I love the NBA.
I used to hate the NBA, because they "don't play defense" or whatever, but I was just late to the party. And with the growth of social media and apps like Vine, the NBA is now the most socially involved professional sports league in the country, if not the world. Instagram and Twitter has made us feel close to people like LeBron James, Joel Embiid, DeMar Derozan, and many others, giving us an unprecendented access to their lives. And through that closeness, I think some of us (like yours truly) almost forgot how incredible these athletes are. And then this week happened.
This was the craziest opening night performance in the history of basketball. Anthony Davis, the Brow, went berserk to the tune of 50 points, 17 rebounds, 7 steals, 4 blocks, and 4 assists. His team managed to lose this gem for him, because the Pelicans suck, but this was just the tip of the iceberg.
Kawhi Leonard dropped the new look Warriors all while embracing the Mamba, so Kevin Durant responded last night by pulling a 30-17-6 line. By the way, the Brow dropped another 45 in that game. So not to be outdone, Brodie had himself a game last night.
Russell Westbrook got his first triple-double of the year with 51 (!!!!!) points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. It was the biggest triple double since 1970. And I could go on and on with the crazy performances of this year, but the point is that basketball has never been better.
We really are in a golden age for the NBA. Gone are the days of the bully-ball defense of the 1990s, replaced with a free-flowing, run and gun game that allows every player to thrive. Just looking around the league right now, there is true greatness at every position. Chris Paul is one of the greatest point guards to ever walk this Earth and he probably isn't even in the top three in the league right now. We may have lost the likes of Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett to retirement this year, but the rest of the league seems more than capable of picking up the slack.
As the season picks up, expect these types of performances to continue. No matter what they may look like on social media, NBA players are far greater than the rest of us. They just wanted to remind us.
