We've seen an official changing of the guard with the young Oklahoma City Thunder making it to the NBA Finals for the first time since the franchise moved from Seattle and the Miami Heat in the championship round for the second consecutive season.
What's clear here is that Generation Y has now taken over the NBA. Kevin Durant and LeBron James are the leading men in this game, and now they go head-to-head to see which one of them will win a championship first. It's time for somebody's hoop dreams to come true and basketball fans are itching to see who it will be.
SB Nation's Andrew Sharp notes Vince Thomas' column on the soft launch of The Shadow League, discussing the Generation Y winning legacy:
By all accounts this generation of basketball players is astonishingly wonderful on an unprecedented level. It's often awe-inspiring to watch LeBron and Durant and Rose. Chris Paul plays point guard better than any human being not named Magic. But none of the Gen Y superstars - save Wade (and Rondo), of course - have any jewelry.
People are perplexed. So much so, that now you're hearing certain factions trying to change the narrative -- like, all of a sudden, it's not all about championships. Nah, fam - it's all about championships.
This litmus test is not unfair. Why? Because these young dudes are better than everyone.
And so that's what brings us to Bomani Jones' point on Monday about Durant's countdown beginning now before the narrative changes on him the way it did LeBron. Generation Y doesn't have a lot of time to get stuff done before criticism mounts.
The time is now. For someone, anyway.
Read more about the Oklahoma City Thunder at Welcome To Loud City.