As the MLB season starts winding down, the NBA regular season starts winding up for its triumphant return after four months of silence.
This season promises to be as exciting as the last, when fans watched as the Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets captured their first-ever NBA finals since the team joined the NBA in 1976. Jokic and the Nuggets will look to continue their dominance and become the first back-to-back champions since the 2017-2018 Golden State Warriors.
The Miami Heat will look to bounce back from last season’s finals loss, with “emo” Jimmy Butler leading the charge.
Out in the west, the Sacramento Kings and last season’s coach of the year, Mike Brown, will try to head back to the playoffs for consecutive years.This offseason, the Golden State Warriors traded young guard Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards for veteran and future hall of famer Chris Paul. Stephen Curry and the Warriors will look to add their fifth championship win of the decade.
The two teams in Los Angeles will rely on their veteran players to lead them to playoff appearances. The Lakers will be led by veterans LeBron James and Anthony Davis, while the Clippers will be led by Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
The Phoenix Suns will hope to push their recent success. In recent years, the Suns have continued to play successful regular seasons but face seemingly inevitable playoff woes. The Suns traded for three-time all-star guard Bradley Beal in the offseason, hoping the trio of Beal, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant can finally capture their first championship.
In the east, the Milwaukee Bucks will hope to win another championship since their victory in 2021. The Bucks made one of the splashiest trades of the offseason after trading for one of the best players in recent years, longtime Portland Trailblazer Damien Lillard. Lillard will pair up with Giannis Antetokounmpo to lead the Bucks.
Other players and teams in the East who will look to continue recent successes are the Philadelphia 76ers and their reigning MVP, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics and Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This season will also see a new and exciting addition to the regular season. Starting in November, the NBA will host an in-season tournament. All 30 teams have been randomly paired up with four other teams from their conferences to play against each other in groups of five. All games will be counted for each team’s regular season record.
To learn more about the in-season tournament, please visit https://www.nba.com/news/in-season-tournament-101.
Editor’s Note: The Miami Dolphins rolled to 5-1 this week as Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill prove to be the best QB-WR duo in the NFL.
