NBA star quality starting to shine again

I can remember when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I used to spend the post-Church portions of my Sunday mornings with a glazed donut and a South Bend Tribune sports section spread out in front of me.\nI'd plot out all the potential postseason scenarios -- the likely wins and losses as the NBA's playoff picture fermented.\nI would even get to the point where I could rattle off all the league's statistical leaders and I had a closet full of jerseys to mirror them.\nBut a whole lot has changed since then, and it's not just a deeper voice and about 14 inches of height.\nIn that near-decade, Michael Jordan retired -- twice -- and the NBA's star quality gradually faded out completely. Casual sports fans lost almost all interest.\nBut after the league's darkest couple of seasons -- this year's Nielsen television ratings ranked professional basketball seventh -- the stars aren't exactly shining again, but they're glimmering. A little bit, at least.\nSo how did the NBA fall to such depths?\nWell, Steve Nash not only won two MVP's, but he dominated this season's voting -- and he did deserve to win. The problem is, an MVP should be Jordan-esque -- he needs to be worth watching every night and highly marketable, a figurehead for the league. You never want your league MVP to be a soft-spoken non-scorer who spends less than a college sophomore on his wardrobe.\nThankfully, there's absolutely no way Nash three-peats.\nThe playoffs have proven LeBron's legitimacy. They should save us all some time and award him the 2007 MVP award before the Cavs get eliminated. He'll be in his final contract year next season, and Danny Ferry will likely surround him with all the missing pieces to entice him to re-sign.\nPlus, this summer's blockbuster should look something like: Garnett to Chicago for a mid-level exception, two first-round picks and Chris Duhon. KG's long-rumored return to his hometown should vault him back into MVP contention. \nBut the league is also still trying to recover from the nastiness that was the Detroit and San Antonio championship series -- the first seven-game finals in 12 years. And yet ABC still netted record low ratings for the 2005 finals because the only star featured -- Tim Duncan -- doesn't even want to be a star. The 75-74 defensive slugfests belong in March, not May. \nNow, the Spurs look eliminated and the horizon is brightening as Dwyane Wade and his Heat are hot. Clueless analysts are finally realizing that even the Pistons need a playoff-tested coach for the postseason.\nAs Nowitzki vs Wade looks eminent, the NBA rests in good hands and the 2002 draft class should provide the same star quality as the 1984 draft, which yielded Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, John Stockton, Sam Perkins and Jordan, whose battles with Larry Bird resurrected the then-dwindling NBA.\nI heard Wade say something a few weeks ago that I -- a Chicago-land native -- really related to. Something about how he always felt like Jordan was a member of the family, and that's the kind of superstar he wanted to become. Wade has also said he's been working on his perimeter shooting lately and that he wants to train with Gary Payton and Kobe all summer to work on his defensive game.\nIt looks like the stars are coming out to shine bright again.\nBut what I'm really unsure about is, how will this dark period of professional basketball be remembered?\nI saw a 10-year-old looking kid wearing a Ginobili jersey yesterday when I was doing some grocery shopping. I was in disbelief.\nYou could tell this kid only rooted for San Antonio because of last year's championship, and his mom got him a Ginobili jersey because it was the only Spurs jersey she could find at a Northern Indiana Footlocker.\nBut imagine the story this kid will tell at high-school lunch in about seven years, when Wade and LeBron jerseys become a fashion trend. Something like: "I remember I wore Ginobili jersey in elementary school." His entourage will probably erupt in laughter.\nAt least my grade-school jersey collection doesn't embarrass me.