This is why we watch

[Matthew]

I'm sitting here, still in total awe of the season that has just passed. Kobe's 62 pts in 3 quarters and 81 against the raptors are games that i'll never forget watching. But that wasnt all.

Who could forget the 40 points, near triple double games by lebron and wade in the same game? Who could forget the way carmelo led his team down the stretch? Who could forget the spurs and mavs battle for their division? Who could forget the fear in every fans eyes when the talk of amare returning to an already dangerous pheonix team was brought up? who could forget the asg, and the introductions? from kg and shaqs dancing, to the snake, to the east dancing. and of yeah, the game. 4 piston players, and a coach, and it turned out to be the man who would put the pistons on the backfoot singlehandedly, lebron james, who won the asg mvp.

Then in the playoffs, the drama could not have been predicted. The possiblitiy of a all la 2nd round matchup was extinguished by tim thomas and barbosa. the pistons "aura" (lol they've only won 1 championship, people talked about them like they were a dynasty), and getting completely dominated by a great team in miami.

out west, the mavericks win in game 7 against the spurs showed how great they are. but whats forgetton is pheonix. they, without imo the best young big man in the league amare, had the conference finals tied at 2. if amare is healthy next season, with tim thomas, marion, bell and nash, this team could challenge for 70 wins.

In the finals, im a big stackhouse fan, but also a mourning and payton fan, so i was unbiased when the series began. down 0-2, and 12 points in the 4th quarter of game 3, the heat fought back and won. dallas will regret that for the rest of their lives.game 5 was somewhat controversial, but give wade credit. down by one in overtime, he still had to hit both free throws. how much pressure was on his shoulders? amazing.

Game 6 was the end of the best season ever. When Miami won, and the celebration was under way, i actually shed a tear for alonzo. how much can one individual go through? a centre at 6'9, completely dominant (so dominant he actually was all nba 1st team ahead of shaq in 99). i saw him play in the olympics against lithuania where he was the best player on the court. and then the kidney disease. he came back though, and was swept by charlotte in the first round. then the heat struggled the next season, when he played an entire season. then he went to new jersey, and he would end up back in miami.

he never gave up. he never complained. he still recieved criticism for showing so much emotion. and he has a ring. he succeeded, and is the epitime of what is so good about the nba.

there is no better way for the nba to finish 2006 then to see alonzo holding the larry obrien trophey.

[BIG GREEN]

Yep, that is why i made that thread about the best playoffs ever. It was a very memorable season with the wade vs. lebron game and the kobe 81...but i dunno if it was the best season ever. However, those playoffs were definitly the best.

[Buckley]

Definitely, this was the best season ever. Another thing during the regular season was that 3 players averaged over 30 PPG, something that hasnt been done in a while.

[J@3]

I think the Toronto situation was a blemish that shouldn't be ignored with Alonzo... saying you're too sick to play, forcing the team to buy out his contract and then 3 weeks later he's suddenly well enough to play for Miami? Seems a bit suspicious to me. Should've been straight up and just told them he wanted to play for a contender. Congratulations to him either way, he got what he was after.

Kobe's season is something I'll never forget. I'm still bitter about the whole MVP thing but whatever, that's the media for you. Come to think of it, this was a big season for me personally. With Andrew Bogut in the league I had not only one, but two teams to monitor like a hawk for the entire season. The Lakers finally beat Snaq and the Heat, and I had a good enough ADSL connection to be able to watch games.

I didn't pay much attention to the series between Miami and Dallas, mostly because of the football World Cup and also because I have no real affinity for either team. Looking forward to next season already though

[Fenix]

I liked the regular season, I loved the Western Conference playoffs and the first two rounds of the EC, but the Finals and Eastern Finals were pretty souless, IMO. 5th and 6th game of the Finals will be remembered as the ones, won by refeeres, not players, which takes away quite a lot. Finals are the top of the mountain and if the top is flawed, everything else loses its meaning.

[Andrew]

For me, 2005/2006 wasn't the best season but I'd say it's my favourite post-Jordan season so far. I had higher expectations for the Bulls going into the year but the final push and two Playoff victories did make up for early disappointment. It really was a fun season, I must respectfully disagree with those who claim the NBA is going down the drain or taken steps backwards after making progress in recent years. I think great basketball has been there to enjoy for those who are willing to see it and no, I don't think it requires rose coloured glasses.

[volsey]

I think as long as your a basketball fan in general, the NBA will never go downhill, I dont care what happens. This season was pretty good actualy, Kobes 81 was amazing, but I have to say the Wade vs. LeBron was better, I loved how they traded baskets in the fourth. The first two rounds of the playoffs were great, after that, I kinda stopped watching, until the finals. Most of the games I didnt find very fun to watch, Wade was falling everywhere, Nowitzki was none existent, but Terry was fun to watch. The only game I liked was game 3, but in all, the finals were probably better than 2005's final between Detriot and San Antonio.

[hipn]

This was a great season....but the NBA will die fi the Refs keep giving the SUPERSTAR TREATMENT, and if the flopping and fake (acing) fouls keep on continuing.

[Cloudy]

Definately the best season so far, you see old-current-future players all on the court playing just for championship. But this is also a year that I felt so pissed about basketball referees, Raja Bell almost made me kick the TV. I just also can't believe what referees can do to change a game, it's like 3/5 of the games I watch will end up with only 1 point differential with seconds left to play. These referees do make the game fun to watch sometimes, but when it's against your team... It's damn irritating.

Like Jae said, the MVP award this year... WTF! Media nowadays ruin everything, from sports to politics to entertainment.

[Nick]

I don't know about best season ever, but it was most certainly the best season i've ever followed. And the playoffs, well they were even better than the regular season, and was topped off by a deserving team taking home the main prize. It's great to see Zo and Payton get those rings that they've always wanted, to polish off their career. And now my attention is fully directed towards the draft and offseason. Oooooh... can't wait!