A Year Without the NBA

David Stern and the rest of the owners have been saying "No" to the proposed offers, prolonging the NBA Lockout.

Kevin Durant and other NBA players cannot be happy about being locked out. 

"It looks like the 2011-12 season is really in jeopardy”, said NBA commissioner David Stern. Ugh. Yet another opportunity to end the NBA lockout has failed.  Why can’t the two sides agree? This isn’t about healthcare,  IT'S ABOUT BASKETBALL FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!

How popular is basketball these days?  Ask anyone who has witnessed people shooting a piece of crumpled-up paper into a trash can while shouting “Kobe”!  How popular is the NBA? Everyone plays NBA 2K11. Fantasy basketball is the fastest growing fantasy sport. Basketball also has some of the more interesting metric stats, which gets statisticians involved and interested. Also, more and more youth are leaning towards playing basketball over other sports. The NBA also has more mainstream superstars than the other four major sports. Don’t believe me? How many big name players can you name in the MLB? Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, and A-Rod are the only players right? In the NFL, there are countless top quarterbacks and running backs; but can you name your favorite team’s starting left guard? Didn’t think so. In hockey, with the exception of Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, there really aren’t many that superstars.  The NBA has the most stars by far than any other sport. To name a few of these players: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Derrick Rose, and Kevin Durant; but  the list goes on and on. 

So what will “The Big 3” do in their second season? Will Cuban and Dirk win another championship? Can Kobe win without Phil?  The world may never know the answers to these important questions. The games are canceled through November. Commissioner Stern may cancel more. 

So what does this mean? The last time a major sport didn’t have a season was in 2004-05 when the NHL was locked out for a year. Though there are still some devoted fans, Hockey fandom has gone down in the U.S. Who knows what will happen with the NBA. Will people still watch it when it returns? Will the players recover? How will the coaches ready their teams with such short notice? These and other essential questions will hopefully be answered this year. Hopefully soon. 

Will there be an NBA season? Depends on who you ask. For optimists, there will be one by Christmas. Pessimists hardly believe,  another National Basketball Association game is possible. Sadly, no one can predict when the NBA will return. We’re hoping for a gamewinner from MJ, to save the day.