Old school

History and tradition are alive and well in the NBA

They were the NBA’s Four Horsemen of the 1980s, a quartet of champions that defined a decade when fans jammed old arenas and families sat glued to TV sets.

The Lakers. The Celtics. The Sixers. The Pistons.

From 1980 to 1990, they won every title and dominated the NBA landscape. From Magic and Dr. J to Bird and Isiah, they helped set the stage for the Michael Jordan Era with their string of epic postseason battles. Some would say the league hasn’t been the same since.

Except now they’re back. For the first time in 11 years, all four teams are in the NBA playoffs. In the case of the Sixers and Celtics, whose playoff rivalry dates back to the late '50s, they’re even matched up against each other.

Forget those Dr. Funk commercials. This is true NBA retro.

"It’s terrific," says Orlando Magic senior VP Pat Williams. "People are always asking what’s wrong with the NBA? I say the answer is simple. It is the absence of those wonderful playoff rivalries that riveted the nation year after year.

"It’s not the kind of thing that can be manufactured on Madison Avenue."

Nobody is saying the 2002 versions can match their '80s predecessors in on-court achievements. Other than the two-time defending champ Lakers, none of the other three has tasted much playoff success in recent years. Detroit and Boston are newcomers to the postseason, while the Sixers have failed to live up to expectations brought on by last year’s run to the NBA Finals.

Samaki and Battie and Harpring and Atkins? Not exactly Kareem and The Chief and Moses and The Microwave, is it? Even former Celtics great Tommy Heinsohn scoffs at the idea that the current rivalries can hold a candle to the past. "There’s no comparison," he said. "These other guys haven’t won a thing yet."

Still, even the crusty Heinsohn had to feel a twinge of nostalgia last Saturday when he joined Celtics legends Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Jo Jo White and Red Auerbach on the parquet for a ceremony before Game 1. Before it was done, Sixers guard Allen Iverson came over and shook hands. Longtime observers say it was the first time the Fleet Center has sounded like the old Boston Garden.

Perhaps that’s the real value in the postseason return of these old clubs. In four of America’s great sports towns, NBA basketball has become relevant again. Their dormant fan bases, built in huge numbers by all that history and tradition, have magically been reawakened.

"These fans have been sitting there, biding their time, with nothing to get excited about for years," Williams says. "It doesn’t take much to resurrect those memories. All the past comes flashing back."

The Next Michael Jordan? Maybe the NBA has been missing the point all along. Maybe all it really needs is a few more old franchises to turn back the clock.

Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.

 

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