I’m not sure why exactly, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the NBA lately. I just started thinking about just how many great players are in the league right now. No disrespect towards Jordan, Magic, Bird, Isiah, Moses, the Mailman or Olajuwan or any of the legends from my youth, but we might be watching the greatest collection of NBA talent right now in the game’s history.

Whether or not you put them ahead or behind his Airness, there’s no denying that we have THREE guys in the league right now who draw comparisons with MJ. You could argue till your nuts fall off over who’s the best between Lebron, Wade and Bryant and each can make a claim at being on the same level as Jordan. We also have studs like Dwight Howard, KG, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and others who are or will be considered all time greats for their respective teams and/or positions.

There’s just so much talent in the league right now and we’re in an era where defense is actually very important. Back in the ’80s and ’90s most teams didn’t really D up all that much. Other than the Bad Boy Pistons or Jordan’s Bulls, the majority of the league tended to play like the Phoenix Suns of recent years. Just watch some old games on ESPN Classic and you’ll see what I mean. The growth of defense, to me, really makes the play of guys like Lebron, Wade and Kobe even stand out more.

What really kills me, though, is that I just HATE watching basketball nowadays. It seems that regardless of whether the team I’m rooting for wins or loses, there are always about a dozen or so horrific fouls that have been called that end up ruining my experience. The refs often appear to have more control over the outcomes of these games than the players. And it doesn’t matter if they’re “on the take” or just ridiculously awful at what they do, it just kills my love for the sport. The NBA needs to fix this because these players are just so amazing and it’s a shame that the sport isn’t reaping the benefits that it ought to be with all this marketable talent. Fixing the ref problem would make a massive difference.