Hey, LeBron.It’s been a rough year for you, in some ways. You are universally hated outside of Miami. Your Heat have struggled against winning teams, with only a 6-9 record versus teams ranked in the top 10 for win-loss percentage. And you personally killed the spirit of an entire city with seemingly no concern or remorse.

And for all of that, I thank you. Because the NBA doesn’t get much better than this.

All of your showboating and self-serving antics-as much as it hurt a fanbase in Cleveland that truly didn’t deserve it-has led to the NBA having its most intriguing season in years. Night in and night out, great games are being played. And it’s all because you threw yourself on the sword.

That’s not to say a game like Celtics-Heat would have been a bad matchup if LeBron had stayed in Cleveland. But the game was diluted. As much fun as it can be to watch a Kobe or a Wade or a Carmelo carry their team single-handedly some nights, it can be more frustrating to watch less-talented teammates cancel out their star’s production and choke away a win.

And that is exactly where LeBron, Wade and Bosh would have been had they stayed split up. The games would have been star versus star, like they were the last few years.

Now, entire teams suddenly have weight.

People aren’t watching the Heat for LeBron; they’re watching the Heat for the Heat.

The stakes have been raised as the elite teams try to keep up with each other, and the daily NBA slate has become must-see TV.

But not only did his actions create a riveting NBA regular season, but his choice to team up with Wade and Bosh might just be the start of a domino chain. Players taking control of their destiny, forming super teams with no regard for loyalty.

Already we have Carmelo Anthony trying to force his way to Amar’e Stoudemire and the New York Knickerbockers, with Chris Paul patiently waiting to join them. Murmurs of an Orlando exodus for Dwight Howard can be heard as well, with his number one destination apparently the Lakers.

So what would you rather watch? A Kobe-Dwight-Pau trio face off against Paul, Carmelo and Stoudemire?

Or Wade and four scrubs playing Blake Griffin and whoever else is on that team?

For the losers, it’s rough. They are stuck looking up at teams that have a talent surplus, while they are stuck picking up the scraps and hoping for a stud draft pick.

But it isn’t impossible to reach that high level. The Thunder have done it in just the last two years with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

Until then, even fans with no hope can be mesmerized watching the Celtics’ big three go up against Miami.

So we exit the NBA All-Star Break with the playoff pictures already pretty clear. Boston and San Antonio are probably the two best teams. The Heat, while explosive, need to find a big man. The Lakers need to rediscover their game. The Bulls hope MVP-candidate Derrick Rose can take them to the next level.

And NBA fans should be ecstatic to see every second of it. All thanks to a guy who took his talents to South Beach.