Every NBA fan remembers how the 2016 Finals ended. Maurice Speights’ corner three misses as the clock expires. LeBron James throws his hands in the air. Kevin Love hugs him. The Cleveland Cavaliers bench clears in hysteria.
They had miraculously conquered the Golden State Warriors, the reigning champions who won a record 73 times in the regular season. They were led by a backcourt that forever changed how the game was played, including the first-ever unanimous MVP, Stephen Curry.
NBA: The Dominance of the Cavaliers and Warriors Era
The era should’ve been unanimously theirs, but LeBron and his peak gameplay will forever be a scratch on the Warriors’ greatest hits vinyl and a genuine argument to the game’s greatest force of the 2010s.
What is undeniable is that the Cavs and the Warriors, led by their superstars, will always be how that era will be defined—just like how Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, Kobe and Shaq and the Spurs have and will forever be remembered.
But what about now? The lack of a true protagonist or antagonist has defined the NBA of the 2020s. Six different champions in six years. That has not happened since 1975 – 1980. Everyone has a chance at supremacy, but no one can yet claim ownership of this time.
Changes in League Structure and Legacy
The relatively short era of hedging championship team bets. Having different fingerprints on the Larry O’Brien trophy every July coincides with a significant change in the NBA. The league’s format has changed with the introduction of the play-in tournament. The in-season tournament is now called the Emirates NBA Cup. These changes go beyond just etching the logo on expensive rings at the end of the season. They represent a new era of competition and excitement.
The forebears of the NBA’s torch are in the final stages of their legacies. LeBron James fathers a teammate. The Warriors league-altering backcourt is broken up. Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russel Westbrook and other all-NBA shoe-ins who consistently played until July are not favourites to do it again.
Instead, the most influential players in today’s league are barely household names. None of them have more than one ring. All are yet to secure a legacy that will be memorable decades down the line. Yes, Nikola Jokic’s three MVPs are impressive and deserved.
Yes, Giannis Antetokoumpo’s career is admirable and unique and knocking at the door of historic greatness. Luka is still young, and Embiid has it in him, somewhere, if his body can last. But they don’t touch the heritage of LeBron, Curry, and Durant—at least not yet.
NBA: The Potential for New Dynasties
The league is ripe for the defining figures of the 2020s to emerge. None of the names listed in the above paragraph are in horrible situations, and no team is leagues above the rest. The Boston Celtics are favourites to cement the second half of the 2020s, but they’re not yet as feared as dynastic teams of the past.
Image by nikolaytaman90 from Pixabay
There are genuine threats around the league: Oklahoma has an actual claim for the best roster in the NBA and is one of the youngest teams. Philly and the Knicks have rockstar squads, too. A 20-year-old freak in San Antonio has all the hallmarks of an inevitable game-breaking, world-renowned, trophy-hogging athlete.
As many as 15 other teams I haven’t mentioned will have pissed-off fans ready to list reasons for their team’s claim.
Besides the general increase in skill, talent, and front-office smarts across the league, potential dynasties also meet the highest hurdle the league has ever placed in front of them – the updated Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Due to the new apron and second apron rules, it is harder than ever for teams to stay elite for more than a few years. We’ve already seen it affect the Denver Nuggets, who lost 2022 champions Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell Pope in back-to-back off-seasons.
The Minnesota Timberwolves must trade one or two of Naz Reid, Rudy Gobert, Karl Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels. The Boston Celtics are maintaining their championship core, but the owners are selling the team, signalling the potential legacy of the team is not worth the financial burden.
The Need for High-Stakes Finals
As interesting as this parity is, this era has missed the truly high-stakes Finals that every other era owns. Of course, playing in the season’s last games is always meaningful, but how long will we have to wait for a final that shifts NBA history and decides how players and franchises will be remembered?
Historic Finals Moments: A Benchmark for Greatness
Before game one tipped off, the 2016 Finals held great meaning and historic consequences. The Warriors could have swung through time and thrown the 90s Bulls off the best team ever pedestal. LeBron wasn’t truly right there with Jordan until he won.
The same can be said for the Lakers vs. Celtics of the past. Not only did they help forge one of the most well-known rivalries in sports, but they also swayed kids’ play styles and loyalties and, eventually, the game itself.
Bird and Magic’s battles changed the time and space of NBA fans’ lives, garnering enough hype to move the NBA off tape delay and onto live broadcasts. The climaxes of these weighty games and series are where the game’s historical images and moments come from.
Where will such a series come from now? Who will be etched into our memories? Whatever teams sustain success despite modern difficulties. Whichever players consistently prove their superiority over their peers. The new CBA will make that first part significantly more difficult. The second is how we will remember the 2020s.