I can honestly say that I have never received a Christmas present in November. That all changed on Saturday, Nov. 26, when I woke up and realized that the NBA was going to have a season this year, beginning on Dec. 25.
I was absolutely giddy. It was the equivalent of seeing that one toy that I was lusting for when I was 10 years old (yeah, I used to try to sneak peeks) and not being able to receive it until Christmas day. The “t’s” haven’t been crossed and the “i’s” haven’t been dotted yet on the new labor agreement, but the deal is pretty much done to bring NBA basketball back for this season.
As a Knicks fan, this is thrilling for me. There was a legitimate possibility that the newly formed dream duo of Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony were going to have to let a year of their prime waste away while sitting at home. For someone who hasn’t seen a Knicks team get past the first round of the playoffs in over 10 years, that was a pretty scary thought.
As a basketball fan overall, I’m also ecstatic. Last season was one of the best ones I can remember ever watching, and I couldn’t imagine not getting another chance to see LeBron fall on his face in the playoffs again. Jokes aside, though, I just love watching the game of basketball, Knicks or not, and I can’t wait for it to begin.
I must say, I’m also glad they came to a deal that wasn’t a complete fleecing of the players by the owners as had previously been tossed around by media outlets and the owners themselves. Some of the deals that the owners had proposed were essentially going to make it so that teams that were willing to spend money wouldn’t be able to, which would have ruined free agency for the next 10 years. Under the new deal, many of the same stipulations from the old agreement are in place (allowing teams like the Knicks and Heat to build around their stars), while at the same time, new minimum-spending-limit sanctions have been put in place to stop small-market owners from sitting on their money (and hopefully restoring the competitive balance to smaller teams).
Overall, I’m just really excited to hear that the NBA is back. November hasn’t felt like November without seeing teams work off their rust and gel together. However, I’m not going to complain, because now I get to watch my favorite sport on Christmas day. I hope someone I love gift wraps my remote for me, because all I want this Christmas is some NBA basketball.
