Weekly Countdown: NBA déjà vu

"A season for the ages," commissioner David Stern said of this NBA year gone by. But I prefer to view it as a recasting of the 1980s: The names have changed, but the dynamics are familiar.

5. Introducing Dwight Howard in the role of Hakeem Olajuwon, circa 1985-86. Though he would lead the Rockets to a pair of championships in the latter half of his 18-year career, Olajuwon, throughout the 1980s, was a secondary star to Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan

Isn't that how Howard has been viewed -- as being one level below LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade

Both Olajuwon and Howard were 23 when they drove their teams surprisingly to the NBA Finals. At this stage, Howard will hope that he deviates from the Dream's track, for Olajuwon spent the next seven years losing in the preliminary rounds of the playoffs (including one season when his Rockets failed to make the playoffs). Olajuwon then exploited Jordan's brief retirement from the Bulls to win his back-to-back titles, in addition to a league MVP award in 1993-94.

The trick for Howard is going to be overcoming the presence of Kobe and/or LeBron. Will Howard -- like Olajuwon -- have to wait until his 30s to return to and win a Finals? To get there, he must develop the same kind of low-post footwork that enabled Olajuwon to respond to the variety of defenses aimed his way, and the Magic must continue to develop a formula that will not only make the most of Howard's talents but also create the inside-out teamwork that can nullify the great one-on-one talents of Kobe and LeBron. Their current formula worked against the Cavaliers this postseason, but Cleveland will surely improve its roster over the next two years with the goal of beating Orlando.

4. Chris Paul as Isiah Thomas, 1985-86. When Thomas was 24, his young Pistons appeared to be headed in reverse: One year after a second-round series in which they took the Celtics to six games, the Pistons were drummed out of the first round 3-1 by the Hawks.

Paul can surely relate: Now 24 himself, Paul and the Hornets -- who appeared so promising while challenging San Antonio in the conference semifinals last year -- were humiliated in a 4-1 opening-round loss to the Nuggets. Paul is filling the role created by Thomas two decades ago as the league's tiniest and toughest fighter. Much like Isiah, the 6-foot Paul must try to compete harder than Kobe or LeBron to overcome his size.

The cost of winning was excruciating for Thomas, whose high-strung competitive nature cost him friendships among his fellow stars. So far, Paul has succeeded in protecting his relationships with LeBron and other stars separate from his desire to kill their teams.

More to the point is this issue: Will Paul find championship success -- as Thomas did -- by staying with the same franchise throughout his career? The answer, unfortunately, is no.

3. Dwyane Wade as Larry Bird, 1982-83. That was the year when the Bucks upset the 26-year-old Bird in the first round. Afterward, he took responsibility for the loss and vowed to work harder over the summer, and the next season he led the Celtics to an NBA Finals victory over Magic's Lakers.