The New Era of NBA Basketball

As an older generation of NBA legends are slowly making their way out the door, the NBA's future is brighter than ever.

Basketball seemingly rose from the ashes when Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain took center stage in the 1960’s, and when their careers began to come to an end there was a young player by the name Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. waiting to take the torch.

Alcindor, better known as Karrem Abdul-Jabar, shattered records and quickly became one the most popular athlete in America. But no career can last forever. So when Abdul-Jabar retired the NBA looked for its next superstar, luckily for them there were two players ready and willing to step into the forefront of basketball. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird went at each other’s throats as basketball enjoyed its greatest recognition up to that point in the 1980’s as the Celtics-Lakers rivalry was ‘must-see TV’. Eventually Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons began to make noise but when Magic Johnson was forced to retire due to AIDS and Bird’s back gave out there was no question about who would take the league by storm.

Michael Jeffery Jordan. The greatest basketball player to ever step on a court, depending on who you ask, took the NBA to heights that many people would have never thought possible. He starred in movies, he starred in multiple commercials, he was the golden boy of basketball, the GOAT and made basketball into what is is today.

But while legends never die, they do retire. Enter the only player who can challenge Jordan’s title of ‘Greatest Of All Time’. The ‘chosen one’, the son of Akron, the “King” Lebron James. Lebron rules the basketball world and there’s no ‘if, ands or buts’ about it. Lebron has dominated the game of basketball since he entered the league as a n 18 year old kid, making 7 straight NBA Finals.

But seemingly unstoppable demi-god is 32 years old and while he is still playing at an elite level, father time is undefeated and Lebron will eventually begin to slow. And when he does, is the NBA ready for life after Lebron?

The simple answer: yes.

The NBA needs a few things in order to survive from generation to generation and all signs point to the fact that this next generation can pick up right where the league is bound to leave off.

The first thing the NBA needs is characters. The league has always been filled with players who, unlike the NFL, are allowed to be themselves, even if themselves can be loud and ‘all over the place.’ Wilt Chamberlain dominated the NBA both on and off the court. Most well known for once scoring 100 points in a single game on the court, Chaimberlain was able to ‘score’ hundreds more women off if it. Dennis Rodman was ‘high-flying’ on the court and was at most times ‘high’ off the court as well. The forwarded was easily recognized by his multi-colored hair and various piercings. Ron Artest was fighting both players and fans during his time in the league in the early 2000’s and recently JR Smith has been draining more shots during parties than during games while celebrating Cleveland’s 2016 Championship by going shirtless in public for a week. Now that Smith is approaching his mid-30’s the NBA may be looking for someone to make headlines for ‘off the court’ antics. Look no further than Sixer’s big-man Joel Embiid. The 7 foot center is well known for asking out Rihanna over twitter and saying “F--- Lavar Ball” during an Instagram live stream. Embiid brings no shortage of excitement both on and off the court, and while Embiid may not be able to stay healthy on court he will certainly still find a way to make headlines.

The second thing the NBA needs is a dark horse team to make noise in the league. The Milwaukee Bucks won a championship in the early days of basketball, despite the game being dominated by the Celtics and Lakers. The Washington Bullets found a way to win a title before the Celtics, Pistons and Lakers ran through everybody in the 80’s. Even the Utah Jazz made their way to the NBA Finals in back-to-back years before running into Michael Jordan and the Bulls each year. In recent memory the Orlando Magic, led by Dwight Howard, found themselves in the NBA Finals against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. The Dallas Mavericks were able to beat the odds and defeat the star-studded Miami Heat in the 2010 NBA Finals. And now it appears as if the Minnesota Timberwolves may be able to make some noise in the NBA in the next few years. The Wolves are led by two of the best young players in the league in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins and have added proven vets like Jimmy Butler and Jamal Crawford. Granted the Wolves have failed to make the playoffs since 2003-04. But the Wolves currently sit in fifth place in the crowded Western Conference and finally seem to be taking the next step.

The third thing the NBA needs is good rivalries. The Celtics-Lakers rivalry was must-see TV for 20+ years in the 1960’s through the 1980’s. The Knicks-Pacers, Bulls-Pistons and Jazz-Rockets rivalries highlighted a decade of NBA basketball when guys were literally at each other’s throats. Most recently, the Heat-Pacers and Heat-Spurs series were only outdone by the Cavs-Warriors rivalry from the past three seasons. Lebron and Curry were featured in dynamic showdowns between two of the best three players in the NBA, only to be joined by the third player in that top-tier group, Kevin Durant. But while Cavs-Warriors match-ups dominate the airwaves other teams have begun to form their own heated rivalries. Trash talk is a lost art in today’s NBA yet nobody does it better currently than Joel Embiid and Lavar Ball. So when Embiid goes up against the Lakers, led by Ball’s son Lonzo Ball, sparks are going to fly. Additionally the Celtics and Wizards have been involved in heated games as they face off to prove who the biggest competitor to the Cavs will be. Even teams who aren’t competing for championships, like the Clippers, are forming rivalries with some of the NBA’s best.

The final element the NBA needs is superstars, and today’s NBA has no shortage of superstars. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Kareem-Abdul Jabar, Dr. J, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone, Shaquelle O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Michael Jordan and Lebron James. Those are just some of the players who have taken the basketball world by storm. The NBA needs players that are exciting and fun in order to keep people watching. The NBA is a superstar driven league and at any given time the NBA must have a superstar that can draw in viewers. This is perhaps the biggest factor that goes into the success of the NBA. When Lebron is gone and Durant hangs up the sneakers the NBA will be faced with the tough task of finding a new superstar to provide excitement. Here’s a short list of players that can fill that need: Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kristaps Porzingis and Devin Booker. Each of the players listed in 25 years old or younger and are fully capable of taking over the league in the coming years.

So don’t worry basketball fans. The NBA is quickly rising to prominence not only in the United States but around the world. While Jordan and Lebron have paved the way for the NBA to become one of the most poplar sports leagues in the world, the new generation of NBA players is ready to step in and take the torch when they are asked, no matter how soon that may be.