Jake Ruderman’ 26

Sports editor

The NBA playoffs are here! So far, the first round’s been fairly hot and cold, with some incredible performances from the usual suspects, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid and Jalen Brunson, but with some duds as well (Boston vs. Miami has been borderline unwatchable… sorry, but it’s true). But far and away, the biggest storyline of the first round has been the staunch disparity between the game’s young, up-and-coming stars and the fading lights of the game’s older generation, almost all of whom are completely eliminated from the playoffs. 

Some of the greatest stars to ever grace the court, from LeBron James to Stephen Curry to Kevin Durant and Damian Lillard, all failed to make it out of the first round. Meanwhile, their younger counterparts, like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Halibruton, have flourished this postseason and have taken the reins as the game’s next era of superstars. And while the playoffs may still run through the ‘middle’ generation of players like Nikola Jokic and Jayson Tatum, it seems apparent that this older generation of Hall of Fame caliber talents is nearing its end for the first time – and seemingly sooner rather than later. 

Obviously, one season is far too small a sample size to discount the possibility of one last deep playoff run from an aging star; but with every passing season, it becomes less and less likely that the game’s greats (like KD and Bron) will ever reach the heights of the Larry O’Brien trophy again. And while that may be an incredibly harsh and deeply upsetting reality for fans of the sport who grew up watching and idolizing these legends, there’s a bittersweetness to it all. 

The NBA, like many professional sports leagues, has a long and storied tradition of aging stars passing the torch on to younger (often more athletic and flashy) stars. Think of Bird’s Celtics finally succumbing to Isiah’s Pistons; or Jordan’s Bulls finally climbing the mountain to dethrone those same Pistons (amidst some handshake-related controversy). With every generation comes new talent, chomping at the bit to stake their claim in the league, and in history. And, in doing so, the previous crop of elite players must be overtaken; out with the old, and in with the new. It’s like its own form of evolution, where the ‘fittest’ players survive and flourish, while the older, slower, more injury-prone players are phased out by necessity. 

The game can be a cruel and unforgiving place to those whom it passes by, but that’s also the beauty of it; stardom is a fleeting, intangible thing that can be revoked or bestowed at a moment’s notice. The thrill of achieving such a feat, and the hard work that’s required to maintain it, is what separates the good from the great, the elite from the legendary. And while it’s never easy to see your favorite players get older and eventually retire, there comes a sweet, truly indescribable, comforting, nostalgic feeling of reminiscing about their primes – like thinking back to a childhood memory of a Christmas Day spent with loved ones who have since passed on. 

In a way, it’s best to think of it like the end of a college semester. On the one hand, it’s been an incredibly challenging, taxing, and lengthy period of time, but one where you’re proud of what you’ve accomplished. On the other hand, you’ll never quite be the same person you were, surrounded by the same friends you had, at that fleeting moment in time, sitting outside on a warm and beautiful day, with the sun hitting that perfect point on the horizon, and the breeze blowing ever so gently, where life was perfect and time stood still. 

The paradox of each person’s fleeting time on Earth may be a bit dramatic a comparison to draw to LeBron and KD suffering first round exits, but what can I say? I’ve been known to get romantic about basketball. And while this article didn’t heap the necessary amount of praise onto the young superstars of tomorrow’s generation, there’ll be plenty of time for that later, especially as they advance to the second round of the playoffs and beyond. 

As it always is, the NBA playoffs has been one of the most enthralling sporting events of the year, and I can’t wait to see what else it has in store. For anyone who’s stuck around to the end of this bizarre, sentimental, and poignant article, I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for sharing in my love of sports and for reading what I’ve had to say this year – it truly makes it all worth it. Enjoy the rest of this semester, this summer, and beyond, and Let’s Go Knicks!!

Copy edited by Will Donahue

Featured image courtesy of CBS Sports