A New Era For The NBA
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Frankly I never thought I’d see the NBA like this again.
For one who covered the great years of the league during the time of the Doc, Magic, Bird, and Michael, I thought the best times ever were in the past. Now I’m not so sure.
I’d grown disenchanted with the game because of all the wild 3-point shooting without thought to executing plays and working the ball inside to either score on short shots or getting fouled. The game seemed to put defense on the back burner and all it seemed to be was a helter skelter exhibition of the spectacular without rhyme or reason.
But what I saw when the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the San Antonio Spurs in game 7 of the Western Conference finals was a deciding showdown that was as good as the best I’ve ever seen.
The visiting Spurs triumphed on the road 111-103 to advance to the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks getting underway this week. But the result was only part of the story.
Both teams went at it in a feverish pace from start to finish. We witnessed rapid fire passing from outside to in and inside to out. It was a defensive show with players fighting to close out room to drive or space to shoot. And the shot blocking was breathtaking and dramatic.
There were great shooters launching 3’s when the shot clock was running out, and it was the only play available.
Both team’s benches were productive and the big men were as agile and quick as anyone on the court.
What I saw was the next evolution of professional basketball, which had heroes way back in the 50’s who people said would never be matched. And they have been. Several times. And now we see the next one.
Athletes of all sizes doing things we could only imagine.
That brings us to Victor Wembanyama. Listed as 7-feet 4-inches, but really 7’5”, Wemby as he’s playfully called, has revolutionized the game. Victor Nonga Wembanyama-de Fautereau-Vassel is a French player who was the first pick in the 2023 draft by the San Antonio Spurs, once a league dynasty but lately an NBA bottom-feeder.
He does things no big man has ever done. To say he can score, rebound, block shots, pass, drive to the hoop, and out-quick the quickest would be an understatement. He is all over the court and dangerous in every phase of the game. Defending him calls for physical, even severe contact that has had him shaken up and ready to deliver blows of his own, which he has done and has paid the price. Naturally he has to stay out of serious foul trouble which is not easy.
On top of that he is the team’s leader and cheerleader, sensing what the team needs as if he were a 10-year veteran.
Wembanyama is only 22 years old playing in only his third season.
I remember clearly when sports observers claimed the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson and Jerry West would never be surpassed. They were, of course. Fast forward to these days when Michael Jordan gets the nod over LeBron James as the very best ever to play.
There’s a very very good chance Victor Wembanyama, if his health is not an issue, will vault over the Bulls’ great one. It’s a matter of size, speed, strength, and athleticism which gets better as the generations move on.
We see it in practically every sport.
My doubling down on Wemby is not an indictment on the make-up of the rest of the squad. In fact, those that came off the bench for both the Spurs and Thunder, as well as the Knicks are the real factors in the success of those teams. You can never get it done with one man, or even a starting five. The level of play of the reserves generally are telling in the final analysis.
While the Spurs and Thunder staged a brilliant 7-game Western series, back east, the New York Knicks were thorough and devastating in their impressive march to the Finals. They ride an 11-game winning streak, mostly by huge margins, conquering the Hawks, 76ers, and Cavaliers along the way. They’ve lost only one game in the playoffs and will have nine days off coming into Wednesday’s game 1 in San Antonio.
Rest is a luxury for any team in post-season and the Knicks have had plenty. That’s good for healing injuries, but the question of maintaining sharpness comes into play.
So far, the New Yorkers have not been negatively affected by quick series and time off.
The Knicks are a wonderful story. They’ve had years of disappointments to the dismay of their loyal fans.
But this season they finally put it together, sparked by Jalen Brunson, a guard who represents more than simply one of the Knicks best players ever. Six-feet-2-inches at best, Brunson represents the soul of the team. He is a much-shorter version of the Spurs’ Wembanyama, with his spirit and fight, the spark behind the Knicks ultimate rise, bringing back memories of their last world championship way back in 1973.
The New Yorkers did reach the Finals in 1999 losing to San Antonio of all teams in five games.
Knicks management made a coaching change after losing out on a chance to reach the Finals a year ago.
Tom Thibodeau was fired after beating the defending champion Celtics in the Conference Semi-Finals, before losing to the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks wanted to find someone who could take them even further. I disagreed with that decision saying often teams fall back after thinking a change would help, when their best might have been reached. I was wrong, apparently, as Mike Brown has proved to be the ideal man to get them to where they now stand. Brown has listened to opinions of others, made some difficult decisions, and has utilized his bench far more than his predecessor.
Meanwhile, the Spurs head man, Mitch Johnson, was an assistant to one of the legends of the game, Gregg Popovich, who is recovering from a stroke. Pop led San Antonio for 29 seasons, winning 5 NBA championships and was the longest tenured coach in every major sports league in the nation.
Popovich is now the president of the team. He was blessed with Hall of Fame big men, David Robinson, and Tim Duncan. Now, he watches his pupil try to lead the Spurs to another title. This time with another big man of renown, Victor Wembanyama. Let the games begin.
Wemby the winner
Knicks bank on Brunson
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