Beginning on June 4, the world of the National Basketball League, including every fan, player, coach, GM, and owners will anticipate the beginning of a series that highlights the NBA every year: The NBA World Championship. Year after year, teams will fight through a rigorous 82 game season just so they can be the top 16 teams in the league to be pitted against each other in deadly 7 game series. Battles after battles, teams will go home while others will continue forth until a Western Conference Champion and an Eastern Conference Champion will go head to head in the final fight. This year the honors and privilege goes to the L.A. Lakers and Orlando Magic.

L.A. Lakers are led by a man named Kobe Bryant, undeniably the best player in the world today. (Some would say second best, my point is still made) Kobe Bryant has incredible talent, but what sets him apart is the work ethic he has and how hard he works at being the best player in the world. The man must be respected or he will come take that respect from you, and his history has shown exactly this. Kobe Bryant has won three Championships, an MVP, scoring champion, nba all star, etc. As you can see, the man has done it all. The only knock on him though is that during his championships, some would say he was second fiddle to a large center by the name of Shaquille O’Neal. The jury is split on this idea, and so now Kobe Bryant has gone through some growing pains and some difficult years Post-Shaq, but has now made it to his long awaited destiny to the Championship, with an all star cast, however this time Kobe as the head hancho. The L.A. Lakers have players such as Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom, and Pau Gasol whose names are often spoke when talking about one of the best teams in the league this year. The Lakers made it to the finals last year, only to be dealt a losing hand by the Boston Celtics, a team full of savvy veterans who were hungry for their first championship.

• Offense is called the Triangle offense; helps spread the floor and ensures that all players can pass to each other.
• Kobe Bryant dominates the ball, facilitating the offense by either scoring or finding open players when teams play more than one player on him.
• Defensively is very strong.

 Orlando Magic have a few older players you could call the leaders, but the real leader is 23 year old 6’11 basketball player who has the body and athleticism to dominate the nba for the next decade, just like Mr. Shaq.  At his young age he has brought Orlando the finals, of course with assistance from the likes of Rashard Lewis, and Hedo Turkoglu.  The beauty of the Orlando Magis is that their basketball systems are built traditionally, where the offense is almost always ran through the big man, whereas the Lakers follow a more contemporary approach where a dominant guard is present. 

• Getting the basketball inside the paint (the box in front of the rim) will attract more than one player to guard the big man under the rim
• At this point the big man can go up strong or throw the ball back out to the open man whose man should be all over the big man.
• This sort of offense is the cornerstone of championships dating back to the beginning of basketball.
• Defense is very solid with Dwight Howard in the middle, but is weaker than the Lakers.

 Savvy veteran point guard who has made some ridiculous shots in his career to carry his team.

 Much has been said yet enough has not been said.  He is the best player in the world for a reason, and his work ethic shows he is the hardest working player also.

 A 6’10-11 basketball player who can play like he is much shorter, pushing the ball down the floor with ease.  Has personal achievements but no championship ring, yet.

 An Olympic champion, this man is a big man with one of the softest hands.  But don’t get me wrong, he is all under, over, and around the rim working like any other big man. 

Many say this young man could be the future of the NBA, the man to go head to head against Dwight Howard for the next decade and on, and the performance of this young man will determine if L.A. continue to dominate the league. Time will tell, but I would say he is on his way.

Once a famous streetballer, Alston has made the big times and his well making worth of his time in the NBA.  Quick and aggressive, he will not back down from anyone.

A rookie in the starting line up of a championship team may seem odd, but understand the promise this youngster must be showing.

very poised and can put the ball on the floor, hit shots, play decent defense, the all round player you always want on a team.

For his height of 6’11, he doesn’t rebound as much but then again that may be because he is always at the three point line draining shot after shot. Oh man can the man shoot!

 Quite possibly the future of the NBA and its dominance.  He has the opportunity to leave behind a legacy, one as such as Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Patrick Ewing, you get my drift.

This is going to be one hell of a basketball series, no doubt about it. Watching Kobe Bryant is just as exciting as jumping 10 feet into a swimming pool: very exhilarating. The man can flat out score, and when you watch the way he scores, you will see the impossibility of the man’s game. Don’t get me wrong though, Kobe Bryant is not out there by himself, and is surrounded by a cast who can definitely get it done, almost got it completely done last year. This year they will not taste that bitter taste of loss. However, don’t count the Magic out, however lets face it, they are in a tough position. They don’t have the experience of being the championships, and they have to go against men named Kobe and Derek Fisher who have won multiple championships, and men like Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom who almost won it last year, and so badly want to taste victory.

The most important aspect of this battle is the battle between the traditional basketball the Orlando Magic bring Vs. the more contemporary game of the L.A. Lakers. With the traditional style, the big man (Dwight Howard) gets the ball anywhere in the paint (the big box under the rim), and as long as he is faced by only one opposing player, he would attempt to score at will. When more than one opposing person faces Howard, he simply passes the ball out to the strong shooters the General Manager of the team has surrounded Howard with, providing wide open shots, usually three pointers. This is how Tim Duncan has won countless champions, to Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, etc. In the last 20 years though, the likes of Micheal Jordan, Dwayne Wade, and soon to be Kobe Bryant have dominated the game by dominating the ball. This contemporary approach demands the guard to be extremely talented and wise when making the decisions he makes on the court. The belief is that with the ball in these guards hands, they will attract more than one player to possibly even three players may be required to keep an attention on this key player, hence giving the superstar's teammates wide open, if not half open, attempts to score the basketball. Beginning June 4, 2009, we shall see the prevalance of a legend or the ushering of an era long forgotten by individual skills put on by some of the greatest men to touch a basketball.

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