by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
With Dwyane Wade winning the 2006 NBA Finals MVP, the NBA is going through a revolution.
That's right, the Michael Jordan hangover may finally be over. For years, basketball fans have been waiting for another superstar to captivate us like His Airness once did. Many have tried and many have failed, at least until now. Let me explain.
In the early 1990s, when Jordan was in his prime, the supposed next great player was Anfernee Hardaway. However, even with a young, athletic Shaquille O'Neal on his team, Hardaway failed to win a title. After O'Neal left Orlando for Los Angeles, Hardaway's career bombed worse than Eddie Murphy's music career, mainly because of injuries.
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The next great player who was supposed to take over the league and assume Jordan's throne was none other than Kobe Bryant. You know, the guy who has sex with 19-year-old girls in hotel rooms during road games. Anyway, Bryant had the talent and the killer instinct to match Jordan. Then, the worst thing that could have happened to Bryant happened - he won three titles early in his career.
The reason that turned out to be a negative is because it molded Bryant into a selfish player who cared more about his personal stats than winning since he already had three rings. He never helped make his team better like Jordan did. Plus, it was O'Neal who played the role of Batman during that title run that Los Angeles had with the two superstars.
After Bryant, Tracy McGrady came into the league. His game almost mirrored Bryant's, except for the fact that he seemed to care less about himself and more about winning. Oh yeah, and he never wore a stupid afro, either.
Then, much like Hardaway, McGrady started suffering injuries at an almost impossible pace. I never used to believe in karma, but after watching the bad luck that those two players had, I'm pretty sure that they are the reincarnations of Adolf Hitler and the guy who invented techno.
I was convinced there was no hope. During the Jordan era, I never missed one of his games and was a huge basketball follower. After he left the Bulls for good in 1998, the league just wasn't the same. Fans were starving for a player who would leave them in awe like Jordan did for so many years. Then the 2003 draft happened.
Basketball fans were introduced to LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Wade. Anthony has developed into a pure basketball player and one of the most clutch guys in the league. James won a playoff series with a worse supporting cast than today's Saturday Night Live crew.
After Wade hoisted the MVP trophy following Tuesday night's clincher against the Dallas Mavericks, the torch was passed. Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the Dwyane Wade Era.
At least until James gets a sidekick.
