The new face of the NBA?

LeBron James is copping out again, copping out on his responsibility as face (or co-face) of the league. The dunk contest wasn't beneath a young MJ, and it wasn't beneath a young Kobe, but LeBron won't risk it. Just like he won't risk a last-second shot. It's getting old.

He has ascended to this sort of MJ status -- Super Bowl commercials, appearances on national TV every week -- but has not entirely deserved it. He has never been in a playoff game, much less won a playoff game, yet he shares the league right now with Kobe. He's obviously an electric player, a triple-double waiting to happen, but he's almost basketball's Peyton Manning -- no storybook endings.

All right, what and who are the real future of basketball. Is it Lebron James or Kobe Bryant or somebody else? As this guy is haarping over the fact that nobody with any chops wants to be in the slam dunk contest he's missing the big picture, namely that the NBA is going international.

Watch the Suns play or any other team near the top of the rankings. The Pistons play like an international team, unselfish, cohesive, and not extremely exciting with high flying dunks and the like. Half the Spurs are from out of the country and there is even a Russian guy running the Jazz, a Spanish guy running the Grizzlies, and a Chinese guy sharing the headlines in Houston. Of course, you can't leave out Steve Nash, last years MVP and one of the top point guards in the league.

So where does that leave us. AND1 gives us so many dunks that after a while it just becomes another a "whatever" part of the game. Not much more exciting than a nice assist or sleak bank shot off the glass. Sure, it was a spectacle at first. Most of the best dunks have been done. All of the new ones are just new takes on old ideas.

Lastly, the dunk contest is like ice skating: all subjective. There's no scoreboard, just guys flashing up cardboard with numbers of what they think is cool. You might as well watch Michelle Kwan skate in circles.

So what does that leave us? Good fundamentals, high scoring, team work, and betting shooting are what's going to propel basketball into the future. Dunks will still be a highlight, but its time as a focal point is nearly over.

So who is the future? I think its hard to say as an American writing about what's soon to be an international game, but I think we can depend on guys like Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, and Pau Gasol to take the game to new levels and new continents. Either that or the game will desolve, an idea which I find implausible.

Sure, guys like Lebron and Kobe will make big splashes, but when a easily a billion people in a nation mostly of guys start making their prescence felt it will feel like a whole different game. Sorry Lebron, you're not the future.