Times have changed for NBA’s West
The National Basketball Association used to be chock full of great teams, especially in the Western Conference. Now, there are a couple of great squads, a few respectable ones, and a bunch of garbage that nobody will remember for anything than how bad it smells.
Back in the 1990s, the NBA was rolling in talent. While some will point at the era and bemoan that it was very difficult to score 100 points, the league had some of the great rivalries and terrific individual talents. Just on the Western Conference side, you had the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Supersonics, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz.
Phoenix had the duo of Kevin Johnson and Charles Barkley with Danny Ainge and Dan Majerle providing quality shooting from the perimeter. Portland gave you Clyde Drexler in his prime and Terry Porter, with Buck Williams and Clifford Robinson (and during its Finals run in 1991-92, also Ainge).
Seattle was perhaps the most talented of any team mentioned above, boasting a fine collection of players including Detlef Schrempf, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp and Nate McMillan. Seattle would reach the NBA Finals in 1996, but that was a group that should have won a title. San Antonio had the Admiral in David Robinson and nice pieces in Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson on the outside, with Tim Duncan coming toward the end of the decade.
Houston would win a pair of NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, with Hakeem Olajuwon at the peak of his powers, alongside Drexler, Mario Elie, Robert Horry, Otis Thorpe, Vernon Maxwell and Kenny Smith. Then there was Utah, with Karl Malone and John Stockton consistently making deep runs into the postseason, with a pair of consecutive Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998.
The point of this trip down memory lane? To showcase just how great the playoffs were in the 1990s out West. Now? You have the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, with everybody else basically playing for third place. Yes, this does speak to the level of talent on those teams and that should be appreciated, but it also goes to the fact that most teams in the conference are terrible.
Commissioner Adam Silver must figure out a way to restore some balance in the league, especially with stars teaming up more than ever and an exploding salary cap on the horizon. It is rendering both the regular season and a large chunk of the playoffs unwatchable, if only because we already know the one series that matters is the Western Conference Finals.
Golden State and San Antonio are amazing to watch. Unfortunately, they are the only two teams worth watching in the entire Western Conference.
