Remember the NBA?

Every time I walk into the REC center at Cal State Long Beach and see people shooting hoops on the basketball courts I can’t help but think back to the end of last year’s basketball season. There were some highs and some lows. My beloved Lakers crumbled in the Western Conference semifinals and, in the process, a few of the players made fools of themselves….*cough* Andrew and Lamar. After my tears dried though, I witnessed something that, at the time was much sweeter than another Lakers championship. This was the fall of the ever cocky, overly hyped and self-proclaimed King, Lebron James. Ah Yes, it was wonderful to see him fail when it came down to crunch time. His blank stare as the seconds ticked down at the end of game 6. He was probably thinking back to that little stunt he pulled with the other big 2 at the beginning of the season in Miami where they flaunted themselves in front of cameras and crowds to predict 8 championships in 8 years. Nope Nope. It was a team that everyone doubted that took it home last year. No player on the Mav’s had ever won an NBA title, and sure enough, led by that big James Bond villain of a look-a-like in Dirk they took down the Miami Heat. It saved Jason Terry's decision of getting the NBA trophy tattooed to his arm, and allowed for Mark Cuban to puff out his chest even more.
So now that we have no NBA season this year we can still use last year’s season as a point of reference. One that shows that hard work pays off and that you can’t believe all the hype. At the same time we can reflect on how selfish and egotistical some of these athletes have become. They feel privileged and even if the NBA teams are suffering they feel that they should still be paid astronomically high salaries. Finally, I have a quote that I’d like to see Lebron and a few others in the NBA apply to their routines if we ever do have an NBA season again. “Speak softly, and carry a big stick, you will go far.”- Theodore Roosevelt

Spencer Pirdy KIN 332IS