As of Monday, the North Carolina Tar Heels were crowned NCAA National Champions. This, of course, means college basketball season is over. For hoops junkies far and wide, this means that they must go to the NBA for their fix.
Many people have given up on the NBA. It has seemed for years now that the league has to rely on its hardcore fans more than ever before.
That said, the NBA is back on the upswing. The slow down, foul-heavy style of the 80’s Pistons and 90’s Knicks are starting to take a back seat once again to a run-and-gun style of ball as seen in Phoenix, Denver and Seattle to name a few. We’re seeing less success from teams relying on playing isolation offense with one or two great scorers and more from teams with four or five viable threats like the Pistons. It’s too hard for Allen Iverson or Kobe Bryant to carry a team with the new zone defense rules allowing teams to completely concentrate upon them.
All in all, what has been an uninteresting league over the past few years has become decidedly interesting again. However, more than anything else, two NBA stars have my interest at a peak it hasn’t been at in years. These guys can throw up 30 points on a given night, but more importantly, they play the right way. They get their teammates involved, they have multiple facets to their games and they are two of the last people opposing fans ever want to see with the ball in a close game.
Dwayne Wade. Fans that watched Wade last season knew this guy would develop into a special player. After Shaq “Diesel” O’Neal was shipped to Miami, he hasn’t said a ton about his ex-teammate Bryant, but what he has done is say a whole lot about Wade. He never passes up an opportunity to say what a breath of fresh air it is to play with an unselfish player like Wade, and what an honor and privilege it is that Wade allows him to play on “his team.” O’Neal has gotten his numbers but seems through his play as if he’s more interested in making Wade look good. Shaq’s helping another guard be just as successful as Bryant was with him, and that has to make Bryant burn.
It’s hard for me to admit, as I grew up a Knicks fan, that a Miami Heat player might be the next big thing, but Wade is just that. Wade led little respected Marquette to a Final Four in college, and his skills have blossomed in the pros. Once LeBron James gets the pieces around him in Cleveland to allow him to truly become the face of the NBA, it will be Wade, not Carmelo Anthony, who will be his top rival.
Wade has an immeasurable quality about him that only the greatest winners possess, guys like Derek Jeter and Tom Brady, who you just know will make the key plays in the clutch and refuse to let their teams lose.
Lots of guys can score in the NBA, but Wade has a knack for making the crucial shot, grabbing the big rebound, making the clutch assist, or chasing down an opponent and blocking his shot out of nowhere. Count me among those who believes he will get his first ring
this June.
LeBron James. Combine the scoring ability of Dominique Wilkins with the court vision of Jason Kidd, and you have LeBron James. I can’t say much about James that hasn’t already been said. But believe the hype. If James learns to play elite level defense, nobody will be able to touch him. He’ll own the league.
Once he gets his supporting cast, a big name will become much bigger in the coming years. Don’t be shocked if he carries the Cavs to a first round upset this year, either.
Harkening back to Jordan’s famous series winning shot over Cleveland in the 80s, there’s a good chance the Cavs will be matched against the Bulls in the first round this season.
In the 80s, Larry Bird’s rivalry with Magic Johnson saved the NBA. If Michael Jordan’s career was missing one thing, it was probably that one great foil.
I believe Wade will be that for James and vice versa. The ride is just getting started, so get on early and enjoy the whole thing.
