It was a trend that began back in the 1800’s when Lewis and Clark made their epic exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, when economic hardship and the political duty of a free nation sent Americans in flocks out west to fulfill their manifest destiny. Why did so many Americans make the long, burdensome, and dangerous trips across the jagged Rocky Mountains and the unforgiving deserts of the western United States to the territories of Texas, Washington, Oregon, and California? Although 200 years have passed since Lewis and Clark set off on their grand journey, the reason for NBA players’ passage west remains the same as those early settlers: opportunity.
While the voyage west for today’s NBA stars is certainly easier—and probably even luxurious—compared to the oxen-pulled wagons trains so many frontiersmen set off in as they quested for a better life, the objective for each is still the same. In the 1800s the drive west was about a chance for a new life, and today’s NBA push to the Pacific is similar as players seek a championship ring instead of land and financial freedom.
The balance of power in the NBA has undoubtedly shifted from the East to the West. Star power runs rampant in the Western Conference as the NBA’s best such as Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Francis, Kevin Garnett, Yao Ming, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Chris Webber, Ray Allen, Predrag Stojakovic, and Dirk Nowitzki all make their home west of the Mississippi. This excess of talent has allowed the West to dominate the Eastern Conference in every form and fashion.
The Western Conference representatives have not just beaten, but destroyed, the Eastern Conference in the last five NBA Finals by having a combined total of 20 wins to six losses. The West has won seven of the last 10 NBA crowns and not since the days of Jordan and the Bulls has the East managed to put up even a respectable team against the best from the West.
And sadly for the East and the NBA as a whole, this trend towards absolute domination by the West does not appear on the way out, but rather on the way in. Every playoff team in the West, and even some of those who missed the playoffs, boasted better than a .500 win percentage while four of the eight Eastern Conference playoff competitors were at .500 or below. And while the Indiana Pacers may possess the NBA’s best record at 61-21 they accomplished this mainly due to their location in a weak division and conference. Indiana and Detroit were the only two Eastern Conference teams who managed to tally 50 or more wins while Minnesota, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio, Sacramento, Dallas, and Memphis all reached the 50 win plateau.
It is sad but true. The NBA Finals are but now a formality as the Western Conference Finals will again this year decide the winner of the 2003-2004 NBA title. Not until the management of Eastern Conference teams can discover ways to lure the talent back from the West will the East be able to compete, and for the sake of the NBA and its fans it cannot happen soon enough.
