I still remember poring over the 2013-2014 NBA standings with that peculiar mix of anticipation and dread that only true basketball fans understand. That season had this electric energy right from tip-off, with teams jockeying for position in what would become one of the most memorable campaigns in recent memory. The Western Conference was particularly brutal - I recall thinking how the 48-win Phoenix Suns would have been a comfortable playoff team in the East, yet they missed the postseason entirely out West. Meanwhile, over in the Eastern Conference, the Indiana Pacers started strong but stumbled down the stretch, allowing Miami to claim the top seed despite their own mid-season struggles.
What made that season special wasn't just the numbers, but the stories behind them. The San Antonio Spurs finished with the league's best record at 62-20, yet few outside their locker room believed they had another championship run in them. I remember watching their methodical dismantling of opponents and thinking they were building toward something special, though even I couldn't predict just how dominant their playoff performance would be. The Oklahoma City Thunder's 59-23 record secured them the second seed, with Kevin Durant capturing his first MVP award in what felt like a coronation of his scoring prowess.
The playoff picture that year taught me that regular season success doesn't always translate to postseason glory. The Dallas Mavericks won 49 games and still found themselves as the eighth seed in the loaded West, while the Atlanta Hawks snuck into the Eastern playoffs with just 38 wins. I've always felt there's something fundamentally wrong with a system where a team like the Mavericks, who would have been contenders in the East, faced immediate elimination against the Spurs in the first round. The playoffs themselves delivered some of the most dramatic basketball I've witnessed - from Damian Lillard's series-ending buzzer-beater against Houston to the Clippers' emotional victory over Golden State amid the Donald Sterling controversy.
When the dust settled, we witnessed one of the most beautiful displays of team basketball in modern history as the Spurs dismantled the Heat's superteam in five games. That championship run reminded me why I fell in love with basketball - it wasn't about individual stars but about systems, chemistry, and that collective will to win. The final standings from that season still tell a compelling story about competitive balance, with teams like the Charlotte Bobcats (who would become the Hornets that offseason) making surprising jumps while traditional powers like the Lakers languished near the bottom. Looking back, what strikes me most is how temporary success can be in the NBA - just one season later, many of those top teams would find themselves in very different positions, proving that in basketball, as in life, nothing stays the same for long.
