NBA: The XBA is coming sooner than you think

Vince McMahon, the mind behind the World Wrestling Federation and the XFL, dropped a bombshell on the NBA just before its vaunted All Star Game by announcing his plans to start a new professional basketball league: the XBA.

"Extreme basketball will draw in the fans that the NBA has abandoned," claimed the confident promoter in a press conference this afternoon.

Although the XFL—McMahon’s competitor to the NFL—has only played a handful of games, McMahon is certain of its success and is already looking to branch out. And unlike the NFL, the NBA is struggling to fill its seats and maintain its popularity.

McMahon claims that the XBA will offer a number of innovations that will prompt fan interest. For one, he will loosen the travelling rule so that players will be able to take four or five steps toward the basket after they stop dribbling.

"Fans don’t really want to see dribbling," explained McMahon. "But the dribbling they do see will be spectacular." To increase the entertainment value of dribbling, the league would also allow palming and at times double dribbling.

NBA Commissioner David Stern acknowledged McMahon’s plans, but derided his potential product. "The XBA sounds barely like basketball to me. I mean, if you do away with the rules, what is left of the sport?" opined Stern.

McMahon, however, smells fear. "Stern is stuck in the past. And it’s the fans who suffer." Another innovation will be that every team will get to name one superstar. The superstars would then have additional leeway on the court, getting foul calls that others might not, but not getting called for fouls, which would land them on the bench. "Just like a good offense, the XBA will put the ball in the hand of its best players and let them put on a show."

Although Stern does not seem concerned, it is clear that the NBA stands to lose some more of its appeal, especially if the XBA incorporates some of its past stars. Michael Jordan, for example, may leave his position in the front office of the Washington Wizards to coach an XBA team. "You don’t know how many times I was hamstrung by the rules," said Jordan in a phone interview last night. "I completely concur with what McMahon is trying to do. I can only imagine how great I would have been if I had been treated like the star I was."

The primary concern for potential players in the XBA is the seeming disregard for the players’ health. Like the XFL, which encourages violent collisions in the game and has already seen its share of injuries in its first weekend of action, the XBA would feature rules that might seem beyond the pale to some players and fans.

"I can live with the removal of the blatant foul rule," said potential XBA star Christian Laettner. "But allowing sucker punches at tip-off, that’s another matter."