players. This seems like a win for the owners.

On top of that victory, the owners also succeeded in lowering the maximum years on a contract by one year to try and prevent regretful contract deals. So, the owners seemingly won the lockout.

Personally, the whole argument of who won and who lost between the owners and players in the lockout doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we get to see at least part of a season of the NBA.

I know players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett didn’t want to have to miss a season at this stage of their careers. It is important to them that they can each play these last few seasons in the twilight of their career and get a shot at one or two more championships. For the average NBA player, their career will last five years. It’s good for all players that 20 percent of their career will not be lost in a full year of a lockout.

At this point, the only problem that comes with the lockout ending is to those players who are stuck overseas. Most of the big-name talents like Deron Williams and Tony Parker signed special contracts that allow them to come back over to the United States once the lockout was settled.

Unfortunately, for others like Kenyon Martin, Aaron Brooks or J.R. Smith, they have to stay in China during at least part of the NBA season. They may be able to come back during March, but finding a good offer and salary number will be much more difficult for them later in the season.

But the best players in the league either didn’t go overseas or got contracts allowing them to come back.

All I’m focused on is the fact that a new season is going to start. Many have been waiting on this deal to be finalized ever since discussions of the lockout began. Finally we can witness the second season of “The Big Three” in Miami, see if Dallas can reclaim their title and find out whether Kobe can add to his trophy shelf.

This lockout may have been devastating for many fans because of how much of the season is gone. The NBA champion this year will always be remembered as the champion of the “lockout year.”

But the fact that we get to see basketball is all we needed. I will definitely be tuning in on Christmas day, since the opportunity to watch the NBA is one of the best presents I could receive.