Heisler: NBA enters a prosperous new era – here’s why

Thinking in decades as we step way back to see who and what happened in the NBA and why:
Ten years ago …
LeBron James, once the most-hyped teen in the game’s history, was 25, an Akron, Ohio native seemingly set with his hometown team in nearby Cleveland … a year from leaving as the most notorious free agent of all time as his fans papered over his billboards and burned his merchandise.
Kobe Bryant was 31, en route to his fifth title that spring – one more than Shaquille