The 2020-2021 National Basketball Association season could be one of the most fun to play with ever.

You like scoring? The league averaged 112 points, with NBA champion Milwaukee topping the charts at 120. League-wide offensive efficiency has never been higher.

You like defense? Milwaukee and Phoenix, the two teams in the finals, were No. 1-2 in team D in the post-season.

You like new challengers for the title? Phoenix never won an NBA title, neither had semi-finalists Atlanta (unless you count the St. Louis’ Hawks one title in 1958) or the LA Clippers. Milwaukee had won only once – in 1971 (that’s 50 years ago!), when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was 24-year-old Lew Alcindor in his second pro season.

If you coach well enough, why can’t you win it all with conference champions Utah, which made the most 3-pointers (16.7), grabbed the most rebounds and won the most games (52), or 49-win Philadelphia? Or with 48-win Brooklyn, the seventh team that played at least .653 ball, a pace worth 50+ wins in a normal 82-game season.

In this year’s 72-game season, 36-year-old Chris Paul, still savvy enough to average 16 points and 9 assists, played in his first NBA Finals while teaming with Phoenix’ 25.6-point scorer Devin Booker and emerging-star big man Deandre Ayton.

They had to compete against Milwaukee megastar Giannis Antetokounmpo (28 ppg, 11 rpg, 6 apg) and star teammates Khris Middleton (20.4 ppg) and Jrue Holiday (17.7 ppg, 6.1 apg).

But then, the Suns already had knocked out Kawhi Leonard and Paul George’s Clippers, the league’s top 3-point shooting team, while Milwaukee was silencing Atlanta’s Trae Young (25.3 ppg, 9.4 apg) and Clint Capela (15.2 ppg, 14.3 rpg).

The NBA showcased many other stars: Leading scorers Stephen Curry (32 ppg) at Golden State and Bradley Beal (31.3) at Washington; MVP Nikola Jokic (26.4 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 8.3 apg and the most win shares) at Denver; top rookie LaMelo Ball (15.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 6.1 apg) at Charlotte, Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert at Utah, who had the most rebounds, the most blocks, the highest defensive win shares, and also led NBA with .675 FG%, and Gobert’s teammate, Donovan Mitchell (26.4 ppg).

If you like to play “What-If?” (who doesn’t?), WHAT IF Brooklyn had its four top scorers, Kevin Durant, James Harden Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert, for a whole season instead of a combined 127 games?

If you can’t wait to find out how 2020-21 plays out at your place, we understand.

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