The NBA is becoming a man. It's taken four or five years, but the league has finally matured. Those who've followed closely watched it grow from a young college freshman who drunkenly hits on girls at basement parties, into a seasoned college senior who drunkenly hit on girls in dimly lit basement bars. It became official during the 2011 playoffs when the NBA's young stars earned their diplomas by knocking out the Spurs in round one, the Lakers in round two, and the Celtics only a few days later. Those three teams owned the last decade of basketball. In the last ten years, one of those three teams appeared in the NBA finals every year but one, and the Lakers alone won half of all available championships. Good teams are never good forever though and guys get old, legs get tired, and for a lot of athletes, there is significantly less motivation to make their last million than their first. And so human nature and the human body have taken a hold of the Celtics, Lakers, and Spurs and their time appears to be over. The question is which athletes and teams will step up to claim the next decade. Here is a list of five players who should make more than a few headlines in the next ten years.
#5 Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard is good at basketball for one simple reason, he is absolutely enormous. At 6 feet 11 inches tall with a 7 feet 5 inch wing span; he can touch the roof of most one story houses while standing barefoot. He does not possess any overwhelming skills other than his ability to stand under the rim and be bigger than anybody else in the arena. Fortunately for him, size goes a long way on the basketball court, and he has turned into one of the best players in the NBA. On offense he is a merciless dunk waiting to happen, and on defense all he has to do is stand in the middle of the court and nobody can get around or over him. His large frame has turned him into an unstoppable defender, and he has three straight Defensive Player Of The Year Awards to prove it. Simply put, Howard is the most dominant player in the league in terms of size and strength. He’s also only 25 so unless he starts shrinking when he’s 30 (most people don’t) he should be able to dominate for at least another decade.
#4 Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin is the most exciting player I’ve ever seen in the NBA (not counting Jordan since I still believed in Santa Clause for most of his career). It’s really not even close. There is a simple test to determine when an athlete is really a big deal; if my girlfriend has heard of them (she has), they are a big deal (he is). Nobody in the history of the NBA has dunks like Blake Griffin. The term posterized was invented just so we would have a way to talk about Blake Griffin. On top of his prolificness around the rim he is only a rookie and happens to have a well-balanced all around game. Blake’s only problem is he plays for the worst franchise in the NBA (the Clippers) and for a racist owner, (Donald Sterling). Donald Sterling is a seventy-eight year old business man who owns an NBA team of predominantly black players, and much to absolutely no one’s surprise, this has created a lot of tension and awkward moments in the Clippers franchise. Needless to say, the Clippers have failed under Sterling for many years. But if Blake can find another team (or Donald Sterling reads the emancipation proclamation), we will be talking about Blake as much more than a highlight reel dunk.
#3 Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant, KD for regular NBA fans, is the best all-around scorer in the NBA. There isn’t a place on the court he can’t get a basket from. His height makes him impossible to guard because he can shoot threes over top of guys who are 6’10”, but he’s also quick enough to drive by most guards in the league. His quickness and in-the-gym range make him the definition of a complete scorer. The likes of which haven’t been seen since Jordan was at the peak of his powers and since Kobe was taking every shot for the Lakers and even trying to shoot free throws for his teammates. KD has led the league in scoring the last two years AND plays with a point guard who is primarily a shoot-first player. After coming into the league in 2007, he has gotten better every year and at 22, he is still three or four years away from his prime. He is the only player right now with a legitimate chance of averaging over 30 points per game for multiple years. The last player to do that was Michael Jordan; he turned out to be pretty good.
#2 Derrick Rose
This is the part where it gets a little emotional for me. I would like to take this opportunity to officially announce I have a man crush on Derrick Rose. As an NBA fan with no NBA team, I am left rooting for players, and Rose has officially taken the top spot. After becoming the youngest MVP in the history of the league Rose has reached super-star status as a player after only his third year. On the court he is angry, relentless, and plays with an aggression that doesn't seem to fit his 6 foot 3 inch frame. Off the court he is exactly the opposite. He is quiet, respectful, and outwardly humbled by a game that he knows is bigger than him. A Chicago native, he grew up playing on black top courts on the south side imitating the moves of Chicago's original hero Michael Jordan. After getting drafted #1 overall in 2008, he has stayed true to these roots by making frequent visits back to the Englewood area (with more bodyguards this time) while living out his childhood dream. His work ethic and humble demeanor have endeared him to Bulls fans as well as for-hire NBA fans such as myself. On top of that, he is the best point guard in the NBA and one of the most explosive players we'll ever see. And now if you'll excuse me, I have to go make another pitcher of Derrick Rose Kool-Aid.
#1 Lebron James
Lebron James is the best basketball player in the world. As hard as that is for me to admit, it's true. Take away the entitlement, the commercials, the "decision," the fact that he considers himself a global icon, and you’re left with the greatest combination of size, speed, and power ever seen on a basketball court. From a pure athleticism standpoint he is the perfect basketball player. He is 6 feet 8 inches tall, 250 pounds, and hasn't seen an ounce of fat since Vince made Head On with Jessica Alba. There are plenty of big athletic guys in the NBA; what makes Lebron Lebron is that he can also be a finesse player. He is a great passer and handles the ball like a point guard in the open court. His high basketball IQ allows him to play any position and dominate all of them. There is a reason people thought he could be the best ever. To date, James has yet to live up to that billing, and although he is young, he has entered his prime without a ring. He has the tools to claim this decade for his own and win more than a couple rings. If he can keep his focus on basketball and less on global iconing he will do just that. If not, well, I just finished making my batch of Derrick Rose Kool-Aid.
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