I am not the biggest pro basketball fan in the world. I much prefer the college game, especially when it comes to the end of the season. For my money, March Madness is the single-greatest sporting event in America, if not the world.
Being from Buffalo, I’ve never had an NBA team to root for (the Braves of old moved out west long before my time). There’s never been one team that’s captured my interest as a fan. I make sure to watch some of the playoffs, and I always watch every game of the Finals.
Rather than teams, I choose to follow certain players. I am a huge fan of Russell Westbrook, even moreso now that he’s turned this season into a one-man revenge/destruction tour in the wake of Kevin Durant’s departure from Oklahoma City.
If you’re someone like me who is a casual follower of pro basketball and doesn’t really have a team they root for, the 2016-17 season has shaped up to be quite an entertaining one.
One big factor is the seemingly inevitable showdown (once again) between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
With the addition of Durant, the Warriors look to be nearly unbeatable, while the Cavaliers (who have struggled a bit recently) still seem to be the proverbial favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference.
There doesn’t seem to be any other teams set to challenge the two reigning superpowers; the Spurs and Rockets are both having fantastic seasons, but would you take either in a best-of-seven series against the Warriors or the Cavs?
But if the scarcity of compelling inter-team competition is greater than usual, the individual showdowns happening on a nightly basis provide a thrilling alternative.
The current crop of young talent in the NBA is as noticeable as at any time in league history. The propensity of gaudy individual stat lines this year is remarkable (have there ever been this many triple-doubles at this point in a season?).
In addition to established megastars like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Durant and Westbrook, other players are experiencing their own coming-out parties
James Harden (Rockets), Kawhi Leonard (Spurs) and Isaiah Thomas (Celtics) are all having MVP-type seasons for teams that appear to be set to make deep runs in the playoffs.
Even players on less-than-successful teams are having great years. Joel Embiid of the 76ers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks are athletic talents the likes of which the league has never seen. Karl-Anthony Towns (Timberwolves), Anthony Davis (Pelicans), Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks) and DeMarcus Cousins (Kings) are all tremendous young talents who provide plenty of highlights — if not victories.
All of this is to say that now is a perfect time to, if you will, “adopt-a-star.” With the regular season shaping up to be a mere formality for a by-the-books postseason, why not hitch your wagon to one of these fine young players and go along for the ride?
Moreso than, football, baseball, or hockey, basketball is very much an individual sport. A team that has one great player can often go far in the postseason.
In an era with such a remarkable pool of individual talent, there’s never been a better time to be a casual fan of the pro game.
