1. Look Who's Coming To Dinner: The Atlanta Hawks!

Here’s the thing about the Atlanta Hawks: nobody cares about the Atlanta Hawks. Even people in Atlanta don’t seem to care about the Atlanta Hawks. It’s difficult to wrap your head around.

This is one of the most exciting teams in the league, with a bevy of young, athletic players, and for the past few years they’ve been rapidly improving. And yet, nobody really notices the Hawks. The parallels to last year’s Orlando Magic are staggering. Both teams coalesced almost by accident—did you ever think a championship contender would revolve around Hedo Turkoglu? Well, meet Atlanta’s Josh Smith. He’s just as unlikely.

And in part because nobody really pays enough attention to the Hawks, the franchise has been able to patiently build around a core of unorthodox young stars, to where they now can stake legitimate claim to Eastern Conference supremacy. Two years ago, all the stars we now call “versatile” were deemed “tweeners.” The Hawks were like a thought experiment: what would happen if a team just drafted a lot of athletic swingman? Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Joe Johnson—the guys that currently have Atlanta sitting in the top half of the Eastern Conference used to be something of a punchline. “The Altanta Hawks: expect chaos!”

But now, because the management never had any reason to blow it up and trade guys like Williams or Smith, Atlanta’s past weaknesses are now a strength. Josh Smith has figured it out, Joe Johnson’s as good as ever, and with Al Horford, Jamal Crawford, and Mike Bibby rounding things out, Atlanta suddenly poses a lot of problems for people.

They’re not there just yet, but it’s January. Give it a few months, and watch what happens. We may very well be looking at the Eastern Conference Champions. What’s notable now is that the Hawks can compete with anyone in the league. They may not be trampling all over the competition, but suddenly, you have to take them seriously.

It’s why the NBA’s so great. You often hear people cite the NFL’s parity in explaining why they love pro football. Every year, any team can win the Super Bowl. And while that’s not true in the NBA, every year we have teams like the Hawks. Or the Nuggets and Magic last year. Every year, a different team figures it out, and makes the leap from “pretty good” to “great.” Young teams figure it out, and the landscape of the league changes. Every year.

That’s not necessarily parity, but who’s to say “Every team can win” is the better model? In my mind, at least, it’s more rewarding to watch teams like the Hawks slowly cobble together a contender, and then have a year like this season, where it all comes together. It adds a dimension of backstory that other sports just can’t match.

When the Hawks hit the playoffs this spring, it’ll be as a team that has grown up together, and that makes their eventual success or failure that much more compelling. Michael Jordan’s Bulls, the late-90s Lakers, the Pistons… They all had to struggle for a few years before they figured it out and conquered the league. That’s what’s happening in Atlanta.

Nobody notices for now, but that’ll change come playoff time.  Every year, a new challenger steps up, and takes the mantle from an aging team like the Celtics. It’s how the league works. It’s why the league works. And in Atlanta, it’s time to get excited.