I thought this year NBA is going to be very special and I should pay more attention to it. Shaq left Kobe to the Eastern Conference. Kobe is now left alone. We all know that Kobe wanted the team for himself. Now he had it. NBA for so many years since Jordan left was trying to find the next "Jordan". I know there will forever be only one Jordan. NBA's search for the next is finally here. LeBron, Wade, Stoudemire just to name a few. There are oversee powers like Ginobili who seems to me that he is here to show American how to play their game right. We never thought before last year that a team without a true star can win anything. We were proven wrong by the surprising Detroit Piston last year. Everything told me that this season of NBA is so different from all those I have seen. It turned out that I didn't pay too much attention to the regular season NBA. My attention to it was an all-time low. My bad. This season of NBA is really special. Think about this. The MVP candidate is now down to Steve Nash, Shaq and LeBron James. Steve Nash time and time again proved that he is the true real deal. I blamed him many years before that he is a normal point guard who can dish a few assists, shoot some threes. He played well because he played with Dirk. I am wrong on this. Nash changed the franchise of Phoenix this season. The team was unstoppable for a long stretch. They struggled tremendously when playing with Steve. You know these things show how valuable a player is, and these things usually win somebody an MVP hardware. I would have to say you are nuts if you tell me Nash would win MVP a few years back. Even I would say it's a longest shot when he moved to Phoenix. I knew this team is young and talented and will contend soon. I couldn't have thought that they will be the team with the best record in the league. With their accomplishments produce an MVP in Nash. A Canadian white point guard in a league where he is the minority. This is already a huge thing to show that this season is indeed special.

4.6.05 photos: AP