The NBA: It isn't all Doom and Gloom

As years between the Bad Boy era of Pistons basketball and the current day have passed I've found my interest in the sport fading further and further. It's not that the sport itself that's fallen out of favor- I love shooting hoops over many other outdoor activities- but rather the way the game is presented. The league, since the second part of the Jordan era, shifted from one that valued competition and team play (the product) to one that one that placed preeminence in NBA brand maintenance. Where this failed is that the league became so obsessed with image (and that of its superstars) that they lost sight of the product.

The culmination of the sad fall of the NBA for me was in the cry-for-attention circus that was LeBoner's South Beach presser. It was sad. Even in the age of me, and the "social" media that has enabled it- Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, YouTube, et al- it was a crass display of narcissism. Making it all that much more reflective of our current society was the lengths that the cable media, who enabled the stunt in the first place, went to promote and ride the story for cycles. Days were spent analyzing subtlety and nuance that didn't exist. Like so much of our "news" it was light on content, and heavy on repetition, opinion, and PR. Barf.

Through it all there is a light. As the All-Star break nears I'm finding myself being drawn back into the association.

The first breakthrough was the fantastic NBA 2k11 video game. An NBA game hadn't made its way into the house since the Dreamcast days, and the wait was worth it. The developers, Visual Concepts, constructed an ode to basketball. They saw the value of highlighting the 1980's glory days, and combined it with a game that requires you to "play the right way" (thanks Larry Brown). It is great. If you like video games and have ever liked the NBA pick it up.

The second breakthrough really falls more in line with the things I just got done ranting about, but screw it. Blake Griffin is the most exciting player to come into the NBA in years, and every time I see him embarrassing the establishment with his freakish verticality I smile. When I see him topping out the plays of the day while LeBron cements his role as an accessory to Dwyane Wade I smile. When I don't hear about his Tweets I smile. When I don't see him acting petulantly on the court I smile. When play supersedes personality I smile. When I watch this YouTube clip I smile.

Welcome back NBA. Don't screw it up- looking at you collective bargaining agreement.