It was the greatest block in NBA history. In the 2016 Finals, as the Golden State Warriors were locked in an intense Game 7 bout with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Warriors’ Andre Iguodala streaked up the court.

“Iguodala to Curry, back to Iguodala, up for the layup! Oh! Blocked by James! LeBron James with the rejection!” announcer Mike Breen exclaimed on-air. After this call, you could hear a pin drop in the arena. Fans were stunned and left speechless.

That was the last time the NBA Finals was interesting.

While Breen announced the broadcast and the same player, LeBron James, won Finals Most Valuable Player, there was a tangible boredom that surrounded the 2020 NBA Finals.

The skill gap, for one, was exponential. The Los Angeles Lakers have two of the top five players on the planet on their roster, whereas the best player on the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler, is maybe top-10, with their next-best players Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic injured for much of the Finals.

So yes, there was a disparity in talent. But there had to be more to it. The Warriors beat up on the Cavaliers in 2017 and 2018, and that was still entertaining … What could it be?

Fans!

There were no fans at games, due to restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. And it makes things so damn boring. There is no energy in the game. The production crew pumped in music and crowd noise in broadcasts, but nothing compared to the roar and electricity of a real-life fanbase.

Last season, I was fortunate enough to be in Toronto at the same time as the Raptors were facing the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals. I was indifferent when it came to the matchup, but I love basketball and sports in general so my friend and I hacked up the money to sit in the very back row of the Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto. 

Oh. My. God. That was the craziest sporting event I have ever been a part of. In a Raptors win, the crowd’s emotions poured over me in waves. It sent a shock of excitement down my spine and I was left with no choice but to become a Raptors fan for the night.

The storyline in these 2020 NBA Finals was amazing. LeBron James facing the team, the Heat, with whom he won his first two championships; how crazy would that crowd in Miami be with James back in town and their team in the Finals for the first time since 2014?

Eventually, when the virus has finally been slowed (I’m predicting around the year 2097) we will finally be able to take in games the way they are meant to be played – with fans, energy and enthusiasm. But in these past finals, I felt like a tennis audience watching the ball get slapped across the net; my head moved back and forth as the players ran up and down the court, leaving me with more neck pain than excitement.