I have loved the players, the teams, the courts, the uniforms but must of all, I have loved watching great basketball.
For some reason though, the NBA has been making a lot of changes lately and it just doesn't feel right to me.
All Star Game
The first thing that was changed was the Allstar game. Instead of the best of the west playing the best of the east this year, two team captains will pick their teams, irrespective of conference.
It was an effort by Adam Silver to make the Allstar game more competitive this year. For the past several years, the NBA Allstar games have been a joke. None of the players have competed and it has deteriorated the game to the point where it is a glorified layup drill.
The Allstar game used to be one of my favorite games each year. It was the one chance to see all the best players in the world but on a show, but more importantly compete to see who is best player/team in the world, at least for one day. I remember watching Jordan score 40 in the 1988 All Star game, Magic, Bird and Jordan putting on a show in their last Allstar game together in the 1990 Allstar game, Magic returning from retirement in 1992 to win MVP, Kobe and Jordan going head to head in 1998, and Iverson leading the east from behind in 2001. Those games meant a lot, because the players competed hard.
But because players have stopped competing, Allstar records have also become meaningless. Last year, Anthony Davis scored a record 52 points. In the same game, Russel Westbrook scored 41 points and the West won 192-182 but it was one of the worst all-star games I have ever seen.
This year, Adam Silver hopes that the changes will make the game more competitive. Personally, the problem is not with the teams, but the attitude of the players. I understand that they don't want to be injured, but when in the history of the all star game has a player been injured due to playing hard and competing?
I hate that players aren't competing and I hate destroying the 70 year tradition of East v West.
Uniforms
I was really excited when I heard that Nike would be producing the uniforms. I didn't like the sleeved jerseys that Adidas pushed and I was hoping that Nike produce some nice uniforms.
But then came the advertising on the jerseys. I don't like it and I think it just cheapens the whole look. I have seen other leagues around the world that have more advertising on the jerseys and you can barely tell what the team name is and what are the sponsors. I understand that its all about money and these advertisers are paying a lot of money to have their names on the jerseys. I understand it, but I don't like it.
What I really hate though is some of the jerseys. Firstly, what is going on with the Lakers' jerseys. The Lakers have one of the most classic jerseys in the NBA and somehow they got the color completely wrong. It looks horrible. Just look at this comparison between the classic Lakers purple and gold and the new banana yellow.
(Don't get me wrong, not all jerseys are horrible. I love the Wolves, the Heat and some of the other teams).
The other thing that's really annoying me is the uniform colors for home and away teams. Previously, home teams generally wore white and away teams wore their colors. But this year, for some reason, they have changed it. When the Bulls and the Lakers played in LA last week, the Bulls wore there white home uniforms and the Lakers wore their banana yellow. It just looked horrible.
The Lakers also don't seem to be wearing their classic purple uniforms anymore. Why would the most successful franchise in the past 30 years change their classic look?
I know change is good sometimes. But I just don't like these changes...
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