Alpha & Omega: an NBA prequel two decades in the making
The red seam had started to fade on the belk rug from several houses ago. The green portion of the rug was vibrant as was the black… but the red. Did more people stand in that part of the room? Was it something in the coloring of the carpet itself? The carpet was clean though, only a few more vacuums now.
There are moments in all of our lives we never forget, yet we imagine our lives to be unique. We think time began with us, nowhere is this more evident than in sports.
Covid started 2022 on an absolute roll & yours truly is among the fallen. Quarantine provides loads of free time; this probably isn’t news to you. I’ve spent some such time enjoying my friend’s NBA league pass subscription.
Thanks to a free trial he’s long forgotten, I’ve had a front row seat for a tale as old as time.
In the world of basketball, a storm is brewing in Cleveland as the 2021–2022 Cavaliers are rapidly outpacing expectations. The projected basement dwellers are locked into the playoff race halfway through the season.
“They’re a lovable mix of young talent & crafty veterans, but it’s a year too soon.”
After all, what could a small market team of lovable misfits bolstered by a young, franchise power forward and a blossoming star at point guard possibly do…
… right?
Entering the 2001–2002 season, the National Basketball Association had a “good problem” on it’s hands — TBS+NBC were entering the final year of their TV contracts.
A nasty bidding war ensued for the broadcasting rights and ESPN+ABC came out on top. There was now a metric fuck ton of extra money on the table one year before Lebron James & co enter the league.
Which brings us to:
Halfway through that final, fateful NBC aired season.
NBA Western Conference (January 8, 2002)
1) Lakers (25–6)
2) Spurs (24–8)
3) Kings (26–9)
4) Timberwolves (24–9)
6) Jazz (18–16)
7) Seattle (18–16)
8) Clippers (18–17)
The 2001–2002 NBA season got off to an explosive start. Our league was experiencing the biggest young talent boom in twenty years as the NBA crept into the post-Jordan years.
January 8, 2002… (Season long stat leaders)
ROTY* (rookie of the year): Pau Gasol
Scoring: Allen Iverson
Rebounds: Ben Wallace
Assists: Andre Miller
+ MVP Tim Duncan
But out west, a storm had begun to brew… Nowitzki, Nash & the upstart Dallas Mavericks were on a collision course with the NBA playoffs.
While basketball looks different today — it’s the same game. The advanced metrics change because the style of the game changes. Over time, there are three clear indicators for postseason success.
1) Your team has eight guys who can play postseason minutes
- An NBA roster fields 12 players — but over the course of meaningful games you’re only playing the best. In some ways, the season is a never ending process of finding your eight best players. If you lose one (injury/personal reasons/covid/etc.), you’re vulnerable.
2) Your team has the better “Big 3”
- Successful NBA teams tend to have three players who consistently average out better than the other team’s.
3) Your team has Jordan/Shaq/Kobe/Lebron
- etc.
Around the time of Kobe’s death in 2020, a strange, new “Corona Virus” began to sweep the globe. 2021 was then spent straining back and forth with Covid-19 as the world we knew changed forever.
In 2022,
Betty white has just died. A single NBA team is now worth billion(s). Data has passed gas as the most valuable commodity in the world as our league endures an unprecedented, Covid protocols ridden season.
Which brings us to:
Current Eastern Conference (January, 8 2022)
1) Bulls (26–10)
2) Nets (24–13)
3) Bucks (26–15)
4) Heat (24–15)
5) Sixers (22–16)
7) Raptors (19–17)
8) Hornets (20–19)
The 2021–2022 NBA season got off to a chaotic start. Our league is experiencing the biggest young talent boom in almost twenty years as the NBA dances toward the final act of Lebron’s era.
On January 8, 2022… (season long stat leaders)
ROTY*: Evan Mobley
Scoring: Kevin Durant
Rebounding: Rudy Gobert
Assists: Chris Paul
+ MVP: ?
But in the heart of the country, a storm is brewing… Darius Garland, Evan Mobley & an upstart Cleveland Cavaliers team are on a collision course with the playoffs.
In the midst of hardship, there’s always good.
Imagine:
An experienced point guard who can score and play-make joins forces with a young power forward who shows generational promise.
Throw in a wild card, some aging stars & talented international players and you’ve got yourself a playoff team.
… I should mention the playoff team is destined for a second round exit.
The masses will likely never know (or care) about the ups & downs of two (remarkably) similar playoff teams spaced (exactly) 20 years apart that didn’t end up making the NBA Finals.
The early morning practices, bonds between teammates, trade rumors, injuries, media narratives, wins, losses and triumphs that go into making each and every NBA postseason run will fade to black.
Years later it’ll all be blurred into a slideshow of trophies, highlights & banners.
But this is right now.
& the Cavs could go on an improbable run.
or Lebron may well play into his fifth (5th!) prime and win the Lakers another championship.
In the NBA & world at large — 2022 features a whole new cast of characters stepping into very, very large shoes. Our country is not actively at war, which wasn’t the case twenty years ago. We have miles to go, but more people are getting a seat at the table than ever before. Aids is significantly more likely to be a chapter in someone’s story than a period on his obituary. We’re actively developing technology to exponentially improve the lives of more people than ever before in recorded human history —
*gasp!*
The 2002 NBA season ended the way a lot of people thought it would, The Los Angeles Lakers won another title — This time against a very, very good Nets team.
Come back in June, all I’m saying.
