The NBA season gets started on Oct. 24 with the Denver Nuggets vs. the Los Angeles Lakers at 7:30 p.m. and the Phoenix Suns vs. the Golden State Warriors at 10 p.m.
So what are some of the interesting storylines for the upcoming professional basketball season?
In the Western Conference, superstar Nikola Jokic attempts to etch his name among the all-time greats by leading the Nuggets to back-to-back titles. The road back will be more difficult than last year, however, with the Nuggets losing key role player Bruce Brown.
Couple this with the fact that no team has repeated since the 2017-18 Golden State Warriors and the Nuggets face a daunting challenge.
The road gets even harder when you consider that several other Western Conference contenders retooled and reloaded this past offseason.
The Suns have assembled a trio that can score at will with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and the addition of Bradley Beal from Washington.
The Lakers also had a great offseason, adding Christian Wood from the Rockets and Gabe Vincent, who straight off an NBA finals run where he averaged 13 points and 3 assists.
Some other players/teams to look out for include Shai Gilgeous Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder; Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies; and Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
And, of course, it will be fun to see how the game of 7-foot-4 French phenom Victor Wembanyama transfers to the NBA from Europe. So far it’s looked pretty good: Wembanyama averaged 19 points per game on 50 percent shooting in the preseason, while looking like a taller version of Kevin Durant.
In the East, it seems that we are destined for a two-team race to the finals. The Boston Celtics gained crucial pieces during the offseason, acquiring Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. This pair should make last year’s third-highest team in defensive rating even better on that end, with Porzingis’ length and Holiday’s ball pressure.
The Milwaukee Bucks made the biggest move of the offseason, landing seven-time All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard. Acquired in a trade from Portland, Lillard should add a lot to this Bucks offense. He averaged 32 points and 7 assists in 2022.
Some noteworthy Eastern Conference storylines will be whether the Cavaliers can make it over their playoff hump after a disappointing first-round exit to the New York Knicks last year. And can the Miami Heat get back to the Finals for the third time in four seasons.
With the league looking about as wide open as it’s ever been, it looks like the NBA is shaping up for an exciting season.
Enjoy the next eight months, basketball fans!
