The NBA is in a unique position in American sports.

There was once a time where the MLB was America’s pastime, and deeply connected with the daily updates of the radio. Then the NFL took over that title as the power of the radio waned and the television’s block schedule worked wonders with a football season.

The NFL owns a day of the week because they rule the television. However, now those days are changing to the rise and spread of the internet, and it seems that the NBA will be the new king of the relationship between a sport and the popular medium.

It was most evident during the past summer. The playoffs were basically set in stone since the season began with Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors, but the offseason brought with it a slew of drama and changes that kept people on their toes.

There was always something happening on Twitter and all sides of the story could be seen and interacted with. Gordon Hayward to the Celtics, Chris Paul to the Rockets and of course, the dramatic arc of Kyrie Irving challenging the King himself, LeBron James, by going to the Celtics and being exchanged for the man that put the team in the first place Isaiah Thomas.

Now that the stage was set, the hype was only increased for the start of the season to see how these storylines play out. It’s not just about basketball anymore, but all of the little details that can be extracted and put into a larger picture of how the players, the teams and the league will work in the future.

There is more agency for the players to express their opinions, teams to get a central message across and fans to view and scrutinize all the material, and it has only grown as the years have gone on.

Usually stars are collected on a few teams that repeatedly go after each other for a few seasons. There is a reason the Celtics and Lakers have the most championships. A few years ago, it seemed like the exact same thing would occur.

There was a young, thriving team in the Warriors, ready to prove themselves and the Cavaliers ready to propel James to greatness by chasing Michael Jordan. The story of two excellent teams going after each other is not new, but things broke in an interesting way when the Warriors got Durant.

They had four All-Stars in their starting lineup, and suddenly all bets were off on what was possible. This summer everyone swapped pieces and built themselves up even further to take on the challenge.

This is the overarching story of the NBA that will define the league for the next few years. The minute decisions, stories and problems along the way can now be viewed under a microscope of social media and fast communication. The story was always being written in the NBA, but now they have integrated themselves so well with the internet, that the fans and commentators can help write it all over the world.

That is exciting, that is new, that is a new era of sports.