After four endless months, the National Basketball Association (NBA) is finally back for another action-packed season. In the 2022-23 campaign, we witnessed a seemingly insurmountable record get broken, the birth of a first-time champion, and a deluge of dramatic feuds that can rival your favorite TV show or movie. With all of last season’s memorable moments in mind, here are three key storylines to track as you enjoy the long-awaited return of basketball.
The Birth of a Superstar
The NBA’s newest rising star is a highly-lauded, seven-foot-four French phenom named Victor Wembanyama. As the 2023 draft’s first overall pick, Wembanyama has some high expectations to meet. He’s been the most hyped-up draftee since LeBron James in 2003, with freakish highlights from his time with the French team, Metropolitans 92, circulating the internet for months in anticipation of the draft. His star potential alone has earned his San Antonio Spurs 19 nationally televised games, a remarkable number for a team with an otherwise forgettable roster.
Wembanyama has already impressed after just his first week in the NBA: in back-to-back wins against the Phoenix Suns, one of the league’s best teams, the 19-year-old rookie led the way for the Spurs. In the second matchup, Wemby poured in 38 points on a very efficient 15-for-26 field goal attempts, while also contributing 10 boards and two blocks. This performance earned the high praise of Suns superstar Kevin Durant in the post-game press conference, when he said “[Wembanyama]’s gonna create his own lane, much different than anyone who’s ever played. You can try to compare but he’s gonna carve out his own lane” (Sports Illustrated). If there was any remaining doubt about the extremely high potential of this year’s number-one pick, it’s been quickly dispelled after his first few highlight-filled, jaw-dropping performances.
New Faces in New Places
Two of the most intriguing off-season additions were Bradley Beal joining the superteam Phoenix Suns and Damian Lillard teaming up with Giannis Antetekounmpo on the Bucks.
Beal has cemented himself as one of the best pure scorers in the league. He’s logged eleven seasons with the Washington Wizards where he climbed the team’s leaderboards to become their second all-time leading scorer and their all-time leader in three-point field goals (Basketball Reference). Simply put, Beal can put the ball in the hoop at all three levels of the court.
But on a new squad in Phoenix, which is already led by All-NBA talents Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, how will Beal fit in? He’ll need to cut back on the frequency of his shot attempts and find other ways to contribute to winning, perhaps by stepping up on defense or acting as more of a facilitator on offense.
The universal critique of Beal has been his team’s lack of success in the past, so his move to Phoenix offers him a fresh start. Now, he has the opportunity to shed the unfavorable reputation of being an empty stats machine and prove that he can be an indispensable member of a championship team.
On the other hand, the Damian Lillard saga has been simmering for years, as he has always hinted at the possibility of leaving the Portland Trailblazers if they can’t build a winning team around him. After a decade of dutiful loyalty to the franchise that drafted him, though, Damian Lillard is finally settling down in a new city: Milwaukee.
Lillard and Antetekounmpo arguably form the NBA’s most unstoppable duo: put these two in a pick and roll, and the defense has to make the impossible choice between surrendering a three-pointer to the sharp-shooting Lillard, or rolling out the red carpet for otherwordly-athlete Giannis to roll to the rim for an easy two points. This impact is widely assumed to be a true difference-maker with championship implications. After the Bucks swapped veteran guard Jrue Holiday for Damian Lillard, their title odds jumped from +650 to +360, making them the Vegas favorites to bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy (Fox Sports).
Can Denver Go Back-to-Back?
Denver became a city of NBA champions for the first time as the Nuggets triumphed over the Miami Heat in last year’s finals matchup. Their championship-winning formula is driven by the one-two punch of former MVP Nikola Jokic and crafty guard Jamal Murray, as well as a rotation stocked with quality role players like Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr.
In the offseason, though, Denver lost some key pieces in Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, who were integral to their championship run. The Nuggets have gone from the hunters to the hunted, and plenty of teams are hungry to dethrone the champs from their spot atop the NBA’s power rankings. Western Conference contenders like the Suns, Warriors, and Lakers are formidable opponents, and Eastern Conference hopefuls like the Bucks, Celtics, and Heat are another set of obstacles waiting eagerly if the Nuggets do prevail in the West.
Experience is often the greatest preparation for reaching the finals, but no team has replicated that level of success (or even had two consecutive finals appearances) since the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. Denver is poised to continue their regular-season dominance, but the Larry O’Brien Trophy could very well find a home in a different city come June.