The NBA is back! Bigger and better than ever. The stakes are bigger. The teams are bigger. Even the rookies are bigger.
Victor Wembanyama
Victor Wembanyama is the biggest name since LeBron James . The 2023 #1 pick, has had eyes all over him from the moment he stepped onto the floor for the Mets. Garnering international fame for his 7ft 4in frame, Wemby has drawn defensive comparisons to the likes of Rudy Gobert with the offensive capabilities of Kevin Durant . This could be a recipe for disaster for the entire league. Wemby has so much hype around him, 23% of GM’s chose him to start their franchise with if they could sign any player in the NBA today (Schuhmann, NBA.com). It is highly unlikely, he will carry the San Antonio Spurs to a championship in year one, but Gregg Popovich knows generational centers. David “The Admiral” Robinson and Tim “The Big Fundamental” Duncan careers speak for themselves. Wemby is the out-and-out favourite for rookie of the year, and only Chet Holmgren, the 7ft 2in “rookie” out of Oklahoma City Thunder , can seemingly stand in his way. Look out for the Simmons vs Mitchell rookie debate to be reignited, should the rookie of the year race become close down the stretch.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
From big rookies to big moves, the heat just turned up in Milwaukee . The Bucks traded away their Champion point guard Jrue Holiday for an All-Star sharpshooter in Damian Lillard. Yes, the Lillard saga is over, and he didn’t end up at the Miami Heat after all. Playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to have its challenges. After all, there is only one basketball. But with the high Basketball IQ of Dame, the rim-running of Giannis, and the sharpshooting of Khris Middleton, the Bucks could be one of the few teams to work it out. The biggest question mark: their rookie head coach, Adrian Griffin. Can Adrian Griffin get all these All-Stars to buy in? 23% of NBA GM’s think so, voting the Milwaukee Bucks the team to win the 2024 NBA Finals (Schuhmann, NBA.com). Granted, this is down on last years result of 43%, however they received no votes in the 2021 NBA Championship season so, who really knows? All we know is, we are excited to find out.
Now onto big additions. Fly east of Milwaukee about 1,700km’s and end up in a little city called Boston. Home of the Red Sox , the Bruins , the Celtics , and now Kristaps Porziņģis. The 7ft 3in Latvian born journeyman has found his way onto his 4 th team, landing in Boston as the undisputed starting Power-Forward along side the J’s ( Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown), front-runner for 6 th man of the year Derrick White, and serviceable big man Al Horford. Talk about a recipe for success. To land Porziņģis, the Celtics had to give up Marcus Smart (to Memphis Grizzlies ) and Grant Williams (to Dallas Mavericks ), but they solidified their swingman position and gained some Center depth. Without Marcus Smart, there was a gaping hole left on the defensive side of the ball. Enter, Jrue Holiday. For the low, low price of Rob Williams III, Jrue plugs the gap left by Smart and arguably increases the Celtics ceiling, showing to be a reliable 3-point shooter shooting a career 36.6% compared to Smart’s 32.3%. Could this be why 33% of NBA GMs voted that the Boston Celtics would win the 2024 NBA Finals? Or, why 23% of them voted that Boston had the best overall offseason?
WESTERN CONFERENCE
But enough about the Eastern Conference, the boys out West can light it up too. The Phoenix Suns have made plenty of fringe moves in order to flex their muscle this upcoming season. Oh, and they added the Washington Wizards franchise player, Bradley Beal. With a new three-headed monster in the desert of Durant, Booker and Beal, many feel that the Suns are going to have something to say about the outcome of this season. Will the roster look the way it does now for the whole year? Likely not. Are there questions around the ages of Beal and Durant? Most definitely. Do the Suns have some concerns on the defensive end? Sure. But, we certainly wouldn’t count them out. The Suns are surprisingly deep, making plays for Jusuf Nurkić, Eric Gordon, Yuta Wantanabe, and many, many more. They will have a tough road ahead of them going up against the defending champion Denver Nuggets , the King’s Los Angeles Lakers , and the splashing Golden State Warriors (who yes, have Chris Paul now!), but if anyone can get it done - it’s Kevin Durant .
All we know is, grab your teams jersey and some popcorn. The show is about to start.