Boy howdy, I’ve been waiting for this moment for exactly [checks watch] 132 days.

Damn, has it really been 132 days?

It feels like the world has ended in a cacophonous blistering of moans and defeats five times since that day. The warmth generated by the Warriors’ most recent title may be the only thing keeping me active and empathetic at this point.

However none of that matters, at least for tonight. Why?

Basketball is back.

BASKETBALL IS BACK!!!! GET HYPED!!!!

The greatest game this world has ever seen (sorry rugby, not your turn yet) returns tonight.

Sure, everyone expects the Warriors to win another title. Sure, the Warriors have the highest odds of winning ever — via Vegas — going into this season. Sure, players have been scrambling around trying to find ways to attack the Warriors’ blueprint (except for the Spurs, who have just been chilling and perfecting their own craft, which honestly terrifies me waaaay more than anything else). We get it. The Warriors are good.

But, this season is going to be a humdinger. I can’t remember ever being as excited for a season to start. Again, I probably say that at the beginning of each and every season, but that’s just how frickin cool and transcendent the NBA has become.

The NBA has blossomed into a 12-month league, with hysteria and media scrutiny wrapped around each season like a warm blanket wrapped around a newborn babe. The players are out in front of many of today’s most burning questions and movements. They are leading the way for today’s youth, while also bringing a brand and style of basketball to the court that is redefining how the game is played, approached, and taught.

Of course, the Warriors are right there at the forefront, both socially, and even moreso from a basketball standpoint. Stephen Curry, Steve Kerr, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and now Kevin Durant have quite literally taken the script of life, basketball, and “normalcy,” and flipped it on its head, shredding all pre-conceived notions of how players should act in public, play on-court, or handle themselves in this ever changing world.

I can’t wait to see how this season plays out. First up, we’ll get to see how Cleveland treats the return of their once-crown-prince Kyrie Irving. Will he get the same warm, fuzzy reunion as LeBron James, when he returned with the Miami Heat? Will they shower him with love or with thrown batteries?

Either way, let’s take this evening to realize how lucky we are to live in an era where we get to watch Steph, LeBron, and Durant do their thing. This generation of players is a special, special group. Years from now, I get the feeling we’ll be telling our grandkids about how these guys reshaped not only our notion of what was possible on a basketball court, but what was possible in the world. For that, I am immeasurably grateful.

Basketball is back, guys. It’s really, truly back.