My favorite NBA player? Well, if I had to chose one player right now I'd probably go w/ 'Le'-'Bron' Jay'-'aims' (i.e. LeBron James), seeing as he has won MVP two years in a row. As an Ohio native I couldn't wholeheartedly root for the guy while he was in Cleveland after 'Witness'-ing the Cavs lose in four games in the Finals of 2007, however the Cavs did lead the league in wins for two seasons in a row afterwards, though both times they were eliminated before even advancing to the NBA Finals.
Now, I'm not saying that the team that wins the most games should automatically get into the finals each season; in fact if first seed and home-court advantage isn't enough to get over the hump in the playoffs then I'm not sure what is besides a trade, or something. I've also mentioned this before, but the Cleveland Cavaliers have existed as an NBA franchise for over 40 years and have still yet to win a single game in the Finals
...that doesn't mean that they can't get it done, however I for one would not bank on their chances. I can still remember the disappointment of the Dallas Mavericks losing in the first round to the Golden State Warriors after leading the West in wins, or a similar scenario when the Lakers eliminated the first seeded Timberwolves from the playoffs.
As a side, the LA Lakers used to be located in Minnesota, and the city of Minnesota hasn't ever quite recovered from losing their first NBA franchise -- the Garnett era was probably the closest they ever got to doing so. Because of this I'd probably add Kevin Garnett to the list as well, as well as Shaquille O'Neal (not sure if I've forgiven Kobe yet for the whole Shaq-Kobe feud that caused Shaq to leave LA for the Miami Heat).
My favorite player of all time would have to be either Michael Jordan or Hakeem Olajuwon; kinda relieved that LeBron will no-longer don Jordan's number anymore. I'm not saying he didn't do justice to Jordan's legacy, but it's not like LeBron is the first person to rock '23' after MJ retired. I mean, he should try to avoid putting himself in the same category as guys like Ron Artest and Jason Richardson, both of whom sort of came-off as Jordan fanboys
