In this spring season of fresh starts and new beginnings, we see a change in the NBA’s power dynamic. Systemic shifts have taken place this season that will bare out in the playoffs and the league will be better for it – new teams and new hopeful fan bases are the lifeblood of this league.

Most observers recognize that the former first overall pick is far from a finished product, but if the Raptors are to achieve any sort of meaningful or long-term success, he needs to continue his ascension into the league’s elite.

While Kobe Bryant may be the league’s MVP through a quarter of the season, he is not even the most important player in his own locker room. The most prized piece of the Laker juggernaut in fact hails from not from suburban Philadelphia, but from Sant Boi de Llobrega, Spain.

I always thought the end of Allen Iverson’s career would come in a flash. Too strong was his love for the game, and at the same time, too strong was his own pride, to let his career unravel slowly. He would not let us see him become a ghost of his former self as so many veterans do.

It gives me no pleasure to find out that I seem to have been right.

As for what you call this restoration in Phoenix, call it whatever you like – a comeback, a rebirth, a return to normalcy – but just be sure to remember who we can thank for it: the incomparable Steve Nash.

Isiah Thomas is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He surely ranks among the best point guards in history, and anyone who ever watched him play can attest that few players have ever played with more fire and spirit than the former Piston legend.

Based on his career on the basketball court, we should collectively think about Thomas as an iconic figure and one of the true luminaries of his sport.

But we don’t. When we contemplate all that is Isiah Thomas, more often then not the former star comes up miserably short.

Hedo Turkoglu reflects the new global face of this organization, and stands as a true representative of the city and people who support it: diverse, cosmopolitan, unprovincial.

The Los Angeles Lakers are built around Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant. Gasol will be his predictably efficient, lethal self and will repeat as an All-Star. Bryant will continue to adjust his game to suit his team’s needs and increasing age.

Together, they should guide Los Angeles back to the NBA Finals, and to another title.

In basketball, as in life, leadership often makes all the difference. Leaders motivate and conduct, but perhaps more importantly leaders must inspire. Good leadership inspires players to have confidence in the leader himself. It is only great leadership though that inspires players to have confidence in themselves.

With that in mind it takes only one look at the Boston Celtics to recognize their true leader. Paul Pierce is their charger, Ray Allen is their calming influence, and Rajon Rondo their vitality. But if Boston’s season came down to one player, there can be no question it would be Kevin Garnett.

As the seconds ticked down and Kobe Bryant’s seven-year odyssey for another NBA Championship concluded, one couldn’t help but be curious as to what his celebratory pose would look like after the final buzzer.
Given the individual impact this ring would have on Bryant’s NBA legacy, and given how singular his drive has been throughout his [...]