Welcome back, NBA

I’ll say it – I’ve never been an NBA fan. Except for about three weeks in June 2001, I’ve never cared about the NBA at all, and it never seemed wrong to me. I’ve always been a baseball fan – as a kid, Phillies games are all we ever went to. The NFL caught my attention as a teenager, because growing up in this area I got to see how rabid their fanbase was and it made me want to be a part of it. I’ve always “kind of” liked the NHL, but I never became a die-hard until my Freshman year of college when everyone on my dorm floor loved hockey and sucked me in. For those sports, I don’t really need to watch a Philadelphia team to be entertained. A good baseball or football matchup keeps me occupied, and I’ll watch pretty much any NHL game that makes it to TV (the other day I watched Blackhawks – Wild on Versus. Patty Kane dangled one home in a shootout. Totally worth it).

But the NBA? Basketball in general? Too boring, too dependent on one guy running the show, too showy, too long…it just brought nothing to the table for me. I always thought I could watch the last ten minutes, catch the rest of the highlights on Sportscenter and be somewhat up top date one what’s going on with the NBA.

In 2009, I had a roommate who always watched soccer, and I hated it. I thought soccer was the most boring sport under the sun – that year, I was much more receptive to watching curling than watching soccer (and I did. Anyone remember how much curling was on TV during the 2010 Winter Olympics? I probably watched curling more than everything else combined, and felt let down when the US didn’t win). But that summer, I got sucked into the World Cup hype, started playing FIFA regiously, and now I can watch and appreciate a soccer game. I watched more MLS this past season than any of my other 21 year combined. I even watched the WPS championship game for some reason. If I got into soccer, I feel like it shouldn’t be a stretch for me to get into basketball.

Last year, I watched the Finals just to see if Lebron would win. That’s the only reason I tuned in (and I’d wager I’m not the only one). You know what? It wasn’t bad. The Finals were dramatic, entertaining, exciting, and got me kind of interested in what was going on. Even though the Sixers were out in the first round, I still felt like it was time not wasted watching those games, which is really all you can ask for out of sports when you think about it. So this year, I’ve decided to really try my best to follow the full (short) NBA season. Why now? The way I see it, there are four major reasons.

1) The Sixers are looking good. Not to be a bandwagoner, but the Sixers, for the first time maybe in my life, have a solid, young core that should be able to win some games. Even in Iverson’s days, we had him and a pretty rough cast of characters – a past-his-prime Mutombo, an underwhelming Eric Snow and Raja Bell, and Todd MacCulloch. Now? Jrue Holiday, Thaddeus Young, and Evan Turner are all exciting, Andre Iguodala is a star, and shit, Elton Brand might have something left in the tank, who knows.

2) There are a lot of teams to bandwagon. Even if the Sixers pull a 180 from last year and stink, there are plenty of interesting teams to watch. The NHL is kind of the same way for me – I’m a huge Flyers fan, but I can watch a non-Flyers game and be thoroughly entertained throughout. I figure the top five teams to watch this season are the…

Los Angeles Clippers – The Clip Show have sucked since I owned NBA Live 97 on the original Playstation, but these past couple seasons they’ve gotten better and better. Blake Griffin is the maybe the most exciting dunker in the western conference. This off season they made news by getting CP3 from under the nose of the Lakers.

New York Knicks – Sure, why not. Last year the only regular season NBA game I watched from start to finish was Melo’s debut game in the Big Apple. He posted a double double and the Knicks won. Amar’e is still good, and they added Tyson Chandler.

Boston Celtics – An older team who still might be able to do some magic. This short, intense season might destroy them.

Los Angeles Lakers – The Lake Show are worth watching if only to see if this is the year Kobe starts to age, and to see “World Peace” on the back of a jersey.

Miami Heat – Obviously. Love them or hate them, the big three put on a show every time they touch the court. They’re like the Patriots of the NBA – you hate to see them win, but when they do it is fun to watch.

Notable teams left off the list: Mavericks, Bulls, Magic (if they keep Dwight), Thunder (probably the sixth team on the list), Kings (for Jimmer), Spurs.
I know that’s like, the biggest bandwagon list ever, but at this point I’m a casual NBA fan at best.
3) There’s drama. Between The Decision, last year’s finals, the lockout, and the rapid fire free agent period this year, there are tons of interesting plots and sub-plots running through the NBA this year. Will Lebron finally overcome and win his first title with a dominating team in a short season? Will the Clippers be all hype? Will the Mavericks repeat even though they lost important pieces? Will Jimmer and that guy from Spain do anything? What’s up with Kobe’s trips to Europe for treatment? Is Dwight going anywhere?

4) It’s a short season. Think about it. This season is going to be intense. There are going to be meaningful games on every night. Every team has to fit 66 games in four months. There are going to be back to back games for every team, and some triples in there too. The lockout that was supposed to burn the NBA’s fan base actually got me more interested because of the season that is about to unfold. Do you understand how barren TV is these days? There are only so many NHL games to go around. At the very least, the NBA gives me a reason not to watch crap like “The Big Bang Theory” on a Thursday night.

Who knows? Maybe after a week of the NBA I’ll lose interest and go back to being a three sport guy (well, three and a half counting soccer). But with a season starting tomorrow, I’d like to introduce myself as the NBA’s newest fan.