HEAT Check: More Evidence Players Could Start Their Own League

Kevin Durant's charity game in Oklahoma City is just another example of how the players don't need the NBA franchise owners.

After the insane post on LeBron James opening up to white reporters, I usually only read the First Cup posts at ESPN's Truehoop blog since I refuse to read any of Henry Abbott's editorial content.

Luckily, Royce Young published the review of the OKC charity game that featured Durant and LeBron James on the same team: 10 Takeaways: OKC charity game.


Here are the last three takeaways Young lists in the article:

8. LeBron's star power is impossible to ignore. When he walked onto the floor for the first time about 45 minutes before tip-off, the arena exploded into a loud cheer. It wasn't really a "Oh my gosh! My favorite player!" type of cheer; more just excitement to see LeBron. He's got that aura, that unavoidable pull to him.


9. Damien Wilkins was a starter and scored 17 points. Nothing says, "This isn't actually the NBA" quite like that [MHI - That's funny].


10. Props to Oklahoma City. I know I live there so I'm incredibly biased, but everything about this game was top-notch. Not just the fan support and turnout, but the presentation and organization of the event was outstanding. It was as if it were a real-deal game. This is as close as OKC will probably ever get to hosting an All-Star Game, so organizers went all out. Media meal, halftime show, T-shirt tosses, kiss cam, fan contests -- it had everything. For a charity game that was organized in just a couple of weeks, it went off largely without hitch.

With the understanding there were issues with Chris Paul's charity game, the broadcast still drew over a million views online. The operations issues seemed to be solved for Durant's charity game.

If OKC can host a game that "went off largely without hitch", then why can't the players start their own league with teams in larger metropolitan areas with more resources?

P.S. Young missed a takeaway in his recap. The biggest takeaway has to be CP3 dunking - off an oop, no less. The Knicks are going to be tough if he ever makes it onto their roster. Good thing he wasn't their for the #fakeheatgame at Madison Square Garden.