The NBA has entered a new era. Dubbed by many as “The Parity” era, it comprises the last post-Warriors dynasty. No team has come close to those heights since the Golden State Warriors won three in four years. Instead, each season has seen a new NBA champion emerge, with no true dynasty emerging.
With the changes in the latest CBA, it appears even more unlikely that a dynasty could naturally come to fruition. Gone are the days of a legend like Kevin Durant joining back-to-back Finals appearance-laden Golden State. Instead, teams have to organically try to build out a Championship roster, ala the NFL.
Recently, Stephen Curry, the poster child of the dynasty in Golden State, spoke about NBA dynasties and how a new one would be hard to come by. “I don’t think [it will be replicated] just because it’s very hard to keep things together in this league. A lot more player movement. Me, Klay and Draymond, we complemented each other so well for so long. We all brought something different to the table, so we’ll see. Records are meant to be broken. Dynasties come all different shapes inside of us, so we’ll see.”
Two main governing reasons make it hard to envision the creation of a new basketball dynasty.
Overabundance of talent
A startling 57 players made at least one All-Star team in the last 5 seasons. Among them, 56 are still on NBA rosters and barring a few yesteryear greats like Kyle Lowry, Russell Westbrook, and Mike Conley, are still producing at a high enough level. Even by ideal estimates, that brings the current crop of All-Star caliber players to nearly 50.
That list doesn’t include names like Victor Wembanyama, a surefire guarantee to make the team. Neither does it have names like Austin Reaves or Kristpas Porzingis, players who have similar levels of impact to an All-Star. With the quantity and quality of talent that is present league-wide, for one team to stand out is a hard ask.
Even the Boston Celtics, who boasted an All-Star starting five, weren’t seen as “true contenders” until they won it all. Instead, that onus lay on the Denver Nuggets, a team that went out in the 2nd Round. The years of a superstar dragging a team to a Championship are long gone.
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At this point, almost every playoff-caliber team has at least two, if not more, players who can win you a Playoff game. As a result, a one-off night or one super hot night might be the difference between a first-round exit or an NBA Championship. In such a scenario, building a clear-cut best team is practically impossible. Due to the talent present leaguewide, every team has a realistic chance of going into any playoff series.
And, even if a team does stock up on talent at a hitherto never-before-seen level, the second problem with the current NBA rears its ugly head.
Restrictions of the new CBA
Once the new CBA existed, its objective was clear as day: increase parity and limit the financial flexibility of high-spending teams. As a result, the second apron came into existence. An eerily popular term this offseason, the second apron, set $17.5 million above the luxury-tax line, is an unenviable threshold for teams to cross.
Most moves become inaccessible for any team beyond that line in the spending market. For those teams, there is no taxpayer mid-level exception, no cash to send out in trades, no first-round picks to trade for the next seven years, no buyout candidates, and no incrementing salary via trade.
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As a result, a team like the Warriors, who were routinely among the biggest spenders in the league, cannot keep adding to their war chest. Indeed, their options are severely limited, bringing the dynasty to its knees.
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