How Superstars Like LeBron James and Dwight Howard Are Ruining the NBA
The NBA was once a league built on team basketball. While each superstar was an unquestioned leader, championship dreams were fulfilled via the proper balance of individual brilliance and team-oriented strategy.
Oh, how times have changed.
The 2012 season was yet another year in the new millennium in which individual players attempted to make themselves bigger than a franchise.
From Dwight Howard holding the Orlando Magic hostage to Stephen Jackson finding his way onto everyone's bad side until the Milwaukee Bucks finally traded him away, a continuation of LeBron James' most controversial decision in professional sports history has remained steady.
Whether on or off the court, the NBA has fallen victim to a star-over-franchise scenario on far too many occasions.
From the Showtime Lakers to the Bad Boy Pistons, the greatest dynasties of all time did not derive from an individual's brilliance. After all, even Michael Jordan's six titles can be accredited to Phil Jackson and a slew of fellow Hall of Famers.
Today, that's lost. Rather than build a legitimate championship contender, teams are building for star power, and it's players like LeBron James and Dwight Howard who are responsible.
It's the players who caught the eye of an entire nation, raising interest in the NBA and their franchise accordingly. The players whose name often has more value than their talent, as no one man has ever won a title on his own.
So how do we solve this annual dilemma? How does the league recover from the big-name pandemic? For starters, they can begin to value the name on the front of the jersey before the letters on the back define their direction.
While jersey sales and individual awards may go to the superstars, the championships belong to the teams.
That's the reason the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals. The same reason the San Antonio Spurs defeated LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2007.
Just as the Detroit Pistons beat the star-oriented Lakers in 2004 and Dallas Mavericks beat the Big Three of the Miami Heat in 2011. Teams overcome stars when the title is on the line.
Unfortunately, the rest of the NBA missed out on this history lesson.
Teams will continue to be built around one player, rather than built for all-around efficiency. While there is no debating the value of a star, there is something to be said for a superstar's hefty salary and long list of demands.
Rather than honoring those desires, why not create a system in which all can thrive and one clutch finisher can emerge?
Individuals will rise. Teams will remain amongst the basketball gods.
