Penny Thoughts: The NBA Playoffs are Exciting (Without LeBron)

Recently, Chris Paul, a generational NBA talent that seemingly had every accolade besides “MVP” and “NBA Champion”, finally got his first chance to win the ring that has eluded him for years.

It brings me back to a conversation I had with my little brother a few weeks ago, in which I talked about how the NBA playoffs seemed more exciting. Why?

Because LeBron James wasn’t in them.

This may seem like a controversial statement. In fact, you may think this is some sort of a political smear on LeBron, but it’s the exact opposite of that. LeBron James is one of the greatest to ever play, and his dominance is unmatched in today’s NBA. From 2011 to 2018, LeBron James was in the NBA Finals.

And in a way, that dominance, that guaranteed ticket to the NBA Finals that you had if you had him on the roster, ruined the NBA. As a Heat fan, it was fun in 2012 and 2013 when he won the championship for us. The loss to the Spurs in 2014 stung so much that when he left us to play for the Cavaliers once more, it didn’t faze us. Immediately he sprung a team that was well below .500 to the NBA Finals, where he almost carried an injured Cavaliers team to a title. In 2016, he delivered the most meaningful NBA Championship in league history. However in 2017 and 2018, the Golden State Warriors, reeling from blowing a 3-1 deficit, decided that adding Kevin Durant to a 73 win squad was not a sign of cowardice, but one of business. In a way, the fact that LeBron dragged a corpse of a team to the NBA Finals in 2017 and 2018 guaranteed championships for the Warriors.

In 2019, when he missed the playoffs altogether, we saw the Toronto Raptors usurp the Golden State Warriors’ throne in a refreshing new playoff race.

Then in 2020 LeBron reared his head again and won the championship against my own Miami Heat. The only real challenge came in the Finals where Jimmy Butler put all 110% of his being into defeating LeBron James.

But this year, a myriad of factors led to the most open and amazing playoffs we have seen in a while. With Kevin Durant leaving and Klay Thompson gone, the Warriors are a shell of their former selves and are waiting on his return. They were kicked out of the playoffs due in part to a LeBron James dagger in the play-in tournament, where the Lakers clinched only a seven seed thanks to injuries to the Lakers squad.

In LeBron James’s first ever first round exit, the Phoenix Suns, of which Chris Paul has revitalized, threw the Lakers out of the playoffs in six games.

Just like that, the only thing stopping this playoffs from being entertaining was, once again, Kevin Durant teaming up with generational talent. James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, some asked, “how much does he need to win a title?”

But once again, the Milwaukee Bucks, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, slayed the Nets in a hard-fought, very entertaining seven games series.

All the while the fifth seed, the Atlanta Hawks, eliminated the one seed Philadelphia 76ers in seven games behind the fantastic play of Trae Young, and the L.A Clippers clinched their first Western Conference Finals berth since… ever.

LeBron James may not be the reason behind this playoff being so entertaining, so wide open, so friendly to franchises that haven’t sniffed winning in a long time.

But you know what? This is a good thing for the league. According to NBA Communications, the TV ratings for the playoffs have gone up 39% from last year. People no longer think the NBA is a foregone conclusion.

Chris Paul is in the Finals. The Atlanta Hawks might join them. Giannis Antetokounmpo might be able to send the Bucks back to the Finals for the first time since Kareem. We have witnessed amazing playoff series.

The NBA is amazing, and it’s high time people start taking note of it.