For most of sports’ history, if you asked the general public what their favorite sport was, most would answer with baseball or football. Baseball is considered America’s favorite past-time, while the NFL seems to generate the most revenue. The NBA is in the back of everyone’s minds, but has seemed to be on the back burner.
In recent years, all three sports have been met with multiple controversies and have divided and/or scared away parts of their fan bases. While you certainly can’t please everyone, the general opinion seems to favor the NBA’s way of handling issues. The NBA seems to be the most progressive and have made minor changes that have gradually evolved the game.
The league has addressed many criticized aspects of the game, which includes the lack of parity to fixing the All-Star game. Are we in a new ‘Golden Age’ of the NBA?
We have to be careful when reading the question. It is difficult to say this era is the Golden Age of the NBA, because there have been so many memorable eras. Everyone will have their opinion and favorite period of basketball, which is the beauty of basketball.
In the age of social media, there will be a lot of critical, and likely negative, opinions on just about anything. That barrier prevents fans from fully appreciating the greatness the NBA is providing for the world.
With the talent around the league, players like Houston Rockets’ Russell Westbrook and Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler may find themselves out of top ten player rankings. After years of domination from the Golden State Warriors, there is parity in the league again.
The general public hates to see rules changes in leagues that have displayed consistency for years, but the NBA has been able to fix the All-Star game successfully with the changes they have made in recent years.
League leaders such as Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chris Paul, Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James and commissioner Adam Silver deserve a lot of credit for bringing eyes to today’s game.
We still have future Hall of Fame players performing at a high level, and they are being accompanied by future stars such as Devin Booker, Zion Williamson and more.
Credit also has to be given to legends of the past who constantly lift the game and have inspired many of today’s game. The late Kobe Bryant left his imprint on the game in more ways than one. Other ambassadors such as Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and countless others have never turned their back on the game.
That being said, we are in a time where the league has the past, present and future all working together in order to elevate the game. The NBA seems to be the most action-packed progressing sport both on and off the court.
