As the NBA playoffs draw to an end and the finals approach the series what we all expected remains intact. With the Warriors and Cavs taking out each and every team without even breaking a sweat one has to start to question the state of the NBA: are super teams beneficial for the association? Think about it- if someone spoiled the ending of a movie for you, how would you feel? More than likely, you will still watch it, but at the same time all the excitement and tension is gone as you know how it ends; what you are left with is just a predictable and stale product that may have its upsides here and there, but ultimately lacks any buildup as you know what’s going to happen. In the past, sports were, for many, a way to escape the scripted melodrama seen on the big screen: nothing is certain, no one can spoil anything for you, and most importantly- anything can happen.

Just like with anything, there are always proverbial favorites: whether it was Michael Jordan’s Bulls of the 90s or the modern day New England Patriots of the NFL, yet always people felt that maybe there was a David to these Goliaths after all. Now, after Kevin Durant joining the most winningest basketball team in history, 73-9, all parody seemed to be lost. What is left is a stacked Lebron led team versus possibly the greatest lineup ever assembled in the form of the Golden State Warriors. Ever since then, no one has questioned the status-quo: it will be the Warriors and Cavs in the finals this year, probably next year, the year after that, and who knows how long if no major injuries occur of course. Many say the NBA finals now will be absolutely insane to watch and they are right, however, how about the other 82 games in the regular season plus the other three playoff series? Should the NBA bank solely on one seven-game series over the rest of the season? It is no wonder that the regular season viewership has dropped the last few years at roughly 8%, no one wants to watch blowout after blowout of a predictable year. Moreover, the NBA banking on two teams and two teams only to lead their association is setting themselves up for failure. By failing to create new stars and spread the competition all across the league you leave yourself with a very questionable future, and this exact scenario happened when Michael Jordan retired and they were lucky to see Kobe Bryant help lift the league out of mediocrity.

Overall, NBA super teams go fundamentally against what a major league sport should be. By creating a very stale and mundane product, you ultimately isolate a majority of viewers, anger many team owners, and make the NBA seem feeble, as the talent on the 28 other teams looks subpar compared to the two juggernauts. With no end in sight to this epidemic that is super teams, one can only hope the NBA does something to prevent future superstar team-ups to help bring back the spirit of competition.