Every team in the NBA is hitting the 20- or 21-game mark this week, meaning we’re officially one quarter of the way through the 2016-17 season. (Where does the time go?) As we start to pick up steam heading into the Christmas Day showcase, we’re bringing back our Four Corners roundtable series to ask: What’s been the coolest storyline of the season so far?

Here’s what the Ball Don’t Lie staff thinks. Share your answers in the comments below.

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A farewell to tanking

This is such a sportswriter reply, because certainly there are hundreds of earthier, more tangible responses, but the idea that no NBA team (or two or six) is actively tanking has me smiling. It feels like a kiss-off to both The Process-types and the NBA’s loud, anti-tank establishment. The sides share more values than they’d think.

This isn’t to say that parity is the order of the day in the NBA’s middle, that any number of bottom-feeders could topple the Golden State Warriors or Cleveland Cavaliers on any night, or that the play is as great as it has ever been. (Though it might be.) There’s just no over-the-top tanking. With no team actively crippling itself in the offseason, followed by a sensible breakfast of a first few weeks, all 30 teams can pat themselves on the back with self-satisfaction.

Many teams do stink, though, and if the Philadelphia 76ers or Miami Heat believe that they fooled us with their anti-tank maneuvers in the summer, then they’ve got another think coming. There is still lottery fever, and not just because the 2017 NBA draft looks strong.

Still, it’s a cheery turn, from 1-to-30. — Kelly Dwyer

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Coaches speaking out

There are many cool stories in the NBA, but for me, there’s been nothing cooler than the NBA coaches who have spoken on social issues since the end of last season. Specifically: Steve Kerr on gun control; Gregg Popovich on national anthem protests; Stan Van Gundy on the 2016 U.S. presidential election; Kerr on legalizing marijuana; Van Gundy on the term “posse”; and Popovich on, well, life.

Whether you agree with them or not, they expressed their opinions clearly and concisely. That’s something even informed people outside of sports have struggled with this year.

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What’s really cool, though, is that you have three older, wealthy, educated white men — part of a cohort who, based on voter demographics, you might assume lean a certain way — who also come from incredibly diverse backgrounds. Pop grew in up in a Midwest steelworking town, the son of European immigrants. Kerr grew up in the Middle East, the son of an American University of Beirut president assassinated by the Islamic Jihad. Van Gundy grew up on two coasts, the son of a basketball coach. Each now works in a league that predominantly employs young black men. Through these disparate lenses, they have found common ground in common sense, and that’s an example everyone from old white folk to young black people can follow.

The NBA has been a leading voice on subjects of race and politics in 2016, with the league pulling the 2016 All-Star Game from Charlotte over the controversial anti-transgender House Bill 2, and superstars LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul addressing the divide between many police forces and the communities they serve, among other forms of activism. The coaches’ support for their players’ freedom of thought, combined with their own eloquent remarks on social issues, has helped reinforce an enlightened message. — Ben Rohrbach

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Joel Embiid was worth the wait

As the offseason reports mounted — He’ll be ready for the season! No, preseason! Nobody can even come up with a comparison for this dude! — I held my breath. After more than two years, the prospect of Embiid finally playing seemed too good to be true; I didn’t want to get my hopes up again just to see them dashed.

But there he was Opening Night, torching the Thunder. There he was, publicly claiming Philly’s much-derided tanking “Process” as his own mantle. There he was, disrespecting the throne and dialing long-distance just like those “regular white people” on YouTube. There he was, looking like a dream of “The Dream” realized.

Here he is, and he’s been almost literally unbelievable. The only reference points we have for this kind of per-possession production are Shaq and Moses, but Embiid’s also taking three 3-pointers a game and hitting half of them, while helping the Sixers prevent points when he’s on the floor at a clip that would rank No. 1 in the NBA. Things get much hairier when he sits; how fortunate, then, that the minutes limit under which he operates keeps increasing, giving him more time to eat and us more time to enjoy.

Embiid’s competitive, funny and gifted in ways that have Hall of Famers swooning … and he’s got all of 326 NBA minutes under his belt, leaving you wondering if there’s even a ceiling for what he can be. He’s not just another talented young big man in a league suddenly teeming with them; he’s how a resurrection really feels, a shot of pure joy every time he takes the court, the tip of an awe-inspiring iceberg. Joel Embiid has arrived. We can exhale now. — Dan Devine

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The rise of the do-everything star

While LeBron James’ brilliance decided last June’s NBA Finals, the league is now in an era where the team concept and the relative cohesiveness of the five players on the court matter more than the sum of each man’s individual talents. Raw ability can only get a team so far — what really makes a contender is how it all fits together.

It’s a vast oversimplification to say that players like Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are one-man teams. Nevertheless, the degree to which their teams’ offenses rely on their production stands in contrast to the idea that each player is supposed to be essential. Their teammates don’t fit with them as much as they look for whatever space they can to occupy the same orbit.

Each do-everything star obviously brings his own personality to the forefront. Westbrook averaging a triple-double for the season seems like a natural extension of his relentless style. Harden seeks out playmaking opportunities with a willingness to match 10 assists with 10 turnovers. Antetokounmpo isn’t a point forward as much as a 6-foot-11 unicorn expanding his role with every new game.

They’re exciting to watch not just because they’re good, but because it’s difficult to predict what they’ll do on any one play. For three teams, at least, the way forward appears to be putting faith in their best player and seeing where he takes them. It’s a refreshingly simple approach at a time when explaining how a lineup functions often feels overly complicated. — Eric Freeman

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