NBA: The league has a long history of the rich getting richer
By Bill Boffi
The NBA has a long history of the rich getting richer and, get this, it didn’t ruin the league. Let’s take a trip down memory lane
Two summers ago, the 73-win Golden State Warriors added Kevin Durant, the second best player in the world. The rest, as they say, is history.
In this case, “history” is two historically dominant playoff runs. Now, the two-time defending champs have added another all-star, DeMarcus Cousins. Parity people are losing their minds. Unprecedented, they say. The league is broken, they say. Wrong and wrong.
This is neither new, nor a sign of the apocalypse. Come with me back to 1982, when there were two startling examples of the super-rich hitting the “lottery.” The 1982 Finals was a classic match-up of perennial powers: the Sixers and the Lakers. A rematch of the 1980 Finals.
More from Sir Charles In Charge
- LeBron James working to assemble super team for USA Basketball in 2024
- Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
- NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
- Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
- Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
The ’82 Sixers defeated the defending champion Celtics on the road in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. No small feat. The Sixers were loaded by the standard of any era: Julius Erving at the end of his prime, but still in his prime. Hall of Famer Maurice Cheeks entering his prime.
Shooting star Andrew Toney flashing his short-lived brilliance. Bobby Jones, an all-time great defender, teammate, role-player. Darryl Dawkins, a powerful figure of nearly mythical proportions.
The Sixers lost in the finals and then added, not a good player, not a great player, but the reigning MVP!
The late, great Moses Malone joined Philly at the peak of his powers. Sure, they gave up Caldwell Jones, a truly solid big man, and a first-round pick, but they didn’t give up any of their core four of Erving, Cheeks, Toney or Jones. With Malone, the Sixers jumped into the conversation of the greatest team of all-time by dominating the ’82-’83 season and post-season.
Meanwhile, on the West Coast, the Lakers celebrated their 1982 championship, by adding, get this, the first pick in the draft! Fortunately, for the sake of parity and the future of the league, the loaded Lakers flubbed the pick.
What’s that? They didn’t flub the pick? Oh, my bad. With the first pick in the draft the Lakers selected James Worthy, Hall of Famer. No one was surprised when Worthy turned out to be the perfect compliment for Magic as a legendary finisher of the legendary Showtime break. This addition cemented the Lakers dynastic run through the end of the decade of the eighties.
Next. Miami Heat: Signing Justise Winslow to an extension is the right move. dark
What is clear 35 years hence is that those super teams adding superstars did not ruin the league. To the contrary, that moment in time might mark the sharpest rise in the popularity of the NBA. Ever. The league caught fire. And the rest, as they say, is history.