NBA Training Camps Open as We Look Forward to a League-Defining Season

As NBA training camps open up across the country hope springs eternal for teams from the defending champs to the perennial cellar dwellers. This season however the anticipation is at fever pitch and has a chance to be one of the most memorable in recent memory with some scintillating story lines to follow.

The conversation of course has to start in Miami with the new Big Three as they aim to start their hopeful dynasty off with a championship in year one. However if the Heat can navigate through the East they would likely have to play a team in the west that is on the verge of reaching dynasty status in Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers. 

This matchup is truly the dream scenario for NBA fans, including commissioner David Stern who will need the distraction with the possibility of a lockout looming. Even with the possibility of these two titans fighting it out for seven games in June no league can survive on just two teams and this is where the NBA season could truly be considered special.

All around the league teams have reason for optimism, sometimes for the first time in years. In New York some offseason additions, centered around Amare Stoudemire, have fans legitimately thinking about contention for the first time in years. Another big market team, the Chicago Bulls, are hoping that Carlos Boozer and their offseason haul will lead to them making the jump to championship contention. Success in these two markets rich in basketball history will only mean good things for the league.

Even though it sounds like I've awarded the title to either the Heat or the Lakers, there are other teams already near the top of the league who will continue to contend this year. The Boston Celtics were just one victory away from being crowned NBA champs and added big bodies with the acquisitions of Jermaine and Shaquille O'Neal, while the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks did not add much but were able to keep key pieces for another run at the title.

In the west the Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, and San Antonio Spurs all made minor transactions to attempt to put themselves in a position to challenge the Lakers for western supremacy. Meanwhile in Houston the return of Yao Ming, even in a slightly limited capacity, has the Rockets believing that they are set to return to contending form.

Amazingly I've talked this long without mentioning the player who I believe will be your 2010-2011 MVP. If you haven't figured it out I am talking about the Durantula, the Plastic Man, the FIBA Championships MVP Kevin Durant. Many expect the young and athletic Oklahoma City Thunder to make another leap into serious championship contention after the test they gave the Lakers in last year's playoffs and you can count me in that group.

If Durant can show the same leadership combined with a freakish scoring ability, there's no reason we can't be looking at a "Durant vs. Kobe" showdown to decide the western conference champion.

Even with all this analysis, I haven't even mentioned the possibility of franchise players Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony being on the move to take some team into the championship realm.

This season has all the makings of a season that could be remembered for years and could launch a new generation of great competitive ball in the NBA. The talent is there, the personalities are there, and the rivalries are there to make this a season to remember in the deep laurels of NBA history.