There has been a lot of discourse regarding the current NBA landscape leading up to this year’s NBA Finals.
Many fans and media personalities have lamented the result, claiming the matchup is ‘bad for the league’, ‘boring’, and ‘uninteresting’. On one hand, this is understandable: The Oklahoma City Thunder-Indiana Pacers Finals is among the smallest market matchups the league has seen, which could alienate many fan bases.
Still, the sour attitude doesn’t seem to be due to personal rooting interests, but rather to other factors, specifically a misinterpretation of the importance and implications of this matchup for the NBA.
“This Year’s Finals Lacks Starpower.”
Thursday’s game was a validation of this series’ merit.
The Indiana Pacers stole Game 1 of the NBA Finals in Oklahoma City. The Pacers trailed until the final 0.3 seconds of game time, when Tyrese Haliburton added yet another entry to his clutch shot catalogue. Haliburton already has more clutch playoff moments in this stretch alone than some legends have in their entire careers, and yet this latest shot stands apart as the coveted Finals game winner.
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1930825411207811198
This exact Finals scenario is what the league has been begging for. For years, fans and media have asked, “Who will define the league next?” in the wake of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry’s twilight. We yearn for players to inherit the league the way those three icons did, and when the opportunity arises, we scoff.
If we are overly captivated by the past, we ignore the value of the present. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James might not be in the Finals, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Tyrese Haliburton are. These two stars are just entering their prime and already making copious amounts of history.
SGA is the current MVP, and Haliburton is among the clutchest stars we have. SGA is the league’s premier scoring guard, and Hali is the premier non-Serbian playmaker. Pascal Siakam has re-established himself among the league’s best Swiss-Army knife offensive players. Chet Holmgren (despite a poor Game 1) is still a mismatch creator at only 23 years old.
This series lacks the traditional star power we have come to expect in previous Finals, but that’s a great thing. This series is a coronation of SGA and Haliburton’s brilliance. We can gripe and complain that there are no familiar faces in the NBA Finals, or we can celebrate the unexpected arrival of SGA and Tyrese Haliburton.
“The Markets are too Small.”
This is an odd sentiment. Since when do we watch basketball based on market size and profitability of the league? Since when is it a negative that new teams and fan bases are experiencing success? Would the league and its marketability really be in a better place if the Lakers and Knicks were in the Finals every year? Would it be better if the Finals only consisted of super teams from Texas and the Coasts?
This matchup should be treasured.
We love when this type of thing happens in other sports. We loved when the Saint Peter’s Peacocks charged through the NCAA Tournament. Our hearts were captured by the Detroit Lions finding success and rising into the NFL’s class of Super Bowl contenders. Why do we balk when it happens in the NBA?
Either the Pacers or Thunder will win their first Larry O’Brien Trophy. This is exciting. Dedicated fan bases are rewarded for their loyalty, and smart team building is paying off. Sure, the Celtics could win their 18th title, and that would have some neat ramifications. OR, the broader NBA fan base of basketball enjoyers can join the Pacers or Thunder fans in celebrating their first. The NBA and its long-term health will be just fine if a new team hangs their first banner.
“The NBA is better with a villain to root against.”
For the first time in NBA history, there will be seven different champs in seven years. Four of them, including this year’s winner, will have won the title for the first time. The NBA has achieved true parity. According to some, this is a bad thing.
It was not too long ago that the same three to four teams dominated the playoffs and Finals, including the Cavs and Warriors’ now-iconic four straight Finals matchups. Super-teams were the standard, first set by the ’08 Celtics and then perfected in the 2017 Golden State Warriors. There was anything but parity. Was a seemingly predetermined outcome of the Warriors-Cavs Finals great for the league? Maybe for the Cavs and, especially, Warriors fans.
The same cannot be said about the current iteration of the league. Any playoffs can yield any result. The Nuggets and Bucks can win alongside the Warriors and Celtics. Unpredictability breeds excitement and investment. It was not as gratifying to watch previous playoffs and their signature moments with the knowledge that it would end in Golden State. Isaiah Thomas and John Wall’s incredible playoff performances did not spark the same excitement, since we all had a good idea that the Cavs would advance. The broader outcome is now in flux, which gives the isolated moments more importance.
The first three rounds truly matter again. They are no longer a formality. Instead of longing for the nostalgic series of old, let’s embrace the chaos of modernity. It might’ve been fun to root against the dominant force, but it is just as fun to root for the possibility of an unknown Finals.
Indiana’s run personifies this randomness (to the maximum). OKC too, as they are the second-youngest team to make the Finals in history, behind only the ’77 Trail Blazers. Both teams buck historical trends and embody new possibilities parity provides.
Let’s embrace the chaos. The Pacers sure are, and look how much fun they’re having.
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